Index / Search / Rhododendron arborescens
§1 Plant
Rhododendron arborescens (Pursh) Torr.
vernacular smooth azalea — species · Ericaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Ericaceae Juss.
- Genus
- Rhododendron
§2a
Native status, by region
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 149 counties across 11 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- None
- Hedging
- Medium
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -13 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 185 min.
- Precipitation
- 36–55 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.2–5.7
- Root depth
- 12 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Long
- Mature height
- 18 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 18 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Dark Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Dense
- Porosity (winter)
- Moderate
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Seed abundance
- Low
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 528,000
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- Yes
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 149 counties across 11 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 15 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 24 N ▾
- Carroll 13045
- Chattooga 13055
- Cherokee 13057
- Columbia 13073
- Dade 13083
- Dawson 13085
- DeKalb 13089
- Fannin 13111
- Gilmer 13123
- Habersham 13137
- Harris 13145
- Jackson 13157
- Lanier 13173
- Lee 13177
- Macon 13193
- Murray 13213
- Oconee 13219
- Rabun 13241
- Stephens 13257
- Towns 13281
- Union 13291
- Upson 13293
- Walker 13295
- White 13311
Kentucky view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 6 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 1 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Buncombe 37021
- Cherokee 37039
- Cleveland 37045
- Cumberland 37051
- Davidson 37057
- Davie 37059
- Forsyth 37067
- Graham 37075
- Harnett 37085
- Haywood 37087
- Henderson 37089
- Jackson 37099
- Macon 37113
- McDowell 37111
- Montgomery 37123
- Moore 37125
- Orange 37135
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Rutherford 37161
- Stanly 37167
- Swain 37173
- Transylvania 37175
- Union 37179
- Wake 37183
- Watauga 37189
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 13 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 25 N ▾
- Bledsoe 47007
- Blount 47009
- Cocke 47029
- Crockett 47033
- Cumberland 47035
- DeKalb 47041
- Fentress 47049
- Grundy 47061
- Hamilton 47065
- Haywood 47075
- Jackson 47087
- Marion 47115
- McMinn 47107
- McNairy 47109
- Monroe 47123
- Morgan 47129
- Overton 47133
- Polk 47139
- Putnam 47141
- Rhea 47143
- Scott 47151
- Sevier 47155
- Unicoi 47171
- Van Buren 47175
- Washington 47179
Virginia view state ↗ 8 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/RHAR3 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2883054 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T10:50:45Z