American Rhododendron Society Web Site ARS
navigation menu background

Rhododendron of the Year Plant Awards: 2022


North East USA and Canada Region

R. 'Koichiro Wada'

Elepidote Rhododendron: 'Koichiro Wada'

Flower light pink with faint speckling, aging to white, campanulate, about 2⅛" across.  Ball-shaped truss has about 12 flowers.  Blooms early midseason.  Leaves narrowly to broadly elliptic, or lanceolate, margins re-curved, glossy, top has white tomentum, bottom has wooley, white indumentum aging to tan.  Very dense, rounded plant habit.  Grows to a typical height of 3 ft. tall in 10 years.  Hardy to -15°F (-26°C).  Selected form of R. degronianum ssp. yakushimanum.  Awarded First Class Certificate by the RHS in 1947.

 
R. dauricum

Lepidote Rhododendron: R. dauricum

Flower pale to deep purple, mauve-pink or white, widely funnel shaped, 1"-1⅔" across, held above leaf clusters.  Blooms very early.  Leaves elliptic, round apex, 1" to 1½" long, glossy, dark green, semi-evergreen, purplish colored in winter.  Erect plant habit.  Reaches an approximate height of 3 ft. in 10 years.  Cold hardy to -25ºF (-32ºC).  Native species found in the wild in eastern Siberia, northeast Mongolia, northeast China, Korea, and Japan.

 
R. 'Kaempo'

Evergreen Azalea: 'Kaempo'

Flower deep purplish pink, with darker spots, single, funnel-shaped, 1⅔" across.  Blooms midseason to late midseason.  Leaves elliptic, acute apex, cuneate base, about 1" long, mid green.  Broad, compact plant habit.  Grows to a typical height of 2 ft. in 10 years.  Grows wider than tall.  Cold hardy to -5°F (-21°C).  Hybridizer is unknown.

 
R. 'White Lightning'

Deciduous Azalea: 'White Lightning'

Flower white with a large vivid yellow blotch, of heavy substance, tubular funnel-shaped, 2½" across, very fragrant.  Blooms late.  Leaves elliptic, flat, acute apex, cuneate base, blue-green color, 2½" long, retained 7 months.  Spreading, dense growth habit.  Grows to a height of about 6 ft. in 10 years.  Plant and bud hardy to -20°F (-29°C). (-29).  Natural hybrid collected in NC at about 5000 ft. elevation.

Photos (top to bottom) by Don Wallace, Henk Borsje, Carolyn Beck, Sally and John Perkins.

Prior Years Selections for North East USA Region

2024

2023

 

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004


American Rhododendron Society
P.O. Box 43, Craryville, NY 12521
Ph: 631-533-0375   E-Mail: member@arsoffice.org
©1998-2024, ARS, All rights reserved.