Southgate Breeze Rhododendron

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Partial Sun

(3 - 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

4-5 Feet

Mature Spread

4-5 Feet

Growing Zones

6 to 9

This rhododendron is truly a breeze with its beautiful flowers, lustrous evergreen foliage, disease resistance and heat tolerance. Garden plants don’t get much easier! If you love spring flowers, you’ll have a boatload smothering this 4-5 foot shrub. They start out pink then turn into ruffled white confections that have a scattering of maroon flecks on their throat. Bees and pollinators appreciate their early-season nectar and pollen too. Healthy, dark green, leathery foliage enhances the landscape for the rest of the season and brings a much-needed shot of green during the gray winter months.

This is a medium-sized rhododendron at just 4-5 feet, making it effective as a foundation plant, anchor in a planting bed, massed planting under trees or as a hedge. Its’ evergreen nature makes it especially useful as an all-season screen to hide unsightly views. It is lovely planted with other rhododendrons and azaleas of varying sizes to create a colorful springtime display, or with ferns and hostas to play up its woodland nature.

Southgate Breeze Rhododendron Care

Plant in part sun to shade in well-draining acidic soil in a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball. Set the plant an inch or two above the soil grade, it will settle with time. Water well and spread an inch or two of shredded bark mulch around the base of the plant. For the first year after planting, water regularly if there is less than one inch of rain per week. After that, this is a care-free shrub, requiring only a scattering of slow-release granular fertilizer and a thin topdressing of mulch in spring. Put away the pruners—this compact shrub needs no shearing. And it blooms on old wood, so if you prune it anytime other than right after flowering, you run the risk of cutting off next year’s flower buds.

Southgate Breeze Rhododendron Spacing

Southgate Breeze rhododendron attains a size of 4-5 feet tall and wide. Consider this mature size when you are deciding where to site it, especially if you are placing it near a window, walkway or door. If you are mixing it with other shrubs and perennials, give it about 30 inches all around. If you want a fuller appearance sooner, you can temporarily fill in with annuals or perennials that you can move as the rhododendron matures. If you are planting a row or mass of Southgate Breeze rhododendrons, space them 2.5 feet center-on-center.