Index / Search / Rhododendron canadense

§1 Plant

Rhododendron canadense (L.) Torr.

vernacular rhodora — species · Ericaceae


USDA
RHCA6
GBIF
2883070
Rank
species
rhodora (Rhododendron canadense)
Platephotograph · Kari PihlaviitaCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Ericaceae Juss.
Genus
Rhododendron
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b

County-level range

· 75 counties across 8 states/territories
Legend Native · 75 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Low
Moisture use
High
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
None
Hedging
Medium
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-23 °F minimum
Frost-free days
120 min.
Precipitation
35–50 in/yr
pH range
4–5.3
Root depth
16 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
12 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Dark Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Dense
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
Yes
N fixation
None
Toxicity
Slight
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Low
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
5,000,000
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 75 counties across 8 states/territories.

Maine view state ↗ 16 N
Massachusetts view state ↗ 12 N
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N
New Jersey view state ↗ 5 N
New York view state ↗ 13 N
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 9 N
Rhode Island view state ↗ 2 N
Vermont view state ↗ 8 N

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/RHCA6 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2883070 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T10:50:45Z