Azalea color

Question

My father has one large azalea left from azaleas planted years ago when my mother was alive. They were all white. This year the large white one has one small grouping of purplish leaves on only one single branch. Is this rare? Of course, I told him it was mother’s way of saying hello from heaven. What could cause this variation to appear on an old white azalea? It’s never appeared before. I wanted to share the picture.

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Answer 1

Thank you for sending the image.

An Azalea can sprout a 'sport'. A sport is a branch that produces different colored flowers then the parent plant.