Dora Amateis Rhododendron

A broad, spreading lepidote evergreen shrub that grows twice as wide as tall, reaching 3 feet high and 6 to 8 feet across in 10 years. Broadly funnel-shaped white flowers with faint greenish-yellow spotting, about 1¾ inches wide, sometimes fragrant, in trusses of 3 to 5 blooms. Early-midseason flowering. A hybrid of R. minus var. minus Carolinianum Group crossed with R. ciliatum, bred by Edmond Amateis (RHS 58).

Consistently ranked among the finest white dwarf lepidote rhododendrons. Hardy to -15°F (Zone 5b-8a). Part shade for best performance; foliage bronzes in full sun. Acidic, well-drained soil (pH 4.5-6.0). The wide-spreading habit makes it effective as a low mass planting or groundcover alternative. Lax trusses deliver less visual mass per cluster than tight-ball elepidote hybrids, but the profusion of bloom across the wide canopy compensates. Twenty-one diseases and 15 pests documented at the genus level. All parts contain grayanotoxins and are toxic if ingested.