Rhododendron of the Year Plant Awards: 2016 Mid-Atlantic USA Region |
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Elepidote Rhododendron: R. hyperythrum Flower white, rarely pale pink, sometimes spotted pink or purple, funnel-campanulate shaped. Truss has 7-12 flowers. Blooms early midseason. Leaves elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, up to 4½" long, margins usually recurved, dark green, held for 3-4 years. Plant compact, round shaped. Height: 3 ft. in 10 yrs. Plant is hardy to -10°F (-23°C). Species that grows in the wild in northern Taiwan. |
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Lepidote Rhododendron: R. minus var. minus Flower pink to purplish pink or white, sometimes spotted greenish, 1"-1½" across, funnel-shaped. Truss holds 4-12 flowers. Blooms early midseason to midseason. Leaves broadly elliptic to lanceolate, up to 4" long, apex acuminate, light to dark green. Typical height: 4 ft. in 10 yrs. Cold hardy to -15°F (-26°C). Found in the wild in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. |
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Evergreen Azalea: 'Inch' Flower white, sanded and striped with deep and strong purplish pink, amount of variegation varies year to year from moderate to heavy, broadly funnel-shaped, 2⅜" across, wavy-edged lobes. Truss has 2-3 flowers. Blooms midseason. Leaves narrowly elliptic, acute apex, cuneate base, 1⅛" long, moderate olive green above with discrete white hairs above and below. Spreading, dense growth habit. Grows to a typical height of about 1 ft in 10 yrs. Hardy to -15°F (-26°C). Hybridized by Clagett. |
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Deciduous Azalea: R. atlanticum Known as the Coastal azalea. Flower white often flushed pink, narrowly funnel-shaped, very fragrant. Flowers before or just as the new leaves open. Blooms midseason. Leaves ovate or obovate to elliptic, up to 2" long, bright bluish-green, deciduous. Grows to 3-4 ft. tall in 10 years. Cold hardy to -15°F (-26°C). Easily propagated by division, root or stem cuttings. Native species found in the eastern United States coastal plains from Pennsylvania to Georgia. |
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Photos (top to bottom) by Herb Spady, Frederick Thurber, Buck Clagett, Margaret Taylor. |
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Prior Years Selections for Mid-Atlantic USA Region
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