Plant Guide

Other Names:  Great Rhododendron, Great Laurel

Description:

A commanding, large growing variety, presenting amazing rose-pink to white blooms; an excellent, showy landscape accent plant; absolutely must have well-drained, highly acidic and organic soil, use plenty of peat moss when planting

Ornamental Features

Independence Rosebay Rhododendron is covered in stunning clusters of pink trumpet-shaped flowers with white overtones at the ends of the branches from mid to late spring. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The narrow leaves remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Independence Rosebay Rhododendron is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Independence Rosebay Rhododendron is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Independence Rosebay Rhododendron will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.