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| What Are Rhododendrons | |||
| The genus rhododendron is in the ericaceous family. It is made up of hundreds of species which encompasses lepidotes (scaly leaf rhododendrons), elepidotes (non scaly leaf rhododendrons) as well as deciduous and evergreen azaleas.
Lepidotes are sometimes referred to as small leaf rhododendrons. There are many species in this group and they occur in the tropics (vireya rhododendrons) to the arctic. Lepidotes may be evergreen (in warm to moderately cold areas) or deciduous (in the coldest areas). Vireyas can not tolerate frost, so in most of the USA they are greenhouse plants. They do not bloom on any particular schedule. Most other lepidotes tend to bloom in the spring. In New Jersey, they bloom in early April through mid May. Elepidotes typically have the large, leathery leaves one expects when thinking of a rhododendron. There are many species in this group also. They occur in many regions throughout the world, but most are from Asia. In the northern hemisphere, some species and their hybrids bloom quite early (late February) but most bloom in May with a few continuing into June to early July. Elepidotes tend to have flowers in large clusters or trusses and can be quite spectacular. The flowers may be white, yellow, pink, red, purple, intermediates of these colors, or mixtures of colors. Deciduous azaleas are found in many parts of the world. Deciduous means that they lose their leaves in the winter. Most come into bloom in the spring before new leaves develop. They tend to very cold hardy, in fact they may require cold weather for their normal life cycle. Their flowers tend to be a large number of individual blossoms. The blossoms may be delicate or huge. The colors may be subtle or brilliant, primarily as white, yellow, orange, pink, red or intermediate shades as a single color to wild mixtures of color. In the mountains in the southeastern USA there are extensive populations of native deciduous azaleas, both as species and as natural hybrids. |