# Catawba Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense)

> Lilac-purple trusses of 15 to 20 flowers open in late spring on an evergreen shrub of Appalachian ridges, parent of the hardy garden rhododendrons.

Also called Catawba rosebay, mountain rosebay, purple laurel, purple rhododendron, red laurel. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/catawba-rhododendron/

![Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) lilac-pink flower trusses among leathery evergreen leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/catawba-rhododendron-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARhododendron_catawbiense_-_Flickr_-_pellaea.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 6 to 10 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 8
- Grows wild in: The Appalachians, rocky ground, rich moist slopes and the forest understory
- Native range: 8 states, north to West Virginia, south to Georgia and west to Alabama (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia). Also recorded in 1 other state, outside its native range
- Sun: Part, Shade, Full
- Soil moisture: Average
- Growth rate: Slow
- Traits: Evergreen, Showy flowers, Hedge or screen, Tolerates shade, Wildlife value, Winter interest
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed.

## Notes

Catawba rhododendron is the evergreen rhododendron of the southern Appalachian ridges and balds, where its thickets were once said to be passable only along old bear tracks. Taken to Britain in 1809, it became a parent of the hardy hybrid rhododendrons in gardens today. It flowers earlier than our rosebay rhododendron, with lilac-purple rather than pink-white trusses, and it takes more sun. Mass it along a shaded woodland edge, where its leaves screen the view all year.

## Size, growth and what to expect

It grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. In gardens it reaches 6 to 10 feet and spreads 8 to 12, often wider than tall. Some plants reach 20 feet.

Trusses of 15 to 20 lilac-purple flowers, marked green to yellow-brown in the throat, open from April to June. Each flower is about 2.5 inches across. The capsules show from July to October and ripen in fall. Its thickets give birds shelter and nesting sites.

It grows wild from Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky south to Georgia and Alabama. Its home is rocky slopes, ridges and balds up to about 6,500 feet. It has also escaped from gardens in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

## How to grow Catawba Rhododendron

Catawba rhododendron does best in part shade, with morning sun and shelter from hot afternoon sun and winter wind. It takes nearly full shade, and where summers are cool it grows in full sun. It wants an acid, moist soil rich in organic matter that drains well, and it rots in wet clay. Keep it away from walnuts, butternuts, pecans and hickories. Their roots release juglone, which harms rhododendrons. Set plants 8 feet apart and keep them 6 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship potted. Plant dormant plants in early spring or fall, in a hole three times as wide as the root ball and no deeper. Set the top of the ball a touch above grade, and put the native soil back in. Mulch every year with pine needles or wood chips, kept off the stems, and never dig over the shallow roots. The seed is dust-fine and needs light, with no chilling. Sow it in winter on the surface of damp milled sphagnum, uncovered, at room temperature under lights and a clear cover. Most seedlings come up within about two weeks.

Water weekly through the first two summers, and never let the soil dry out completely. Deer damage it often, so cage it where deer are common. It flowers on the previous year's wood, so prune only right after bloom.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, and bees, butterflies and hummingbirds come to the flowers. Black vine weevils, lace bugs and root rot can trouble it, and yellow leaves mean the soil is not acid enough. It is highly flammable, so keep it out of the defensible space around a house. Every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten, and honey from its flowers may be too.

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rhododendron-catawbiense/)
- [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=279982)
- [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Rhododendron catawbiense](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065641)
- [Trees and Shrubs Online: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-catawbiense/)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Rhododendron chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Rhododendron.pdf)
- [Blazich, Warren, Acedo and Reece 1991, Seed Germination of Rhododendron catawbiense and Rhododendron maximum: Influence of Light and Temperature, Journal of Environmental Horticulture 9(1): 5](https://doi.org/10.24266/0738-2898-9.1.5)
- [Glenn, Blazich and Warren 1999, Secondary Seed Dormancy of Rhododendron catawbiense and Rhododendron maximum, Journal of Environmental Horticulture 17(1): 1](https://doi.org/10.24266/0738-2898-17.1.1)
- [UConn Plant Database: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://plantdatabase.uconn.edu/detail.php?pid=396)
- [The Morton Arboretum: Catawba rhododendron](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/catawba-rhododendron/)
- [Virginia Tech Dendrology: Catawba rhododendron](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=316)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RHCA8)
- [Go Botany (Native Plant Trust): Rhododendron catawbiense, Catawba rosebay](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/rhododendron/catawbiense/)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Rhododendron catawbiense](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.156823/Rhododendron_catawbiense)
- [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2024, revised 11/03/2025](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/831/open)
- [American Rhododendron Society: plant description, Rhododendron catawbiense](https://www.rhododendron.org/descriptionS_new.asp?ID=208)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md)
- [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md)

## Related

- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Catawba Rhododendron, add ?species=catawba-rhododendron with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=catawba-rhododendron&zone=4&sun=part&moisture=average.
- [Companion species for Catawba Rhododendron](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=catawba-rhododendron): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=catawba-rhododendron
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Catawba Rhododendron is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=catawba-rhododendron
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Catawba Rhododendron needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=catawba-rhododendron:1
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Catawba Rhododendron flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.