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Bent-style rhododendron

Rhododendron campylogynum

Bent-style rhododendron
Photo: Velella, CC BY-SA 4.0

A small, creeping or prostrate alpine shrub, usually only 0.5 to 3 cm tall, with leathery, myrrh-scented leaves and nodding purplish-red or pink bell-shaped flowers. Grown in the Myrtilloides cultivar group, which has an RHS Award of Garden Merit; it needs cool, moist, acidic conditions and does best in a rock garden or alpine trough.

Family
Ericaceae (Heather family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Part shade
Water
Keep the root zone evenly moist and never waterlogged, using rainwater or other soft, low-lime water.
Soil
Free-draining, humus-rich, acidic soil or ericaceous compost, often with grit added.
Temperature
Cool conditions suit it best; hardy to roughly -15 °C, with protection from hot, dry summer sun.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Leaves and nectar of rhododendrons in general contain grayanotoxins, which can cause nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and heart rhythm problems if eaten.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Arunachal Pradesh to China (W. & C. Yunnan) and NE. Myanmar
Climate
temperate

About

Rhododendron campylogynum (独龙杜鹃), the bent-style rhododendron, is a rhododendron species native to northeast India and northeast Myanmar, where it grows at altitudes of 3,500–4,500 m (11,500–14,800 ft). It is a small creeping or prostrate shrub that grows 0.5–3 cm (0.20–1.18 in) in height, with leathery leaves, obovate to obovate-lanceolate in shape, up to 2.5 cm by 1.5 cm but often much smaller. The leaves are glandular and are strongly scented of myrrh when crushed. The flowers are purplish red or pink colour and of a distinctive simple, somewhat nodding, bell shape, borne singly or in pairs on a short stalk.

In cultivation in the UK the Myrtilloides cultivar group has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Other Rhododendron plants

Rhododendron album · Rhododendron anthopogon · Rhododendron argyrophyllum · Rhododendron augustinii · Rhododendron bureavii · Rhododendron calophytum · Rhododendron calostrotum · Bell Flowered Rhododendron · Rhodora · Catawba rosebay · Georgian Snow Rose · Dahurian Rhododendron

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhododendron campylogynum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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