Rhododendrons: Catawba Rhododendron (Rhododenron Catawbiense).

This is the first in a series of posts in which we will take a look at some of our native North American Rhododendrons.  Rhododendrons (and their happy sub-genus, Azaleas) occur throughout the continent except on the Great Plains, the eastern interior plains (southern Michigan, western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, etc.), and all of Mexico other than the mountains of northern Baja California.

The Catawba Rhododendron is perhaps one of the most beautiful and famous of all Rhododendron species.  It was triumphantly paraded around to wealthy plant hungry patrons in both the New and Old Worlds, and then cross bred with just about any other Rhododendron that would allow for it.  Many of the most beautiful and vibrant species in cultivation today owe their primal botanical existence to the Catawba.  Many are hybrids that have been crossed with Himalayan or Black Sea species, while many others are cultivars of the original.  Most of these children of the original grow in habitats far removed from their mother groves, often forced instead to dwell in shade instead of the open sunny spots they are proper to.  Don't feel bad for them though, as they make their tenders irrigate them and probably laugh (however plants laugh) when they see gardeners struggle to acidify their soil to their liking.

It is a lovely tree, and I say that with certainty, as it can grow to fantastic proportions beyond the range of most shrubs.

Roan

Roan

Roan

It certainly has a trunk and branch structure worthy of being called a tree.  One of the most amazing things to do in a Rhododendron bald is to actually walk into and under the canopy and see the underlying "bones" of the heath forest.

Roan, albeit it gets really awesome to do this at Craggy Gardens, where the immensity of the older plants just swallows the traveler whole.

Of course, the real stars of the show would be the flowers:

Roan, and Roan for the next six.  Seriously, go to Roan.

Even when just getting ready to bloom they look pretty nice.

That said, the leaves are pretty amazing, too.  They are stay green and alive on the trees even in the harsh points of winter, where they roll up and close tighter to conserve moisture.  The leaves are not particularly big, at least not as big as tomorrow's featured Rhododendron, the Rosebay, but they can get up to about six inches or so.  They are a lovely deep green, not too fancy, but bearing an elegant simplicity.  They mostly stand somewhat erect from the plants, although some droop, and in the winter they do so while tightly rolled.  Part of their appeal to this particular northern gardener is that they are one of the few large plants that do stay green year round in a colder climate, learning perhaps from the spruces that being able to photosynthesize once things head into the upper fifties is pretty advantageous in a land where the mercury takes its sweet time getting there.  They also don't have to mess around with losing and expending too many nutrients to keep shedding and growing new leaves so often, another advantage in a place where the soil is far from garden rich.

 In our last post we explored some of the finest natural settings for the Catawba, namely Roan Summit and it surrounding ridges. 

Roan

More Roan

We explored how it grows on the open, grassy balds, in some places almost dominating the scene, as it does on some places at Roan, and more so at, well, "heath balds" like Craggy Gardens:

It's the shorter looking lighter green stuff.  I know, I know, it would be easier to see in flower, but it was done doing so this "low", a mere 5,500 feet.

In such places, it can form a forest unto itself, as at Craggy Gardens:

And yet in other places content to grow as islands of floral ornament amongst the grasses, sedges, and other fun high-altitude Appalachian stuff.

Roan

Roan

It also sticks around down as far as a mere 200 feet in parts of North Carolina, but it seems to like the conditions past 4500 feet the best.  Down past the spruces and firs, where the deciduous forest begins to dominate, a few decent sized specimens grow among the leaf-shedders:

Not sure where, probably along the Blue Ridge Parkway between Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell, but if you were wondering what those awesome other trees are, they would be American Mountain Ash (Sorbus Americana).

Off of the road to Mt. Mitchell, around 5,200 feet.

But they get fairly common and just really tend to stand out among the spruces.  While not as prolific or large among the conifers as they are alone on the open balds, the Catawbas seem to be an integral element of the spruce-fir forests.

Just below the summit of Mt. Mitchell, probably about 6,500 feet up at this location.  And yes, that is another American Mountain Ash, a tree at home both with the leaf-shedders and evergreens. 

That said, they can definitely handle the dark shade of such places, which is not surprising from a plant that can handle some decent winter chills of as low as -34F and practically grow out of rocks:

Rhododendron Catawbiense, v. "Chandelier".  Cultivar made by God.

On the slopes of Mt. Mitchell.  I think this was closer to 6,200 feet.

For the most part, they do indeed have to put up with cold, or at least coolness.  Their peak performance happens in areas that never really break 70F and feature January days akin to what one would find in Detroit or Buffalo.  Like many spruces and other "mountain" vegetation, it seems to do well in such places, but it needs some of the comforts of home; it can't take low elevation baking summer sun, and it definitely needs an acidic soil like its spruce-needle laden mountain turf.  Its moderate to low temperature preferences, along with soil needs and forest associations have long made me wonder why this or most Rhododendrons do not range further north into the Canadian Appalachians and Laurentians.  Perhaps it is because the northern winters are much more severe than the relatively wetter and warmer southern high-altitude Appalachians, and that is pretty much where the Catawbas stay, disappearing from sight largely in northern Virginia. 

One thing is certain, however, and that is that they and their children are extremely popular and have found their way into many gardens, even in alkaline Michigan gardens! 

Roan!

To see them in the wild, head to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Roan Mountain, Mt. Mitchell, Craggy Gardens, or many other 4500 foot + areas in that general region of the world.  To see them bloom, the second week of June is good for elevations lower than 5,500 feet, and the third week better for those above.