Size
Ultimate height
1–1.5 metresTime to ultimate height
10–20 yearsUltimate spread
1–1.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drainedpH
AcidColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Orange | Green | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Green | |||
| Autumn | ||||
| Winter |
Position
- Full sun
- Partial shade
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or North–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H6Botanical details
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Native to GB / Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy
- Potentially harmful
- Harmful if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling. Pets (dogs, cats, rabbits, tortoises) Harmful if eaten - for further information and contact numbers regarding pets, see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants
- Genus
Rhododendron can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees, with simple leaves, sometimes with a dense colourful indumentum of hairs on the lower side, and funnel-shaped, bell-shaped or tubular flowers that may be solitary or in short racemes
- Name status
Accepted
- Horticultural Group
- Knap Hill and Exbury azaleas are vigorous deciduous shrubs with large, oblong leaves, and usually fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of yellow, orange, red and white, in mid and late spring
How to grow
Cultivation
Suitable for an open site but best grown in moist but well-drained, leafy, humus-rich acid soil in part shade with shelter; see rhododendron cultivation
Propagation
Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings in late summer, layering in autumn or grafting in late summer or late winter
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- Cottage and informal garden
- City and courtyard gardens
- Flower borders and beds
Pruning
Pests
May be susceptible to vine weevil, rhododendron and azalea whitefly, rhododendron leafhopper, pieris lacebug, scale insects, caterpillars and aphids
Diseases
May be susceptible to various Rhododendron diseases including powdery mildews, rhododendron petal blight, rhododendron bud blast, silver leaf and honey fungus
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.