This large shrub has a solitary or multiple trunks with rusty-hairy branches that form a dense rounded habit. It has glossy dark green oblong leathery leaves and the pale to deep pink funnel-shaped flowers appear in a large cluster during mid-spring.

Hardiness zones 5 to 9

Rhododendron metternichiiis naturally found in Japan growing in Honshu Shikoku and Kyushu on the mountains amongst dense woodlands.

It prefers a semi-shade to full sun position and grows in well-drained organic rich moist sandy-stony to clay loams that are tending acidic with a pH 4.5-6 and is frost tolerant but drought tender.

Leatherleaf is grown for its bright flowers and dense rounded habit. It is planted in parks and gardens along borders or used to form a hedge and is grown in woodland settings. It is suitable for mountainous and coastal regions establishing in 4-5 years and is moderately long-lived. This shrub is also grown in Japanese or alpine gardens. ID 3560

Rhododendron(ro-do-DEN-dron) metternichii(MEH-teh-NIK-ee-eye)

'Rhododendron': from Greek rhodon + dendron - rose tree

Ericaceae(er-ek-AY-see-ee)
Bilberries, Blueberries,Cranberies, Heathers, Heaths, Rhododendrons, Wintergreens