White Catawba Rhododendron

If you live in the northeast, and think – perhaps from experience – that rhododendrons are hard to grow well, think again. Yes, some are, but if you choose one of the ‘ironclad’ varieties, you will enjoy a beautiful spring garden, even if your winters are harsh and your summers hot. Imagine, as spring finally arrives, watching the buds on your bush slowly swell, turning a wonderful, radiant soft pink. As they open completely they are snow-white, shining across the garden, and brightening the shade beneath the newly-emerged leaves of the trees overhead. What a glorious sight – and evidence that you are growing the White Catawba Rhododendron. This bush has beauty in its heart, and toughness in its genes, as it is a variety of one of our native species, evolved over millennia to thrive in our difficult climate. Growing into a bushy, 6-foot shrub in just a few years, it will mature as much as 10 feet tall one day. Rounded, naturally bushy, and generous in flowering, the tough, leathery leaves also make it an attractive evergreen for the time it isn’t in flower.

• Super-tough anf reliable variety, from a native species
• Soft pink buds open to pure-white glory
• Rounded bush, typically 6 feet tall, growing taller in time
• Resistant to both winter cold and summer heat
• Grow it in acidic soils for the best results

Although not invincible, the White Catawba Rhododendron is capable of thriving in areas and conditions that would be too much for most other varieties. It isn’t called ‘ironclad’ for nothing. It is very cold-hardy, growing in all but the coldest parts of zone 4. It will take more sun than many others, especially in colder zones, where full sun is just fine, as long as the soil isn’t too dry in summer. In warmer areas plant where it has afternoon shade in summer, or, perhaps the ideal, under the broken shade of overhead deciduous trees. Plant it in acidic soil, ones with a pH value of no more than 6.5 – lower is better, but this variety is one that will tolerate higher pH levels than many others. Dig in plenty of lime-free compost or shredded pine bark and needles, and use more as mulch.