Rhododendron schlippenbachii
Common name:
Royal Azalea
Pronunciation:
rho-do-DEN-dron shlip-en-bahk-E-i
Family:
Ericaceae
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous shrub, 4 ft (1.2 m), but can reach 15 ft (4.5 ft) upright, mounded. Leaves alternate, but appear whorled (usually 5) at the end of branches, obovate, 5-14 cm long, slightly undulate, short petiole. Flowers star-like, delicate, pale to rose pink, 6-8 cm wide, 10 stamens, single or in a loose clusters, have an inner blotch.
- -25°F, early-early mid., 4/3-4/4 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)]. Part shade, appears to do better on high pH soils than other Ericaceae. New growth appears in very early spring, so it is best suited to areas were spring frosts are infrequent.
- Native to Korea and Manchuria. The cultivar, 'Sid's Royal Pink', has deeper pink flowers.
- schlippenbachii: after Baron von Schlippenbach, naval officer and traveler, who discovered the plant on the east coast of Korea 1854.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: east of Women's Center.
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