Azaleas bring masses of color to gardens, and the tremendous variety of cultivars is part of their appeal. You can find them in pink, red, peach, lavender and all the shades in between. I have an unusual variety that’s white with blazes of pink on its petals. The petals have a slight frill to the edge. It’s really quite lovely. And it surprises me each spring when a flower is half pink and half white. Horticulturists say it “throws a sport.”
What does it mean for a plant to throw a sport?
A sport is a naturally occurring, spontaneous mutation on a plant. The characteristics can affect buds or branches and show up in flower color, leaf color and leaf shape. It can mean more flowers on a stem, for instance. Fruit trees are examples of sports, too. Nectarines, for instance, are a sport of a peach tree. Plant breeders look for desirable qualities that show up in sports and try to replicate them.
If you’re looking for more information on plant sports, I found this story helpful.
Here’s my azalea as it usually appears:
And here’s the sport beside it:
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