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In Memoriam Ernest Koone
1/17/2022 10:09 am
The horticulture world lost a grant plantsman and advocate for native azaleas, Ernest Koone, owner of Lazy K Nursery in Pine Mountain, Georgia on January 6, 2022. Ernest was always generous with Georgia Perennial Plant Association, giving both time and resources to us. We will miss him.
More from the Georgia Native Plant Society on Facebook:
We are sorry to share the news that a great Georgia plantsman passed away yesterday. Ernest Koone, owner of Lazy K Nursery in Pine Mountain, was an amazing native azalea expert; the nursery is the largest grower of native azaleas in the US. In March 2019, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the Azalea Society of America, their highest honor.
Over the years, Lazy K grew thousands of native azaleas, most of which were sold to nurseries, native plant groups like GNPS, and public gardens. For years our spring plant sale in Marietta would order hundreds of them and still sell out in just a few hours. The quality of the plants was superb. Ernest was especially proud of his support for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, and one his own cultivated azaleas was named for Mrs. Carter. Ernest will be greatly missed.
