There are several in my inherited garden. IME, the growth is pretty robust for a rhododendron. Because of their siting I often need to prune mine back after flowering and they are back to where they were by the following season. But they are also probably a good 30+ years old as well.

Stunning when in bloom. One of my favorites and I am not a big rhody fan :-)

Thanks for the info!

By robust, do you mean around 8-10 inches of growth, or less? If your Rhodies have grown at least 6 inches I think I'll take the leap and buy the ones at the nursery tomorrow.

Typically there is one flush per year on rhododendrons. So you can look at the individual plants being considered and see how fast they have been growing. Although long established examples growing in the ground may often have more vigor than small nursery plants. Otherwise the half a foot per year approximation is about right - for the most vigorous shoots on this variety (like other shrubs each rhododendron plant consists of a mix of shoots of varying size and vigor).

In our region you could have asked "Does anyone not have 'Jean Marie'?" because this one has a past history of being popular. Of being the "Mother's Day rhododendron" because it blooms at about that time. A time when a lot of Mother's Day gifts have been bought at independent garden centers in the past.

Looks like there's a couple of them here on my new place. Before that I lived for decades with one at the old place. A flattish plant top with long branches, bright yellowish stems and stalks that contrast with the blackish green of the leaves are hallmarks. As are the bright red flowers - which will unfortunately fade and collapse fairly readily if open sunny weather occurs at flowering time. And plants are in sunny positions. So I would keep this in mind as well as the table like habit when siting. And not try to force the plants into being rounded or otherwise more orthodox in shape.

"And not try to force the plants into being rounded or otherwise more orthodox in shape."

This is so true!! It is not a neat and tidy rounded rhody....it has its own ideas about how it want to grow. More of a sprawling octopus in my garden :-) Also very true about the flowering. It seems like a stretch of bright, sunny, warm weather arrives at the same time the flowers open - they look gorgeous one day and are finished the next. Fortunately two of mine are situated immediately across my entry patio from the sliding doors, so very visible for that rather temporary enjoyment.

I am curious to see the show this year. One of these very conspicuous specimens got mangled in a major way by a falling trees this winter and has need a lot of pruning.

Thanks to you both for the additional info. Because of your descriptions of growth pattern, and more research on my part, I decided to go with English Roseum instead. They'll be better for the spot where we need more height than width and will look great with the other flowering shrubs and trees we have in the spring. But I do have another area I may try the Jean Marie since we have too many deciduous shrubs on this property and need a little more privacy.

The descriptions 'table-like habit' and 'sprawling octopus' were perfect visuals! :-)