Azaleas and rhododendrons are the mainstays of woodland gardens. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, ranging from ground covers to towering shrubs. They’re naturally well formed, requiring little in the way of pruning and shaping, and their foliage is beautiful, bringing them to the forefront of any garden even when they are not in bloom. In spring, they’re stunning, with their masses of blooms in shades of white, gold, pink, red, and blue.
Azaleas (shown above right) are the more adaptable. They can be grown along most of the West Coast and into eastern Washington and Idaho; there are even some small areas in Utah and Colorado where they’ll thrive.Their growing range in the eastern half of the country is even larger, stretching from Maine to Michigan in the north and from central Florida to Texas in the south. Not all varieties will grow in all places, but you’re sure to find plants that will work in your garden.
Rhododendrons (shown below right) thrive in fewer parts of the country, but where they do grow, they are spectacular. The Pacific Northwest and along the northern California fogbelt are two prime locations.
In the eastern U.S., rhododendrons do well along the coast from Maine to northern Virginia, and grow inland as far west as the southern Great Lakes and south along the mountains to northern Georgia.
Hardier rhododendrons are being grown from Ohio to Illinois and through southern Missouri to northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
In the west, these same rhododendrons are making appearances in gardens in the Central Valley of California, around Salt Lake City, and near Denver.
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