Summary
Pink-shell azalea (Rhododendron vaseyi) is among the first and most beautiful spring flowering native azaleas to bloom, with masses of light pink bell-shaped flowers on leafless stems. This deciduous, irregular rounded shrub reaches 8-12’ tall and grows best in filtered shade to full sun where soils are well-drained and acidic. In autumn, its foliage is transformed from bright green to an intense display of orange and red, thus igniting the garden with color. It is a splendid border shrub to combine with Carolina rhododendron (Rhododendron minus), mountain pieris (Pieris floribunda), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana) or used in masses with Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), sweet white trillium (Trillium simile), and celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum). Zones 4-7.
More Details
- Plant Type
shrub - Sun/Shade Conditions
filtered-shade-to-full-sun - Foliage Character
deciduous - Soil Moisture
average, moist - Flowering Period
early-to-mid-spring - Soil PH
acidic - Flower Color
pink - Summer Foliage Color
green - Fall Foliage Color
orange, red, yellow - Fruit/Seed Color
brown