# Coastal Azalea (Rhododendron atlanticum) > Sweet, musky white flowers flushed pink open on knee-high stems in April and May, on a wild azalea that spreads by runners into drifts. Also called dwarf azalea, coast azalea, Azalea atlantica. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/coastal-azalea/ ![Coastal azalea (Rhododendron atlanticum) white and pink flowers with long stamens on low bare stems](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/coastal-azalea-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Cassidyrg, CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARhododendron_atlanticum_from_Florence_County%2C_SC.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 2 to 6 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 8 - Grows wild in: The coast, sandy barrens, the forest understory, old fields and edges - Native range: 8 states and the District of Columbia, north to Pennsylvania and south and west to Georgia (Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia) - Sun: Part, Full - Soil moisture: Average, Wet, Dry - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value, Tolerates wet soil - 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 Coastal azalea is a low wild azalea of the Atlantic coastal plain. It spreads by underground stems, and in the Carolinas a single plant can cover an acre or more. Breeders use it for the strength of its scent. Pennsylvania lists it as endangered, and New Jersey ranks it critically imperiled. Plant a group near a patio or at the front of a border, where the scent can be enjoyed. ## Size, growth and what to expect It grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It usually stays 2 to 3 feet tall and as wide, rarely 6. In one trial, two-year-old seedlings bloomed the spring after planting out. Clusters of 4 to 13 white flowers, often flushed pink, open in April and May, before or with the new leaves. The tubes are sticky with glands, and the scent is sweet to musky. Bumble bees find the flowers of special value. The capsules mature from August to October. It grows wild only on the Atlantic coastal plain, from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Georgia. Its home is moist pine flatwoods and savannas kept open by fire. It also turns up in ditches, old fields and roadsides. ## How to grow Coastal Azalea Coastal azalea does best in part shade, and it takes full sun where the soil stays moist. It wants a sandy, acid soil that stays evenly moist yet drains well, though it tolerates spells of wet or dry ground. Shelter it from strong winter wind and late frost, which burn the leaves and damage the flowers. Set plants 3 feet apart and keep them 3 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 with pine needles, bark or compost to keep the soil moist and its temperature even. The seed is dust-fine and needs light but no chilling. Sow it in winter on the surface of damp milled sphagnum, uncovered, under a clear cover at room temperature. Seedlings come up in one to three weeks. Water weekly through the first two summers. Deer damage it often, though rabbits leave it alone, so cage it where deer are common. Clip off the spent flower clusters right after bloom, since next year's buds form by late summer. Each flower carries both male and female parts, but its pollen clumps in sticky masses that insects must carry. Sources disagree on whether a native azalea sets seed with its own pollen, so plant two seedlings from different parents for seed. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds come to the flowers. Aphids, lace bugs and mites can mark the leaves, and root rot takes plants in soil that stays wet. Every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten. ## Sources - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Rhododendron atlanticum](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rhododendron-atlanticum/) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Rhododendron atlanticum](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=279974) - [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Rhododendron atlanticum](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065650) - [New Jersey Natural Heritage Program: Dodds, J. S. 2025, Rhododendron atlanticum Rare Plant Profile, prepared November 2025](https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/nlm/rhododendron-atlanticum-dwarf-azalea.pdf) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Rhododendron atlanticum](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RHAT) - [Trees and Shrubs Online: Rhododendron atlanticum](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-atlanticum/) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Rhododendron chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Rhododendron.pdf) - [Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC: Native Azaleas: Natural Color in the Shade Garden, Joey Williamson, revised September 7, 2015](https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/native-azaleas/) - [Virginia Tech Dendrology: dwarf azalea](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=813) - [NatureServe Explorer: Rhododendron atlanticum](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.157809/Rhododendron_atlanticum) - [Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program: Species and Natural Features List, updated June 2026](https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/SpeciesFeatures.aspx) - [New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: List of Endangered Plant Species and Plant Species of Concern, January 2024](https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/parksandforests/njplantlist.pdf) - [American Rhododendron Society: plant description, Rhododendron atlanticum](https://www.rhododendron.org/descriptionS_new.asp?ID=203) ## 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 Coastal Azalea, add ?species=coastal-azalea with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=coastal-azalea&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Coastal Azalea](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=coastal-azalea): 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=coastal-azalea - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Coastal Azalea 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=coastal-azalea - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Coastal Azalea 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=coastal-azalea:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Coastal Azalea flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.