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 metternichii is 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