The National Garden Bureau has named 2026 "The Year of the Azalea," and The Garden Guy thinks that is Perfecto Mundo! As you might guess that is exactly the name of one of the newest series of re-blooming azaleas.

In case you are wondering, Perfecto means perfect and Mundo is an intensifier thanks to the Fonz and "Happy Days." One thing is for certain: the love you will feel when you see them blooming in your landscape.

Perfecto Mundo azaleas come in 6 colors, four of which are double: Double White, Double Pink, Double Purple and Double Dark Pink. Then there is a Red and Orange. There are two carpet varieties, Pink Carpet and Fuchsia Carpet, and two Epic colors: Epic Pink and Epic Coral.

As you might guess, the carpets are the shortest, the epics are the tallest at 4 feet, and the group of six in the middle are 30 to 36 inches. Re-blooming azaleas are kind of like reblooming hydrangeas in that you will never build a perfect floral calendar.

This will be my sixth year of growing Perfecto Mundo azaleas. I began this adventure like "Mission: Impossible." If you choose to accept, you will have beauty, fun and go nuts. You see, theoretically, you could have hydrangeas and azaleas as blooming partners if they sync up on reblooming. The question is, will I live long enough?

The first year looked easy-peasy as I had a taste of Perfecto Mundo bloom while across the way some blue Let’s Dance hydrangea blooms appeared. Can you just imagine Perfecto Mundo Orange or Red with blue hydrangea flowers? It would be a horticultural feast for the eyes.

The next challenge was, can I get Shadowland hostas to dazzle up with Perfecto Mundo azaleas? This certainly can happen, but the spring azalea bloom will generally occur before the hostas shoot new growth. The rebloom can happen and will be a Kodak moment. I am also attempting to make the perfect combo with Heart to Heart caladiums.

Now I am writing from zone 8 Georgia. The Perfecto Mundo azaleas are generally recommended for zones 6-9, though Perfector Carpet Pink, Carpet Fuchsia, Double Purple and Double Dark Pink from the original group of six are zones 5-9.

The Perfecto Mundo reblooming azaleas, like others, need fertile, well-drained, acidic soil with sun to part-sun conditions. Their size is such that I don’t prune much. The initial bloom is on old wood. Then after that, I prune just enough to stimulate new growth. I fertilize now too.

The Perfecto Mundo azaleas like others are always attracting pollinators whenever in bloom. I love to do a July or August Facebook post showing the summer azalea blooms with Eastern Tiger Swallowtails getting nectar. Invariably I get responses from followers saying azaleas do not bloom in the summer. But it is again a Perfecto Mundo world, when it comes to azaleas. I hope you will give them a try, after all it is The Year of the Azalea.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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