Sweet Azalea
Rhododendron arborescens
Sweet azalea is a deciduous native azalea of Appalachian streamsides, prized for intensely fragrant white-to-blush flowers with showy red stamens in early summer and good fall color. A choice shrub for moist, acidic shade.
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 8–20 ft
- Spacing
- 8–20 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- June, July
- Bloom colors
- white, pink
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~51 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen
- Native states
- AL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, NY, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV
Related native plants
More Rhododendron species
- Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
- Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)
- Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
- Pacific Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum)
- Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)
- Flame Azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum)