One of my goals for my recent trip to North Carolina was to photograph the Catawba Rhododendron (rhododendron catawbiense) in bloom. From everything I’ve heard, seeing the Catawba Rhododendron in bloom along the Blue Ridge Parkway is sort of like seeing the cherry blossoms in Washington DC – something you really need to see to believe. Unfortunately, while I did find a few rhododendron still blooming, I totally missed the peak Catawba Rhododendron bloom.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
The first place I stopped in search of Catawba Rhododendrons was at Craggy Gardens along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I found a few blossoms in not very good shape. The next morning, at Rhododendron Gardens in the Pisgah National Forest, I found a few shrubs with a clump or two of blossoms. From the overlook, I could see the hillside of rhododendron bushes – and could only imagine how it must look at peak bloom.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Catawba Rhododendron are native to much of the Southeastern United States except for Florida. They grow up to 20 feet tall, with evergreen oblong leaves. Their dark lavender blossoms bloom in clusters in June along North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway. The clusters have 5 to 10 flowers, and are about 6 inches in diameter.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Similar to other rhododendrons, all parts of the Catawba Rhododendron are highly toxic. Do not eat it! It can kill you!
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I’ll admit that I was disappointed to have missed the blooming of the Catawba Rhododendron on this trip. But I did some ideas on where to go back to next year . . . I’ll just head back to North Carolina a little earlier in June next time.
If you’d like to learn more about the catawba rhododendron – some online sites with additional information include
USDA Plant Profile for Rhododendron Catawbiense