Rhododendrons

Rhododendron russatum
Lapponica subsection
Epithet: reddened
H5
AM 1927 Werrington, FCC 1933
Exbury, AGM (1993) 2012
Height: shrub 0.3-1.5m.
10 year height/spread: 0.5m/0.3m.
Flowers: intense violet blue/purple.
April/May.
Introduced: 1917 by Forrest from NW Yunnan.
Distribution: NE Burma, W Yunnan, SW Sichuan, 3300 - 4300m.
Recognise by: broadly upright habit; intense flower colour: can be hard to
distinguish from some of the 'blue' hybrids - look for foliage densely scaly
on both surfaces and the style with no scales and longer than the corolla.
Well worth seeking out in preference to the hybrids: the violet blue form is
considered to be the best.