Index / Search / Rhododendron canescens

§1 Plant

Rhododendron canescens (Michx.) Sweet

vernacular mountain azalea — species · Ericaceae


USDA
RHCA7
GBIF
7657461
Rank
species
mountain azalea (Rhododendron canescens)
Platephotograph · Laura ClarkCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§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

· 338 counties across 12 states/territories
Legend Native · 338 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
Medium
Fire
Low
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Medium
CaCO₃
None
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-13 °F minimum
Frost-free days
200 min.
Precipitation
32–50 in/yr
pH range
4.3–5.8
Root depth
14 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
14 ft
Height @ 20 y
13 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
Slight
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
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 338 counties across 12 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 54 N
Arkansas view state ↗ 12 N
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N
Florida view state ↗ 23 N
Georgia view state ↗ 81 N
Kentucky view state ↗ 1 N
Louisiana view state ↗ 35 N
Mississippi view state ↗ 46 N
North Carolina view state ↗ 4 N
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 11 N
South Carolina view state ↗ 25 N
Tennessee view state ↗ 45 N

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/RHCA7 ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/7657461 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z