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

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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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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

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:

FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (Undated). Plant Database: Rhododendron canescens (Mountain azalea). ( https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rhca7 ). Accessed 2026. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.


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


Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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