Rhododendron

A large, rounded, multi-stemmed broadleaf evergreen shrub of the southern Appalachians — typically 6-10 feet tall (rarely to 20) with glossy dark green leaves and showy compact terminal trusses of 15-20 funnel-shaped lavender-pink flowers in mid to late spring. Native from Virginia to Kentucky south to Georgia and Alabama, where it forms dense thickets on rocky high-elevation slopes and ridges. Prefers cool summers, acidic moist-but-well-drained soil, and part shade; all parts are highly toxic if ingested.

A tall, erect, multi-stemmed native deciduous azalea of the lower southeastern United States, prized for clouds of intensely fragrant golden-yellow to apricot-orange tubular flowers that open in early to mid spring just as the leaves emerge. One of the more heat- and humidity-tolerant native azaleas, it forms an open, upright shrub 8-10 feet tall that reads as a small flowering tree in maturity. It wants part shade, acidic humus-rich soil, and consistent moisture; like every Rhododendron, all parts are toxic if eaten.

A native eastern North American deciduous shrub azalea with fragrant pink-to-white tubular spring flowers borne in clusters just as leaves emerge. Among the most cold-tolerant native deciduous azaleas; tolerates more shade than evergreen azaleas and serves as a high-value early-spring native nectar plant.