Rhododendrons in the Legacy Garden

Many people throughout the Northwest are familiar with the rhododendron, which they should be since the state flower of Washington is the Pacific rhododendron, R. macrophyllum (OL06), which means “rose tree with large leaves.” This rhododendron grows in the wild from British Columbia, Canada to southern California. The flowers are typically various shades of pink and mauve, with the occasional white. 

Rhod. Macrophyllum

Rhododendrons that have great interest in the Legacy garden are the spiderleaf rhodie,  Rhododendron stenopetalum ‘Linearifolium’ (OL10), which looks nothing like what you picture a rhododendron to look like. For more fun with rhododendron leaves, look for R. ‘Teddy Bear’ (OL10) whose leaves are a glossy dark green with teddy bear brown indumentum (fuzzy “hairs” on the underside of a leaf) or R. bureavii (OL11) whose thick wooly indumentum turns a rusty red with age.