Pacific Rhododendron
Rhododendron macrophyllum
Washington's state flower, a stately wild rhododendron lighting the conifer understory with big trusses of rose-pink bells in late spring. Wants acidic, well-drained woodland soil. The leaves are poisonous and the pollen probably so; ingestion can bring on convulsions.
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 15–15 ft
- Spacing
- 4–8 ft apart
- Light
- part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- pink, purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, hummingbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~51 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen
- Native states
- CA, OR, WA
Related native plants
More Rhododendron species
- Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
- Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)
- Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
- Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)
- Flame Azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum)
- Piedmont Azalea (Rhododendron canescens)