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Key characteristics

Family: Ericaceae
Height: 3 to 5 ft
Width: 3 to 5 ft
Flower color: White flowers; may have a yellow-green or light blotch/marking in the throat
Foliage color: Glossy dark green evergreen leaves
Bloom time: Mid to late spring
Light: Partial shade to filtered sun
Water: Even moisture
Maintenance: Low; remove spent flower clusters after bloom; light pruning
Growing zone: USDA zones 5 to 8
Wildlife: Spring blooms attract bees and other pollinators; evergreen foliage provides cover and shelter for birds and small wildlife year-round

Shrubs

Rhododendron 'Cunningham's White'

Cunningham's White Rhododendron

Rhododendron 'Cunningham's White' is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with a dense, rounded habit and dark green foliage. Mauve to light pink buds open into trusses of funnel-shaped white flowers with a yellow-green eye in the throat. Flower clusters appear in late mid-spring, giving a soft flush of white blossom against the foliage.

This hybrid was raised in the early 1800s at Comely Bank Nurseries in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Cunningham.

Light

Partial shade to filtered sun

Water

Even moisture

Bloom time

Mid to late spring

Find this plant

Works well in

Shade Gardens
Borders
Containers
Woodland Gardens

Companion plants

Fatsia · Foamflower · Viola · Aucuba · Ferns · Trillium

Design tip

Repeat ‘Cunningham’s White’ along a boundary or garden room to form a softer alternative to a tightly clipped evergreen hedge. Its white spring flowers can brighten the planting without dominating it, making this rhododendron especially useful in restrained or monochromatic designs.

Printable plant sheet (PDF)