Bubble Gum Rhododendron
Height: 3 feet
Spread: 3 feet
Sunlight: full sun- partial shade
Hardiness Zone: 5b
Description:
Single pink blooms, small foliage, and showy red stems set this variety apart; low compact habit is great for low border; flowers appear larger against the small foliage giving a greater visual impact as an accent shrub
Ornamental Attributes:
Bubble Gum Rhododendron is covered in stunning clusters of lightly-scented pink trumpet-shaped flowers with white throats and brown anthers at the ends of the branches in mid spring. It has dark green foliage. The small narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour.
Landscape Attributes:
Bubble Gum Rhododendron is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Bubble Gum Rhododendron is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- General Garden Use
- Mass Planting
- Container Planting
Plant Characteristics:
Bubble Gum Rhododendron will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the leaves in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location.
Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder zones.
This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.
