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Vireya Rhododendron

Rhododendron laetum

Vireya Rhododendron
Photo: Hungda, CC0

Rhododendron laetum is a vireya rhododendron, an evergreen shrub from the cool, wet highlands of western New Guinea that grows to about 3 m. It needs steady moisture, humidity and cool, bright conditions rather than hot or dry ones.

Family
Ericaceae (Heather family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Keep the root zone consistently moist but not waterlogged, using rainwater or soft water where possible.
Soil
Acidic, free-draining, peaty or fibrous mix such as orchid bark with peat or sphagnum.
Temperature
15–25 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Hard
Safety
Toxic: All parts of rhododendrons contain grayanotoxins, which can cause nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and heart rhythm problems if eaten.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
W. New Guinea (Arfak Mts.)
Climate
wet tropical

About

Rhododendron laetum is a rhododendron species native to the Anggi Lakes area of the Arfak Mountains in Indonesia and western New Guinea, where it grows at forest edges, in open marsh, and in swamps at the edge of lakes. This evergreen shrub grows to 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, with leaves that are broadly elliptic or sub-ovate-elliptic, 40–95 × 25–53 mm in size. The flowers are deep yellow, flushing with red or orange as they age.

Other Rhododendron plants

Rhododendron aberconwayi · Sagan Dalya · Rhododendron adenogynum · Rhododendron adenosum · Rhododendron aganniphum · Cascade azalea · Rhododendron albrechtii · Rhododendron album · Rhododendron alutaceum · Rhododendron annae · Rhododendron anthopogon · Rhododendron araiophyllum

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhododendron laetum 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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