Silver Edge Rhododendron

Everyone adores rhododendrons in spring, but for the rest of the year they fade into the background, and some gardeners even call them ‘dull’. If you instead want year-round stunning beauty, then choose the Silver Edge Rhododendron. A wonderful shrub even when not blooming, the large leathery leaves are deep green with a striking white margin, making the whole shrub bright and dramatic every day of the year. When spring comes around it really takes off, with big heads of gorgeous soft-purple to lilac-blue blooms that look even more dramatic against that variegated foliage. On top of all that beauty, this is an incredibly tough shrub, surviving and thriving in difficult spots that most other rhododendrons reject. Making a bushy, rounded shrub up to 6 feet tall and wide, this stand-out beauty is perfect as a background for other rhododendrons and azaleas, but also wonderful among all shrubs, and especially effective in the foundation planting around your home, looking year-round bright and cheerful among darker evergreens.

• Striking variegated foliage with every leaf edged in white
• Beautiful spring blooms of lilac-blue
• Bold, rounded form to 6 feet tall and wide
• Very tough and tolerant of poor conditions
• Grows best in acidic soils

The Silver Edge Rhododendron is very tolerant of all light conditions, from full sun to full shade. Tough and hardy, it will grow in poorer soils and darker places than most other rhododendrons, but should still be planted in acidic soil for the best results. The pH value should be 6.0 or less. Richer, moist soils are ideal, so add plenty of lime-free compost, rotted leaves or shredded pine bark and needles. Use this also as mulch to conserve moisture. Water young plants regularly, and older ones as needed in summer. It is hardy in warmer parts of zone 5, and tolerates both cold and heat. Pruning or trimming is not needed, and best avoided, but dead flower heads can be removed by snapping them out just above the top leaves on the stem. Not eaten by deer and normally free of pests or diseases, remove any stems with plain green leaves as soon as they are seen. Toxic to horses and livestock.