FNPS Plant Database

Rhododendron canescens

wild azalea, Piedmont azalea, pinxter azalea
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

wild azalea, Piedmont azalea, pinxter azalea

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Rhododendron canescens

Family:

Ericaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

10-15 ft tall by 10-15 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

pink

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous; blooms in mid-spring. Life span approx. 50 yrs. (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Aroma/Showy Fruitsagrance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant, thicket, or natural background plantings.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Seed or division.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Highly acidic to acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Hummingbirds

Attracts pollinators, especially bumble bees.

Attracts hummingbirds.

Native Habitats:

Upland hardwood forests, flatwoods, by swamps, bluffs, slope forests, secondary woods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Poisonous if eaten.

General Comments:

Citations:

Florida Wildflower Foundation.  https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rhca7.



Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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