About
A sprawling, succulent sub-shrub or perennial from the Namib Desert and southern Africa, with fleshy, cylindrical, paired leaflets and small, yellow or white, four-petalled flowers in summer, followed by distinctive, star-shaped, winged capsules. A striking curiosity for an arid or desert-style garden or dry glasshouse.
About the genus
Rhododendron can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees, with simple leaves, sometimes with a dense colourful indumentum of hairs on the lower side, and funnel-shaped, bell-shaped or tubular flowers that may be solitary or in short racemes
Plant details
Suggested usesWoodland gardens, specialist collections
Care notes
CultivationAcidic, moist, humus-rich soil in sheltered dappled shade
PruningAllow natural form. Deadhead if practical
PropagationSeed for species integrity. Cuttings also possible
Pest resistanceGenerally pest-free
Disease resistanceRoot rot in poor drainage. Protect tender species from frost