Rhododendron (catawba hybrids)
Rhododendron
Planted for big trusses of lilac to purple flowers in late spring on a broad evergreen shrub that thrives in part to full shade, as a specimen, massed or as a hedge. It needs acid, rich soil that stays moist but drains well, mulch over its shallow roots and shelter from hot afternoon sun. Deer browse it heavily.
- Mature size
- 8 × 9 ft
- 2.4 × 2.7 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Part sun to full shade
- Water
- Medium to moist
- Blooms
- May–Jun
Rhododendron (catawba hybrids) at its mature size
A mature Rhododendron (catawba hybrids) grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, The Morton Arboretum.
Through the year
What Rhododendron (catawba hybrids) looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
In leaf · Jul–Apr
Long leathery dark green leaves, evergreen and the same all year outside bloom.
In flower · May–Jun
Large rounded trusses of lavender to rose-pink flowers at the branch tips.
Growing Rhododendron (catawba hybrids)
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Good for
- Privacy screen, hedge, specimen, shade garden, and pollinators
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Native to
- Garden hybrids of R. catawbiense (Southeastern United States)
Spacing for a hedge
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Rhododendron (catawba hybrids), that’s about 9 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Rhododendron (catawba hybrids) in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other azaleas and rhododendrons
Flame Azalea
George L. Taber Azalea
Roseum Elegans RhododendronRhododendron (catawba hybrids)All drawn to the same scale.