Olga Mezitt Rhododendron

Searching for a perfect perennial to add year-round color and charm to your yard? Generating voluminous fuchsia blooms in the spring complemented by showy evergreen foliage, Olga Mezitt Rhododendron is your prize. This broadleaf perennial otherwise known as Rhododendron 'Olga Mezitt', produces showy blooms that will drive your neighborhood friends and bees nuts. As a bonus, the foliage changes from emerald to shades of wine and bronze in the fall. Reaching a maximum height of 5 to 6 feet and a spread of 4 to 5 feet, this low maintenance shrub’s dramatic effect can be easily multiplied by planting it in a group as a bed or border.

With this Asian original’s faint perfume wafting about in the breezes of May, you can trim this perennial’s luscious flowers and foliage to add to spring bouquets, creating height and movement. Adding low maintenance to this shrub’s long list of positives, Olga Mezitt Rhododendron is the ideal choice for any person new to gardening with little time to spare. 

Olga Mezitt Rhododendron Care

To encourage growth and the production of finer flowers, plant Olga Mezitt Rhododendron in a hole that is about as deep as the root ball’s height and twice its width in rich, well-draining soil with a pH of 5.6 to 6.0. This striking shrub thrives in partial sun to full shade. If your soil is lacking nutrients, fertilize this low maintenance shrub twice, once during the spring and the second time during fall. To encourage bigger and better blooms, feed in the spring with a fertilizer that has less nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium.

Pruning prior to the conclusion of this shrub’s flowering season will diminish the current year’s blooms, so wait until after Olga Mezitt Rhododendron has finished blooming to prune. When doing so, remove any visible dead, damaged, and diseased stems and leaves. To further prevent disease and to improve shape, trim any overlapping stems. Trimming overlapping stems helps to improve air circulation in the inner areas of this otherwise densely growing shrub, thereby, lowering its risk of disease. 

Olga Mezitt Rhododendron Spacing

Plant Olga Mezitt Rhododendron in borders, hedges, and beds 4 feet apart.  Companion plants such as hydrangea, lily of the valley, mountain laurel, primrose, and vinca thrive alongside or underneath this evergreen shrub.