I see conflicting documentation on the mature height of the Cunningham's white rhododendron. We are in northern NJ. The Monrovia shrub is tagged with a max height of 4 feet. I've seen other internet sources listing 5-6 feet. Does anyone have any personal experience with this?
My issue is that these are to be mixed with Snow Queen Oakleaf Hydrangeas and azalea bushes. I did not want the Azalea bushes to out-grow the rhododendrons.
I am looking for a white flowering rhododendron....
Cunningham's white rhododendron
The 10 year height is 4 feet.
http://www.rhododendron.org/descriptionH_new.asp?ID=469
In the 1700s Azaleas were deciduous with five stamens, Rhododendrons were evergreen with ten stamens. A whole spectrum of plants have been discovered. There is no clear distinction.
Lepidotes usually have small leaves and have scales on the bottom of the leaf. Evergreen Azaleas are very similar, but have no scales.
Rhododendron search:
http://www.rhododendron.org/search_multi.htm
Azalea search
http://www.rhododendron.org/search_multi_azalea.htm
The height figure that Montrovia, (and most growers), use is the size that the plant can be expected to be at when 10 years have passed since it was first rooted. of course the plant will continue to grow beyond that height. This merely gives an idea of how fast the plant will grow rather than the ultimate size. The ultimate height will depend on weather and other growing conditions. You can keep the height down by pinching off the the terminal leaf buds in early Spring, or by judicious pruning.
Thanks for the info!!!!