Northwest Blooms · Shrubs
Rhododendron 'Cherries and Merlot'
Cherries and Merlot Rhododendron
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Height
- 2 to 4 ft
- Width
- 3 to 4 ft
- Flower color
- Bright cherry-red to deep red flowers
- Foliage color
- Glossy, dark green evergreen leaves with rusty colored undersides
- Bloom time
- Early to mid spring
- Light
- Part shade to part sun
- Water
- Consistently moist
- Maintenance
- Low to moderate; remove spent flowers after bloom; light pruning only if needed for shape
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Wildlife
- Spring blooms attract bees and other pollinators; evergreen foliage provides shelter and cover for birds and small wildlife
About this plant
Rhododendron 'Cherries and Merlot' is a compact evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves and copper-colored undersides that show when branches move or are planted above eye level. In early to mid spring, trusses of funnel-shaped flowers open cherry red, with wavy lobes, a few dark spots on the upper petal, and pale stamens.
Bred by Frank Fujioka on Whidbey Island, Washington, this hybrid, with its dense mounded habit, colored leaf undersides and red spring bloom, is well suited to banks, raised beds, and mixed rhododendron borders where foliage and flowers can be enjoyed up close.
Works well in
Shade Gardens · Containers · Borders · Slopes & Banks
Companion plants
Sarcococca · Rodgersia · Cyclamen · Fatsia · Lungwort · Primrose
Design tip
Grow ‘Cherries and Merlot’ on a raised bed or slope where its coppery leaf undersides become more visible from below. Its dense, mounded form can define the front of a shrub grouping while keeping taller companions from obscuring this distinctive foliage.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at the Washington Park Arboretum.
