Skagit County Master Gardener Foundation

Cultivating plants, people and communities since 1977

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Begun in 2007, the garden is designed to provide a harmonious space to view the wide variety of rhododendrons that can be grown in the Pacific Northwest climate.
We introduce you to rhododendrons that bloom successively and whose foliage is varied and distinctive. These plants are lovely twelve months of the year with their beautiful spring blooms and evergreen foliage. The garden features rhododendrons that grow from a few inches to over twenty feet in height. Take time to observe the radiant bloom colors, as well as appreciate the great variety of leaf forms and colors. Two trees and a few snowdrops and daffodils provide contrast. In the wild rhododendrons are understory plants that love partial sun and shade. Although the small trees provide some shade here, our garden is in a sunny location so it contains rhododendrons with moderate to full sun tolerance.
Rhododendron Garden
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A special feature of the Rhododendron garden is the espalier.  This variety of rhododendron is Rhododendron racemosum ‘Apricot’. Because the species is amenable to hard pruning, this attractive selection (Apricot) was chosen to train against a trellis. Annual pruning should be done in the spring after blooming to keep it flat against the trellis.

 

An excellent website for information about rhododendrons is The American Rhododendron Society.

 

Check out all the the varieties of Rhododendron that are on display in the Discovery Garden in Mount Vernon.  See the detailed plant list below.
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Rhododendron Garden Plant List

#Botanical NameCultivarCommon NameTreeNative
1Rhododendron 'Amiblue'
2Rhododendron 'P.J.M. Elite'
3Rhododendron 'Sapphire'
6Rhododendron decorum
7Rhododendrom 'Percy Wiseman'
8Rhododendron 'Golfer'
9Rhododendron 'Holden'
10Rhododendron 'Coral Bells'evergreen azalea
11Rhododendron impeditum
12Rhododendron calostrotum
13Rhododendron 'Lemon Dream'
14Rhododendron 'Lem's Monarch'
15Rhododendron 'Mission Bells'
17Rhododendron 'Peter Faulk'
18Rhododendron ponticum 'Variegatum'
19Rhododendron 'Silver Edge'
21Rhododendron 'Seaview Sunset'
22Rhododendron 'Blue Diamond'
24Rhododendron bureavii (cross)
26Rhododendron 'Taurus'
28Cercidiphyllum japonicumkatsura treeT
29Rhododendron kiusianum
30Geranium 'Rozanne'cranesbill
31Styrax japonicusJapanese snowbellT
32Rhododendron racemosum 'Apricot'
33Rhododendron degronianum 'Ken Janeck'
34Rhododendron degronianum 'Mist Maiden'
35Rhododendron degronianum 'Yaku Angel'
36Rhododendron 'Mary Poppins'deciduous azalea
37Rhododendron degronianum 'Yaku Princess'
38Cornus unalaschkensisbunchberryN
39Sisyrinchium bellumblue-eyed grass
40Blechnum spicantdeer fernN