Rhododendrons in Bloom in March
Rhododendron ‘Coral Glow’
Rhododendron ‘Rosa Mundi’ ?
Rhododendron ‘Bodega Crystal Pink’
Rhododendron strigillosum
Rhododendron ‘Snow Sprite’
x moupinense is more compact than its parents. The leaves are oval elliptic, persistent glossy green. Its flowers are pure white with chocolate anthers.
Early Blooming Pink Rhododendrons
Have you proudly shared a picture of your lovely, early blooming, pink Rhododendron ‘Cheer’ only to hear your friends tell you either that their rhododendrons, also called ‘Cheer’, have finished blooming, or that the buds are not anywhere near opening, and, in any case, appear different from yours? Why the confusion? What are these early blooming rhododendrons?
Four common contenders in the discussions are rhododendrons ‘Cheer’, ‘Christmas Cheer’, ‘Rosa Mundi’, and ‘Nobleanum Venustum’.
Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’
R. caucasicum (seed parent) hybrid.
Lovely frilly flowers are pink in bud, opening pale pink, and fading to white blush. The foliage is medium green with light brown indumentum and slightly shorter leaves than ‘Rosa Mundi’.
It has a very early bloom time; in some areas, it blooms as early as January and February.
At maturity, it may grow to a six-foot rounded plant.
Rhododendron ‘Rosa Mundi’
(syn ‘Rosamundi’)
R. caucasicum is also the seed parent of ‘Rosa Mundi’ with an unknown pollen parent.
Its flowers are lighter pink in colour than ‘Christmas Cheer’, and the foliage is a darker green.
R. ‘Rosa Mundi’ flowers several weeks later than ‘Christmas Cheer’.
It is slightly shorter growing, to approximately four feet.
Both Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’ and ‘Rosa Mundi’ trusses fade from pink to lovely, near white as they age, depicted in the photo of R. ‘Rosa Mundi’ on the right.
Rhododendron ‘Nobleanum Venustum’
Rhododendron ‘Nobleanum Venustum’ shares the same seed parent, R. caucasicum, along with ‘Christmas Cheer’ and ‘Rosa Mundi’. The other parent is R. arboreum ssp. arboreum from which the silvery fawn indumentum of the foliage was inherited. The flowers are mid-pink.
It is extremely hardy, and depending on winter temperatures and geographical location, ‘Venustum’ can bloom anytime between November and March.
Rhododendron ‘Cheer’
The flowers of Rhododendron ‘Cheer’ are more distinguishable from the other three early pink-blooming rhododendrons with a red blotch on the upper lobes on an open-faced flower and has glossy, jade green foliage. It is a hybrid of R. ‘Cunningham’s White’ and red R. catawbiense, blooming early mid-season, later than the other pinks. It forms a rounded shrub to about five feet.