Flame Azalea
Rhododendron calendulaceum
The glory of the southern Appalachians, blazing orange to scarlet across the mountainsides in late spring. Unscented but unrivaled for sheer flower color.
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 4–8 ft
- Spacing
- 8–10 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- May, June
- Bloom colors
- red, orange, yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, mammals, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~51 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, GA, KY, NC, OH, 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)
- Piedmont Azalea (Rhododendron canescens)