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Key characteristics

Family: Ericaceae
Height: 4 to 6 ft
Width: 4 to 6 ft
Flower color: Soft creamy yellow blooms with a hint of pink, often with a contrasting dark red blotch
Foliage color: Dark olive-green evergreen leaves with a slightly textured, twisted tip
Bloom time: Mid spring (typically April to May)
Light: Part shade to filtered sun
Water: Moderate
Maintenance: Low; deadhead spent flowers and prune lightly only when needed
Growing zone: USDA zones 6 to 9
Wildlife: Spring flowers attract bees and other pollinators; evergreen structure offers shelter and cover for small birds and other garden wildlife

Shrubs

Rhododendron 'Mrs. Betty Robertson'

Mrs. Betty Robertson Rhododendron

Rhododendron 'Mrs. Betty Robertson' is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with a rounded habit and medium-sized, leathery dark green leaves. In mid to late spring it bears trusses of funnel-shaped flowers, pale yellow with a soft pink flush and a rosy-red blotch on the upper lobe. As they age the blooms often turn creamy yellow, so the shrub can show pale yellow, cream, and faintly blushed flowers together.

Light

Part shade to filtered sun

Water

Moderate

Bloom time

Mid spring (typically April to May)

Find this plant

Works well in

Shade Gardens
Foundation Plantings
Cottage Gardens
Woodland Gardens

Companion plants

Sweet box · Bleeding heart · Pieris · Foam flower · Lungwort · Ajuga

Design tip

Build a softly colored spring grouping around ‘Mrs. Betty Robertson,’ allowing its creamy yellow and blush flowers to connect neighboring pink and white bloomers. Its rounded form can anchor the arrangement afterward, keeping the planting balanced once the spring flowers have finished.

Printable plant sheet (PDF)