Rhododendron ‘Loderi King George’
I've always been intrigued by flowers that start out with a deep color in the buds and open to a different color, particularly pure white. Rhododendron 'Loderi King George' is an example of this. The buds begin in almost a solid deep pink, opening to white. I would not call them "pure white", as there are traces of pink left, but the pink is on the underside of the blooms. When backlit by sunlight, the pink softly glows through the white. Lovely! I remember looking at photos of massive rhododendrons in my early gardening days, and it was one of the features that lured me to the Pacific Northwest. They were difficult to grow in Alabama, not liking the hot, humid conditions. After finally moving to Washington state, I was a bit mystified to learn that many gardeners here tend to dismiss them as "common". I suppose they are over-used and often not grown under the best circumstances, but seeing them used properly and grown in the right conditions, they are ...
