You don't say how much shade...too much is going to result in a leggy sprawly plant whether the flowers (they won't set buds) are of interest to you or not :)

There really are no rhododendrons that could be described as fast growing - they are slow to moderate at best and there isn't any way to speed them up. They put out one only flush of active growth each year, takes place immediately after flowering. That predicted size you will find on the plant tags in nurseries is the approximate size that could be expected in 10 yrs time.

The type of rhododendron you are asking about is elepidote. Elepidotes are large leaved rhododendrons and some tend to be very large shrubs at maturity - but none will reach maturity quickly.

Some ideas here -

Here is a link that might be useful: Connecticut Chapter Proven Performers

The areas is undeneath the treeline in front of a fence

I dont care if the plant is a bit sprawly. Are some rhododendrons more likely to set flowers in low light than others? I really like the way the foliage looked on that particular rhododendron. Had an intersting tropical look. Scintillation is listed as 4-5' after 10 years. There has go to be something that grows faster than that!! I doubt i can buy 20 year old rhodos lol.

Right now there is a ugly small tree (i think or bush) in that area and there used to be poision ivy sourounding it which i got rid off. Im going to get rid of that ugly plant too and replace it with a big rhoddendron. That thing survived alot of rotting a few years ago and is regrowing out in places so its very very ugly and its not an evergreen anyways. I planted some dwarf bamboo around it and will put some virginia creeper farther down and along the fence or maybe english ivy which is evergreen if it wont be to invasive in this area and can grow in the thick leaf litter.

Okay i want a rhodo with large dark shiny leaves not small matte ones like that first one you mentioned. I also want one like 10ft or taller not 5ft.

zone 6a

The height quoted is at 10 years from rooting the cutting. To get a taller plant you will have to buy a mature plant or wait. There are nurseries around that have them. They are not cheap, but still affordable.

The tallest Zone 6 rhododendron are listed as 7' in 10 years:

Caracatus: Red flowers, leaves up to 5" long, dull, dark green, deeply veined. Needs some shade.

Lady Eleanor Cathcart: Pink flowers, leaves up to 4" long, dull, dark green, rust-colored indumentum. Dome-shaped large bush or small tree.

Spicy Nutmeg: Pink flowers, leaves 5" to 6" long, glossy, moderate olive green, retained 3 years.

Broken Arrow and Twomblys are two CT nurseries which generally have large size rhododendrons - I'm sure there are others as well. Rarefind Nursery in NJ also has them and will ship. Be prepared to pay a good deal for one in the size you're looking for.

Rhodendron species maximum and its hybrid Maxecat will grow to 20 feet or more and have the kind of leaves you seek. Lee's Dark Purple and Cynthia are large old time hybrids with the reputation for decent bloom in dense shade. Both are large growers. In fact, most of the old Iron Clad hybrids and many Joseph Gable hybrids will do what you want. The trend in more recent rhodo hybridization has been toward smaller more compact growers, so you're probably better off with one of the old timers.

Thank you mainegrower.

I might get a maximum or an old hybrid.
Do you know which of the big ones have wide rounded leaves, i dont like the narrow pointed ones as much. It seems like all the rhodo pics online are trusses and almost no foliage though thats what i'll see for the majority of the year.

All of the older rhododendrons I can think of have the oval, paddle shaped leaves. The smaller pointed leaves are usually found on deciduous types.

BTW: I remember once getting semi-lost on a back road in the mountains of North Carolina near Asheville. In a few places rhododendrons had grown into a canopy over the road. Many had to be at least 30 feet tall.

Rarefind nursery has a well illustrated online catalog with good written information about the leaves, but many of them are well depicted in the photos as well.

Hi Mainegrower,
We call those Mountain Laurels, they have a white bloom with a tinge of pink. Not heavy bloomers though, but they get only the care nature gives them. There is a bunch on the mountain side going down to our creek/branch.

While I can appreciate (and maybe question) this poster's love of 'elipdote's leaf size', I can't help but wonder that his current zealotry has more to do with blocking an eyesore than a love of the species.

It seems that viewing another's garden and large specimen has given him an idea as to fully covering an eyesore on his property. Don't get me wrong. I happen to love the foliage of rhodies in my garden (species, elips, leps and azaleas --- all year round), but when also cites an irrelevance as to flower, it strikes me that this prospective planting is ALL for hiding an eyesore.

Now Rare Finds is probably the place to go based on this poster's NEED to find a large specimen. Hank, God bless him, would always 'listen' to an offer of any of the mature (many are currently 6'+) plants in his own private garden. You'll pay a 'King's Ransom' (at least $500 if not more), with the further issue of 'properly planting a specimen' this size.

Just my honest observations in play here. Seems that a good sized 'Blue Girl/Boy' Holly would do the trick here or any other suitable evergreens.

Hi Mike,

I have a couple of Scintillations that are growing in too much shade, and they also have been in need of moving for the last 20 or so years, since they were planted too closely together and too close to other, taller, rhododendrons too. They do bloom, but the folliage (the lack thereof) leaves a lot to be desired in a too-shady spot.

Anna Rose Whitney is a fast and huge grower that looks kind of wild to me. We have one that is maybe 20 feet tall, though very leggy, especially since it has barely survived some of our droughts by cutting off major branches. It is listed as hardy only down to zero, though, so that might not be a good idea in CT. Mine survived an offical low once of -3, but that was very brief in a somewhat protected situation. Anna Rose Whitney is especially prone to succumbing to a lack of water, even more so than most rhododendrons.

A note on my use of the word "fast" here: if the plant tends to stretch out the distance between its leaf axils but its leaves are huge, it might seem like an ordinary rhododendron, only in a more enlarged size overall. So I'm using "fast" to mean "gets enlarged quickly". I also vaguely recall that in at least one year (when spring came early), I have seen a second flush. That was on Loder's White, which also tends to rebloom every fall, and perhaps on some others too. (The memory is fuzzy now, except that I remember marveling about it to my husband.) But don't expect more than one flush.

County of York is a fairly fast and tall grower. Its leaves are distinctively long, huge, and a bit shinier than many other rhododendrons. The leaves also have an unusual crinkly-puffy quality to them. The Van Veen book lists its hardiness at -15 degrees. It will bloom fairly well in too much shade, and the blooms are gorgeous and slightly fragrant. I wouldn't mind having lots of these plants; they're not hard to grow and their looks are very interesting.

Any of the Catabiense hybrids, which County of York is one of, ought to be plenty hardy, but County of York might grow a bit faster than some of the others.

Any variety starting its name with "Roseum" is also a Catabiense hybrid or cultivar, and some of those have grown fairly rapidly in our yard. Some are listed as hardy down to -25 degrees. We don't have Cynthia, but the fastest growing Catabiense hybrid of all might be that one. Her wild and leggy looks appeal to me for a woodsy setting and it's one I still want. Cynthia is listed as hardy down to -10. The Van Veen book shows a picture of two (only two) long-planted Cynthias growing together that looked maybe thirty feet tall by forty feet wide. All blooming incredibly heavily!

I once had several native Maximums. I kept them for maybe 20 years, and then let them go during one of our droughts. They weren't properly watered but I didn't miss them much when we lost them. I'd advise against this species, for no particular reason other than there are others that you'd like better. There was nothing particularly outstanding or interesting about the folliage (as compared to other rhododendrons), and the small blooms were obscured by the folliage when they did bloom. I had dreams about perhaps doing some hybridizing at one time, or I'd not have kept them that long.

Prediction: you'll end up liking whatever rhododendron you get. Go for it! Just remember to keep whatever you get watered if and when you don't get enough rain.

Best wishes,
Mary

Mary, no sense disparaging the 'Maximum' because of any perceived structural or flowering shortfalls.

I love having my current specimen in the garden, in a fern grove (off of seed from a Mt. Mitchell source and which was a nice 7 gal planting some 3 years ago); what's not to like to have it flowering in mid July up here in the MidAtlantic when most of the rhodie show is over? Sure I have Millenium, Lemon Girl going off then as well, but every plant is a 'winner' in my garden.

Twenty year old Rhodies are available at Rarefind Nursery in Jackson N.J.they sell all size ,age ,and types.A great place to visit if you are interested in Rhodies.

Here's a picture taken two years ago of Cynthia in my garden. It is facing north and not leggy at all. It does get a lot of indirect light though.
The dog is my neighbor's.

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Hi botann,

You posted a gorgeous picture, both of your Cynthia and of your garden. Lovely, lovely! Thanks for posting!

Best wishes,
Mary

I planted a Rhodo Maximum last year and it put on a good 6-8 inches in one year. WIth proper siting and soil the native will get large in a reasonable amount of time. One downside is the new growth tends to slightly obscure the flower, as they are a late bloomer.

They take a half-day morning sun or less. Hardy in Connecticut, and around here in PA we have tons of wild ones that easily reach 20 feet tall in the hardwood/pine mix understory. They are leggy in dappled shade, however, and denser in part sun. I hear they are fussier about soil than some of the hybrids; ours has only been in the ground one year but is looking good in a bed of native soil amended with leaf soil, compost, and a bag or two of pine mulch.

I, too, would like a large rhododendron choice. It appears that I live in rhodie heaven, about 20 miles outside Portland, in a rural setting, at about 1600 ft. We get 60 inches of rain a year, though July and August are dry. The former owner of our property logged most of the Doug fir, but there are still some, and big leaf maple, Oceanspray, Cornus nutalii, Ribes sanguineum, etc abound. I would like to plant some rhododendrons into this woodland setting. Some would be in partial or even full shade and some would have their "backs" exposed to a southern sun although beneath the canopy of several mature firs. Any suggestions? Azaleas? The bigger, the better.

It sounds like you may live near Sandy. You have many rhododendron experts in your area. For a good time, visit Kathy Van Veen. She is close to Reed College and Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Her family has been in the rhododendron business for several generations. Crystal Springs is the premier public rhododendron garden on the West Coast.

Here are some good nurseries out Sandy way and in Portland:

A Sandy Rhododendron, Sandy, OR, 503-668-4830, http://www.rhodo.com

Dover Nursery, Sandy, OR, 503-668-7565, http://www.dovernursery.com

Kurisu Nursery, Portland, OR, 503-244-5137, http://www.kurisu.com/nurs.htm

Liberty Rhododendron, Portland, OR, 503-253-0033,

Teufel Nursery Inc, Portland, OR, 503-646-1111 or 800-483-8335, http://www.teufel.com

Van Veen Nursery, Portland, OR, 503-777-1734, http://www.vanveennursery.com

They are all commercial members of the American Rhododendron Society.