Rhododendron lacteum
Common name:
Lacteum Rhododendron
Pronunciation:
rho-do-DEN-dron lak-TAY-um
Family:
Ericaceae
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf evergreen shrub or tree, to 30 ft (~ 1.2-9 m), maybe to 5 ft in 10 years. Leaves simple, alternate, oblong-ovate, to oval, 7-18 cm long and 4-10 cm wide, apex rounded, often with a short acuminate tip, base rounded or chordate (heart-shaped), upper surface dark or pale green, mid-rib grooved, primary veins impressed, lower surface covered with a suede-like fawn or brown indumentum, mid- rib prominent. Flower clusters large with 12-30 flowers, flower calyx minute, 5-lobed, corolla (petals) campanulate, 3.5-5 cm long, yellow to pale yellow, sometimes tinged with pink, sometimes with a crimson blotch.
- -5°F, early-mid, quality rating 4-5/3-4/1-2 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)]. Part shade. Some consider it one of the finest rhododendrons in cultivation. Unfortunately it is not easy to grow, best in very acid soil.
- Native range to China (Yunnan, Szechwan) and Burma (Myanmar)
- lacteum: milky
- Federal Way, Washington: Rhododendron Species and Botanical Garden
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, flowering
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flowering branches
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leaves and flower cluster
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flower cluster
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flowers
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leaf
