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Key characteristics

Family: Ericaceae
Height: 2 to 4 ft
Width: 2 to 4 ft
Flower color: Pale to medium pink funnel-shaped flowers, sometimes with deeper pink shading in buds
Foliage color: Evergreen, glossy dark green leaves
Bloom time: Early to mid spring
Light: Full sun to part shade
Water: Moderate
Maintenance: Low; requires minimal pruning beyond removing spent blooms
Growing zone: USDA zones 5 to 8
Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and other pollinators; evergreen foliage provides shelter for birds

Shrubs

Rhododendron cilpinense

Cilpinense Rhododendron

Rhododendron 'Cilpinense' is a compact evergreen shrub with a rounded habit and small, glossy green leaves. In early spring, often February into March, rosy buds open to pale to medium pink, funnel-shaped flowers that may fade as they mature. The blooms are carried in small trusses, so the plant can look dusted with soft color, with darker anthers giving a clean finish.

Of garden origin, it is linked with Lord Aberconway's Bodnant Garden in Wales and was introduced in the early 1920s.

Light

Full sun to part shade

Water

Moderate

Bloom time

Early to mid spring

Find this plant

Works well in

Sun Gardens
Borders
Containers
Rock Gardens

Companion plants

Sneezeweed · Barberry · Daisy bush · Blue-eyed grass · Bellflower · Glossy abelia

Design tip

Feature ‘Cilpinense’ where it can be seen from the house or along a frequently traveled path, making its unusually early flowers more noticeable. Its compact rounded form also works well among low evergreens that maintain a cohesive planting after flowering ends.