Northwest Blooms · Shrubs
Rhododendron 'Patty Bee'
Patty Bee Rhododendron
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Height
- 1 to 2 ft
- Width
- 1.5 to 3 ft
- Flower color
- Clear soft yellow blooms, light green-yellow funnel-shaped flowers
- Foliage color
- Evergreen, dark green leaves small leaves
- Bloom time
- Early to mid spring (April)
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Water
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Low; deadhead spent flowers and prune lightly only when needed
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 6a to 9b
- Wildlife
- Spring flowers attract bees and other pollinators; evergreen structure offers shelter and cover for small birds and other garden wildlife
About this plant
Rhododendron 'Patty Bee' is a dwarf evergreen shrub with a compact, rounded habit and small dark green leaves that may bronze in winter. In mid-spring it carries trusses of funnel-shaped flowers about 2 inches across. The blooms are soft pale yellow to light green-yellow with gently wavy lobes, adding clear color at the front of borders, in rock gardens, or in containers.
Raised as a small-leaved hybrid and later awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, 'Patty Bee' is valued for its neat form and dependable display. Its slow growth, midseason flowering, and evergreen foliage make it well suited to smaller gardens, banks, and mixed rhododendron groupings where a low accent is welcome.
Works well in
Shade Gardens · Borders · Slopes & Banks · Woodland Gardens
Companion plants
Yew · Oregon grape · Corydalis · Hosta · Anemone · Foamflower
Design tip
Repeat ‘Patty Bee’ along the front of a planting or across a gentle slope, allowing its low rounded form to connect larger plants visually. Its compact scale also makes a useful transition between taller shrubs and rocks, paving, or other hardscape.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at the Washington Park Arboretum.
