PNW Native
Ranges on the Western side of the Cascades from Southern British Columbia to Northern California (C )
Shrubs grow up to 8 m / 25 ft tall but often remain shorter. Bushes are multi-branched and often much wider than they are tall. The attractive, blush pink rhododendron flowers are composed of a single, 5-lobed, bell-shaped, and 1-2 in / 4 – 6 cm wide in large terminal clusters at the ends of branches. Leaves are alternate, evergeen, simple, 3 – 7 in / 8 – 20 cm long, and pointed. Fruits are small woody capsules. (PM)
In the Coast Ranges, Pacific rhododendron shrubs are choice browse for mountain beaver. Thickets provide thermal protection for small and large game. (C ) Pacific rhododendron seems to like a specific rock present in the Oregon coast ranges: nepheline syenite, which is present in the Oregon Coast Ranges. Dense thickets of rhododendron form on this rock. Flowers are most profuse on rhododendron bushes in forest margins or open sunlight. In local forests, rhododendron has a wide tolerance for different levels of moisture and light exposure and forms an important shrub layer in forest understories. Pacific rhododendron colonizes burn sites readily after fire. (PM)
Pacific rhododendron is the state flower of Washington, the location of Shoreline Community College campus. On the Kitsap Peninsula, there is a weeklong rhododendron festival during the height of their bloom, and there is an internationally recognized rhododendron garden in Federal Way. (C) Pacific rhododendrons bloom at the same time in late spring as other cultivated rhododendron and azalea species, often resulting in very colorful garden displays. (PM)
Pacific rhododendron can protect soil from erosion in steep riparian environments. (C) They are used as a drought-resistant ornamental planting and are commercially available in white and pink. (C) Native plants such as Pacific rhododendron make excellent drought-resistant and low-maintenance plantings.
[1] Crane, M. F. 1990. Rhododendron macrophyllum. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/rhomac/all.html.
