Rhododendrons - Easy To Grow Beauties for the Garden

Rhododendrons are a good choice for the landscape with showy flowers in the spring and beautiful large dark evergreen green leaves all year long.

 Here in Southwestern PA, I think we take for granted the ease and abundance of the lovely rhododendrons. Just about every other home, from the suburbs to the more rural areas, has them growing in the landscape.

This is probably because Rhododendrons are native to much of the United States and North America, with thousands of cultivars. And, they grow in a wide range of zones from 4 - 8.

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However brief, this easy to grow shrub puts on an amazing show during April, sometimes through early June. This is the same time you will see your Azalea shrubs blooming, which are very similar to rhododendrons. In fact, Azaleas are considered a type of rhododendron. Azalea flowers are slightly different and not as clustered. Also, most are deciduous, whereas rhododendrons are evergreen.

Rhododendrons' blooms are set in clusters of funnel-shaped flowers at the end of the branch, with 10 stamens each during the springtime.

The rest of the year, even in winter, the rhododendron maintains pretty green leaves. Something a little different from your typical evergreen trees and shrubs.

The majority of the rhododendrons I see are shades of lavender, pink, and white or cream. Although, with hybridization, there are hundreds of varieties, including dark red, yellow, and coral colors.

One of the interesting facts about this pretty shrub is that even though it is a commonplace foundation plant for many homes, you will also find it growing wild in the forests. You can see an example in the image above of blooming rhododendrons in Mt. Hood National Forest.

Like many plants, you can buy dwarf varieties at local nurseries, which will only grow to around two feet tall. Regular shrubs can get over 20 feet tall but are easily pruned to keep them in line. The best time to prune is just after they bloom. This will give the shrub plenty of time to form new flower buds for next year's show.

You can read more about Rhododendrons at The American Rhododendron Society and  The Rhododendron Species Foundation & Botanical Garden.

If you are looking for something new to plant close to the house or even something that makes a nice year-round statement in your landscape, consider a lovely, robust rhododendron.