Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Yaku Prince' - Yaku Prince Rhododendron

A compact evergreen with clusters of lavender-pink flowers that fade to a very light-pink with red spots and blotches; distinct, pointed leaves; prefers well-drained, cool, highly acidic and organic soil, use plenty of peat moss when planting

Height: 3 feet. Spread: 4 feet. Sun: full sun to partial shade. Hardiness zone: 4b.

Ornamental features

Yaku Prince Rhododendron is blanketed in stunning clusters of shell pink trumpet-shaped flowers with white overtones and red spots at the ends of the branches in late spring. It has olive green foliage with tan undersides. The oval leaves remain olive green throughout the winter.

Landscape

Yaku Prince Rhododendron is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Recommended for: Accent, Mass Planting, General Garden Use.

Planting and growing

Yaku Prince Rhododendron will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder.