Catalog Description
Faintly scented deep rose flowers appear on even young plants. Partial sun. Moderate-growing to 5 to 7 feet tall and wide.
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Design Ideas
This is the best Rhodie for new homesites, where early flowering is a big plus. Few hybrids can compare with the speed of this one, with its masses of pink flowers. Use as background or filler along fence lines or bare walls. Great between windows as foundation planting, which allows its fragrance to easily waft in. Good for side-yard screens and privacy hedges. Combine with other shrubs that blossom in more striking hues and use to give evergreen color to plantings of deciduous flowering shrubs. Dense growth is ideal for cover-ups, such as along fences and the edges of outdoor steps. Works well under the drip lines of large conifers. |
Companion Plants
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Average Landscape Size
Moderate-growing to 5 to 7 ft. tall and wide. |
Key Plant Benefits
Dense evergreen shrub is a highly valued landscape ornamental. Large trusses of showy flowers appear on even young plants. Prefers cooler regions. Very effective as an accent. |
Care Instructions
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. Feed with an acid fertilizer after bloom. Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch. |
Growth Conditions
| Growth Rate |
 Moderate Growing |
| Growth Habit |
| Erect |
| Heat Zones |
High:
| 8 (>90 to 120 days) |
| Low: | 2 (1 to 7 days) |
| Cold Hardiness |
| High: | 8 (10 to 20 F) (see map) |
| Low: | 4 (-30 to -20 F) |
| Water Requirements |
| Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry. |
| Sun Exposure |
| Partial sun |
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Flowering
Flower or Bloom description:
Large trusses of bell-shaped flowers
| Flower Color |
| Pink |
| Flowering Time/Season |
| Large deep rose trusses in late May. |
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Propagation
| Propagation Method |
1
| Cutting grown |
| Best time to Prune |
| Spring after flowering |
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Attributes
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Wildlife
Deer Resistant
Extremely Hardy
Fragrant
Hedge Plant
Native Plant
Shade Loving
Showy Flowers
Specimen
Spring Flowering
Tolerates Acidic Soil
Woodland Garden
Year-round Interest |
Foliage
Glossy, dark green
| Foliage Shape | Elliptic |
| Normal foliage color | Green |
| Underside foliage | Green |
| Juvenile foliage | Green |
| Mature foliage | Green |
| New foliage | Green |
| Spring foliage | Green |
| Summer foliage | Green |
| Fall foliage | Green |
| Winter foliage | Green |
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Plant Lore
The name rhododendron is taken from the Greek for rose tree |
Plant History
The genus Rhododendron is grouped into the heath family, Ericaceae which contains many acid soil loving species. Rhododendron was named and classified by Linnaeus who named it from the Greek for rose tree. This genus also contains shrubs commonly called azaleas within its 800 Rhododendron species and thousands of hybrids. The species are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere but are most abundant in the Himalayas and other mountains of Asia. This plant is a cultivar of the species, R. catawbiense which is a native of southeastern United States with a range extending from Virginia to Georgia and Alabama. It was introduced into Europe in 1799 by John Fraser, a Chelsea, England nurseryman who was a leading importer of North American plants. This species is found in the ancestry of many of the modern Rhododendron hybrids. ‘Ignatius Sargent’ is one of those R. catawbiense cultivars commonly known as “ironclads.” |
New Plant
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