Lee's Dark Purple Rhododendron                ro-do-DEN-dron

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, about 6 ft (1.8 m) tall in 10 years; upright, compact, rounded.  Similar form and leaves to that of R. catawbiense.  Leaves simple, alternate, slight waviness, glossy, dark green.   Flower broadly funnel-shaped, 7 cm across, royal purple with greenish-brown to ochre marks within; in ball-shaped clusters of up to 16 flowers.
• -15°F, late mid, quality rating 2-3/3-4/4 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)].  Partial to full sun.
• An old selection, developed before 1851, by John Lee.  Lee was a pioneer hybridizer of Lee and Kennedy at Hammersmith, London.  The gardens of Lee and Kennedy were of such an extensive scale they were considered national monuments (History of Rhododendron Discovery & Culture; website).
• Corvallis: along River Front Park, near (under) the Harrison Ave. bridge; planted 2011.