Large, wide-spreading evergreen shrubs or small trees.The leaves can be quite large and impressive, emerging in late summer after the flowers fade.The long funnel-shaped, deliciously fragrant flowers (mid- to late summer) are typically white with a greenish blotch, sometimes rose.A large and stunning plant with glandular-sticky new growth.As this species occurs primarily in a more climatically continental region of China (E Sichuan, W Hubei and E Guizhou) than most other species with large leaves, it is more tolerant of heat and cold extremes.A forest species, occurring from 1,600 to 7,500 ft.
1967/698BOS(-5).An award form with pure white fragrant flowers in July.AM 1922.
1981/025GRE:UBCP(-5). This clone is the rare pink-flowered form of the species (known to occur in the wild). Best in light shade to protect the hot-season flowers. Rarely offered.
1995/252PW#50(-5\R1\5).These are seedlings brown from Peter Wharton’s collection of seed at 4,900 ft. in N Guizhou Province, China.A plant from this collection has bloomed at Millais Nursery in England and the flowers were a rich rose-pink in color!(Of course we cannot guarantee flower color on your particular seedlings).This may be true “pink” auriculatum or it may possibly be a new taxon.Bright red-purple new growth late in the season.A fantastic species, the last to bloom here in the garden.Quite easy in light shade.
auriculatum affinity
These are seedlings grown from seed collected at 4,800 ft. in the Dalou Shan region of northern Guizhou Province, China.This may be R. auriculatum or a closely related or even new taxon.R. auriculatum is a highly desirable species with large attractive foliage and magnificent large and fragrant, white to light pink flowers in mid- to late summer.The seed was collected from a large tree about 45 ft. high growing in a rhododendron forest on a SW facing slope.
