Rhododendrons are my first love. I came on this ornamental plant world at about age fifty when I happened upon a little rhododendron nursery in Ashford, Connecticut. The owner, Barbara Prothero, worked for Dr. Gustav Mehlquist, a geneticist and famous Rhody breeder at University of Connecticut. Until that time my growing experience was strictly limited to Swiss chard, Big Boy tomatoes and Kentucky Wonder beans. Queen of the Vegetable Garden—I went home with my first Rhody, a yakushimanum species and that was that!
I propagate and grow a great variety of Rhodies, some from older collections in Connecticut and many newer varieties. We can now have shades of yellow, big and little, dark as night purples, blood red ones, late, early, and Rhodies two to ten feet tall.
I invite everyone to come up and enjoy the show April through June. The nursery has gardens full of Rhododendrons aYou don’t have to spend a cent! Just come to see the show.
~ Carol Yee
Rhododendron ‘Aglo’ (Mezitt)
4′ Bright pink. Sun tolerant lepidote.
Rhododendron ‘Al’s Red’ (Al Juknis)
8×10′ -20F Black/red buds open to purple/red similar to ‘Fracesca’.
Rhododendron ‘Anna H. Hall’ (Leach)
3′ -20F Dark pink bud/ White flowers.
Rhododendron ‘Baden Baden’ (Hobbie)
2′ -15F Bright green foliage. Bright red flower. Low plant.
Rhododendron ‘Big Deal’ (Mezitt)
4×5′ Zone 5 This plant has silver/yellow winter buds which open to ivory flowers with a green/yellow blotch. Dense branching on a wide but compact plant.
Rhododendron ‘Blue Baron’ (Mezitt)
4×5′ Zone 5 This plant has silver/yellow winter buds which open to ivory flowers with a green/yellow blotch. Dense branching on a wide but compact plant.
Rhododendron ‘Calsap’ (Michener)
5′ Zone 5 White/burgundy blotch. ‘Sappho’ flower on more compact plant.
Rhododendron ‘Capistrano’ (Leach)
5′ -20F Latest release of a pretty good yellow.
Rhododendron ‘Catawbiense Album Hybrid’ (Mehlquist)
One of Rhododendron Mehlquist’s unnamed plants. Probably beautiful.
Rhododendron ‘Cornell Pink’
5′ -25F Bright pink. The best early lepidote. Well known in UCONN area.
Rhododendron ‘Cunningham’s White’ (Cunningham 1850)
4′ -15F Pink buds and white flower with green flare.
Rhododendron ‘Dorothy Swift’ (Mehlquist)
3′ -25F Pink buds with white flowers. Tight mound.
Rhododendron ‘Dreamland’ (Waterer)
4×4′ Zone 6 Soft pink with dark edges. Silvery new growth.
Rhododendron ‘Firestorm’ (Mehlquist)
3′ -25F Many red buds. Three and a half inch flowers.
Rhododendron ‘Golfer’ (Berg)
18″ -15F Tight pink bell truss. Leaves covered with white tomentosum for a year.
Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Fantastica’ (Hachmann)
3×3′ Zone 5 Rose pink flower with white edges. A favorite bicolor Rhododendron.
Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Kalinka’ (Hachmann)
3×3′ Zone 5 Bright red buds open rose with yellow green blotch. Glossy leaves with brown indumentum underneath.
Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Trocadero’ (Hachmann)
4×4′ Zone 6 A late blooming dark green leaved plant with bright red flowers.
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Rhododendron ‘Hellikki’ (Finland)
4′ -35F Lavender/pink flower. Iindumentum on new growth.
Rhododendron ‘Helsinki University’ (University of Helsinki)
5′ -40F Bright pink flowers flecked with red.
Rhododendron ‘Henry’s Red’
(Mezitt) 5×5′ -20F 12-15 carmine red flowers per truss. Blooms late May.
Rhododendron ‘Independence’ (Rhododendron Maximum)
6×6′ Zone 5 This native rhody has dark green leaves red stems and a tight habit. It flowers late June into July with dark pink flowers sparkling with a yellow flare. Roger Coggshall and Evelyn King of Syringa Plus promote this plant as one of the very best maximums. I agree. N
Rhododendron ‘Ingrid Mehlquist’ (Mehlquist)
2 1/2′ -25F Compact dark green dwarf. Pink bud with white flower and pink stamens.My favorite Mehlquist. RG
Rhododendron ‘Ken Janeck’
(Janeck) (Cary Award) 3′ -20F Tight. Great foliage. Fawn indumentum. Pink bud with white flower.
Rhododendron ‘Laetivirens’
(Wilsoni)(carolinianum x ferrugineum) 2′ -15F Rosy pink flowers. PT says tight enough to make a topiary. RG
Rhododendron ‘Landmark’ (Weston)
4′ -15F Nearly red large trusses. Bronze winter foliage lepidote.
Rhododendron ‘Lemon Dream’
3×4′ Zone 6 Soft yellow flowers on nice compact plant. Dark rounded leaves.
Rhododendron ‘Lenape’
(Guyencourt series-Nearing) 3′ -10F Light yellow flower with small oblong soft hairy leaves.
Rhododendron ‘Mardi Gras’
(Bovee) 2 1/2′ -20F Three inch pink/white blush. Orange indumentum. Really beautiful little plant.
Rhododendron ‘Mary Flemming’
Salmon/pink/white frilly early flowers. Nearly one inch flowers are campanulate with wavy edges. Cream flushed strong to light purplish pink with darker blotch in throat. Each bud has 2 or 3 flowers. Multiple buds grouped together.
Rhododendron ‘Maxicat’
(Gable) 6′ -25F Delicate pink. Crinkly dark foliage. Vigorous. June bloom. maximumxcatawbiense
Rhododendron ‘Midnight Ruby’
(Mezitt) 1 1/2′ -20F Red/purple with yellow eye. Frilled lepidote. Early. Dark leaves.
Rhododendron ‘Mikkeli’ (University of Helsinki)
4′ -40F Lush foliage. White flowers pink blush. Great vigorous plant. Second photo shows detail of leaf form.
Rhododendron ‘Mist Maiden’ (Leach)
3′ -20F Pink indices. Silver new growth. yak selection.
Rhododendron ‘New Century’
From Weston Nursery. Clusters of clear yellow flowers with darker centers on compact plant. Late May.
Rhododendron ‘Nova Zembla’
(Koster) 5′ -25F Vigorous red. Old standard.
Rhododendron ‘Patty Bee’
(Berg) 1 1/2′ -10F Bright yellow. Tiny leaves. Heat/Sun Tolerant
Rhododendron ‘Pearce’s American Beauty’ (Pearce)
6′ -10F Beet-red flowers with yellow spots. 18 flowers per truss.
Rhododendron ‘Percy Wiseman’ (Waterer)
3′ -15F Pink bud. White/yellow flowers. Compact. Reliable bloomer.
Rhododendron ‘Pink Butterflies’ (Dexter)
7′ -15F Rhododendron maximum hybrid of unknown origin. Pink/yellow/white. Late June. Flowers look like butterflies.
Rhododendron ‘Polarnacht’
2×5′ Zone 6 From Germany (Hans Hachman). A low spreader with purple flowers so dark they look black! June
Rhododendron Raise the Roof ‘Buzzer Beater’
(Mehlquist-Brand) (Catalgla F3 x {Jalisco Group x yak}) 8×12′ -25F Late May bloom. Pale yellow/orange with deep green/yellow flare. Huge truss.
Rhododendron Raise the Roof ‘Hoopla’
(Mehlquist-Brand) catalgla F3 x (haematodes x yakushimanum) 6’x8′ -25 degrees Huge trusses of yellow/pink flowers.
Rhododendron Raise the Roof ‘Slam Dunk’
(Mehlquist-Brand) (Code 58-2{parentage unknown} x ‘Sefton’) 7×10′ -25F Deep wine colored flower with black blotch. Wavy leaf and petals.
Rhododendron Raise the Roof ‘Tip Off’
(Mehlquist-Brand) (Chionoides x calophytum) (‘Stubborn Swede’) 8’x10′ -25F Pink bud opens to huge white flower with burgundy flare. Long leaves.
Rhododendron Raise the Roof ‘March Madness’
(Mehlquist-Brand) (purpureum x calophytum) 8×10′ -25F Purple/rose flower with red blotc. Wavy. Scented. huge truss in late March.
Rhododendron ‘Scintillation’ (Dexter)
6′ -15F Strong pink flowers with yellow blotch. Great foliage. The Standard!
Rhododendron ‘Shaazam’ (Yates)
4′ Zone 5 3 3/4″ neon pink flowers with yellow blotch. Ten flowers to a truss.
Rhododendron ‘Skookum’ (Larson)
3′ -20F Scarlet dome truss. White filaments. REALLY RED!
Rhododendron ‘Sunsplash’ (Weston Nursery)
4×4′ Zone 5 Unusual leaves splotched and streaked with pink and yellow variegation. Needs good light to show colors. Flowers are lavender.
Rhododendron ‘Teddy Bear’ (Briggs)
2′ -10F Pink/white. Orange indumentum and tomentum on new growth.
Rhododendron ‘Towhead’ (Leach)
1′ -20F Yellow flowers. Sweet plant. RG BON
Rhododendron ‘Wintonbury’ (Serbin) (PT)
3’x3′ Zone 5 Compact yak hybrid. Bronze new growth. Soft pink cup shaped flowers in April.
Rhododendron Makinoi
3′ -10F Long narrow seven inch leaves. Heavy indumentum. Two inch white/pink flowers. RG
Rhododendron maximum ‘Independence Day’
8’x8′ -15F Blooms light red on July 4th.
Rhododendron maximum ‘Red Max’
6′ -15F From Mount Mitchell. Rose/red. Given to Polly Hill.
Rhododendron ‘Cherry Cheesecake’
4 x 4′ – Zone 5 – Thick stems/branches/ unique huge flowers white/red edge/maroon blotch. Part Shade, good, moist soil.
Rhododendron ‘Holdens Solar Flair’
3 x 3′ – Zone 5 – May-June Red buds open yellow with red throat Good soil, part shade.
Rhododendron ‘Rangoon’
3×4′ – Zone 4 – Deep green leathery leaves. Compact, spreading/ red flowers late May. Oriental look.
Rhododendron ‘Skookum’
3×4′- Zone 4 – Compact plant blooms vibrant red in May. Moist soil. Sun/part shade.
Rhododendron ‘Olga Mezitt’
5×5′- Zone 4 – Classic small leaved Lepidote Rhody blooms vivid peachy pink late May-June. Sun/shade.
Rhododendron ‘Purple Gem’
18×30″ – Zone 4 – Dense, tiny leaved large purple trussed Rhody perfect for front of Garden or Borders. Pt Sun.
Rhododendron ‘Sugar Puff’
4×4′ – Zone 5 – Reddish stems on dense Lepidote. One of first to bloom masses of puffy white flowers.
Rhododendron maximum (Native Rosebay)
Rhododendron maximum (EUS Native Rosebay Rhododendron) 10’ x 8’ Zone 3 Rose/pink/white July bloom • Can grow 12”/year • Shade/sun in Maine • Moist soil • Bees/Butterflies