Blue Baron Rhododendron

Light Needs

Full Shade to Part Sun

(0-6 Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

3-4 Feet

Mature Spread

3-4 Feet

Growing Zones

6 to 8

Blue Baron Rhododendron isn’t your typical flowering shrub! It adds a distinctive, exotic look to any landscape, sporting vivid, blue-violet, spectacular blooms that create a head-turning display from April to early May.  

With a lovely, compact, rounded form, Blue Baron creates year-round interest with its overall good looks. It has elongated, oblong, 2”, glossy, dark-green foliage that can change to a reddish bronze hue during winter. Hardy in zones 6-8, this blue-violet flowering evergreen slowly reaches heights of 4 feet with an equal spread, so this shrub can be planted en masse for an even more stunning landscape effect. 

Blue Baron Rhododendron Care

Blue Baron Rhododendron benefits from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Plant this beauty in rich, well-drained, loamy soil that maintains even moisture. Blue Baron Rhododendrons grow well in soils that have a slightly acidic pH, so be sure to add plenty of organic matter, compost, or sphagnum peat moss upon planting if you have more alkaline, clay soil. After planting, you can add a thick layer of natural wood chips, pine needles, or shredded oak leaves as a top dressing; the mulch will protect the roots and help maintain soil moisture. Blue Baron should be planted in a partial sun location where it is protected from drying winter winds as well as harsh direct afternoon sun.

Remove any spent flowers after the bloom cycle. Blue Baron is a slow-growing evergreen shrub that can be pruned to maintain a specific size and shape immediately after it finishes blooming in spring. It performs best if you allow it to grow naturally as a compact, mounding shrub, pruning only to remove any crossing or damaged branches. 

Blue Baron Rhododendron Spacing 

Blue Baron Rhododendron naturally has an open, multi-stemmed, mounding growth habit if not pruned to a specific shape. Due to its compact height and width, it can be used as an accent shrub in a mixed border, or planted in groups of 3 or more for a dynamic visual effect. Space each shrub 4 ft. apart.

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