Wilton Rhododendron                rho-do-DEN-dron wil-TON-ee-i

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, broadly upright, grows to 3 ft (0.9 m) high in 10 years, grows to 16 ft in the wild, small branches covered with a brown or whitish tomentum (short,fuzzy pubescence).  Leaves simple, alternate, oblong-lance shaped or oblong-ovate, about 13 cm long and 4 cm wide, upper surface glossy and wrinkled with deeply impressed veins, lower surface with a light tan or brown indumentum (woolly or hairy covering); they lack scales (i.e., elepidote).  Flowers are about 4 cm long, bell-shaped, white to pinkish, often spotted or blotched red, with 6-10 in a loose clusters; unfortunately it is slow to flower.
• -10°F, early-mid season flowering, quality rating 3/4/3-4 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)].  Native to China, mostly in the western parts of Sichuan province at elevations of 7,000 to 11,000 ft (~2,100-3,400).
• wintonii: honoring Sir Ernest Colville Wilton (1870-1952), British diplomat, served in China for some 30 years.
• Federway, Washington: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden