Lacteum Rhododendron                ro-do-DEN-dron

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub or tree, to 30 ft (~ 1.2-9 m), maybe to 5 ft in 10 years.   Leaves simple, alternate, oblong-ovate, to oval, 7-18 cm long and 4-10 cm wide, apex rounded, often with a short acuminate tip, base rounded or chordate (heart-shaped), upper surface dark or pale green, mid-rib grooved, primary veins impressed, lower surface covered with a suede-like fawn or brown indumentum, mid- rib prominent.  Flower clusters large with 12-30 flowers, flower calyx minute, 5-lobed, corolla (petals) campanulate, 3.5-5 cm long, yellow to pale yellow, sometimes tinged with pink, sometimes with a cimson blotch.
• -5°F, early-mid, quality rating 4-5/3-4/1-2 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)].  Part shade.  Some consider it one of the finest rhododendrons in cultivation.  Unfortunately it is not easy to grow, best in very acid soil.
• Native range to China (Yunnan, Szechwan) and Burma (Myanmar)
• lacteum: milky
• Federal Way, Washington: Rhododendron Species and Botanical Garden