sweet azalea
Rhododendron arborescens
RHS AGM 2012
USDA zones4 to 7
SunHandles full sun to partial shade
WaterHandles moderate to wet soil
Size8 to 20 feet tall8 to 20 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- White
- Foliage color
- Dark green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam
- Soil pH
- Acidic (pH<6.8)
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Sweet azalea (Rhododendron arborescens) is a shrub for borders, woodland gardens, and rain gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full sun to part shade and average to wet, sandy or loamy soil. Fragrant white flowers with red stamens open late in spring after the leaves appear, and the leaves turn deep red to purple in fall. Deer and rabbits usually look elsewhere for a meal. Keep the soil moist, since this shrub is sensitive to drought.
Pairs well with Cinnamon fern, Wild ginger, Bottlebrush buckeye, and River birch.
Native range
Eastern United States.