I would like a type of Rhodo under 4 feet that tolerates quite a lot of sun. I'm looking for blossoms that are either white, cream or pink. I want very hardy plants as I'm going to plant 3 or 4 as a backdrop of a small memorial garden for my terminally ill brother. I prefer a mid-green foliage, as wide as possible. I want evergreens and not Azaleas. The Rhodos will be against a 3', rather open fence on the west side of my WPGrey front garden (Southern exposure). There is very light shade later in the day. Thanks very much for any suggestions. From "garner".
You might consider Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel) as an alternative broadleaf evergreen for your site. It sounds much too sunny for Rhododendrons, which even if they survive the summer sunshine are likely to be badly sun burned every winter and therefore look terrible a lot of the time. Kalmia meets your colour and size criteria, but actually requires some sunshine to bloom well in the PNW. It is slower growing than most Rhodos so won't outgrow it's location. The clusters of flowers with their pleated buds are really lovely and unusual and it blooms in late spring. Be sure to mulch it well to keep the roots cool. Abelia 'Edward Goucher' would be another great option for your site. It has pretty soft pink tubular flowers all summer long. The new leaves are coppery and the whole srub has a more airy delicate look than most other BLEs. It really likes a sunny location. Another option would be to choose some of the newer low varieties of Pieris. There are many lovely ones available with pink, white or cream flowers and they are much more sun tolerant than rhodos.
Thanks very much, Denis and Teresa. I love mountain laurel and have one in the back garden that's grown quite large, as well as 2 normal size peiris. I didn't know they tolerate sun. Many peiris seem to be "sooty" in this neighbourhood. Is this normal? I will look into the Abelia 'Edward Goucher' also. My plan was to move my 3 'Johnson Blue' geraniums in front of my new plants and then annuals in front of those. East of the bed is some lawn and an enormous, very old, magnificent Pee Gee hydrangea tree with lower branches removed. Thanks again. Garner
