7 dwarf rhododendrons for small gardens and pots
The best varieties for small outdoor spaces, balconies and terraces.
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If you have a garden that is largely shaded or in partial shade, and with acidic, humus-bearing soil, the rhododendron is practically indispensable. With its colorful flowering, it brightens our springtime while its evergreen foliage lights up the winter. Relatively easy to grow, the rhododendron has the ability to adapt whether planted in a bed, in a rock garden or as a border in a small or large garden. Not to mention that it can be easily potted on a balcony or terrace, provided it benefits from heather soil!
And indeed, if you are the lucky owner of a balcony, terrace or small garden, you should choose dwarf rhododendrons, which are just as floriferous as other varieties. Discover our selection of dwarf rhododendrons, not exceeding 60 to 80 cm in height, with a range of flowering colours to suit all tastes.
And to learn more, see our complete guide: “Rhododendrons: planting, cultivation and maintenance”
Lilly Bell® collection
Of German origin, the Lilly Bell® series offers rhododendrons with compact growth and very small dimensions. Most do not exceed 40–60 cm across. That is to say they will have a place in small gardens, at the front of the border, or in pots on a balcony or terrace.
They are all the more interesting in that they compensate for their small size with very generous flowering, generally from April to early June, depending on the cultivars. They are also robust and boast a hardiness of around -20°C. All are derived from selections of different species such as Rhododendron impeditum or Rhododendron repens. They therefore offer dense, fairly rounded foliage and funnel-shaped flowers, similar to those of azaleas.
This series is particularly interesting for its beautiful colour palette. Lilly Bell® ‘Love’ offers flowers in a very deep red, while the flowers of Lilly Bell® ‘Sun’ are a pure yellow, fragrant and melliferous. Gardeners who favour rhododendrons with flowering in mauve to violet will opt for Lilly Bell® ‘Pearl’ (lavender flowers), Lilly Bell® ‘Dream’ (purple flowers) and Lilly Bell® ‘Magic’ (intense violet flowers), while the flowers of Lilly Bell® ‘Night’ are a blue-violet shade. As for Rhododendron campylogynum Lilly Bell®, it offers striking little bell-shaped flowers in a fairly rare rose-purple colour.
The Lilly Bell® rhododendron series
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Rhododendrons: how to grow them in pots?Yakushimanum species, compact and floriferous
The Rhododendron yakushimanum, native to Yakushima Island, and often called the yak rhododendron, belongs to this category of rhododendrons suited to small spaces and container cultivation. Indeed, it has a very compact habit and a rounded silhouette. It therefore maintains a reduced size that never exceeds 1.20 m in height and width. Nevertheless, it offers such generous flowering that the evergreen foliage is literally hidden beneath the blossoms.
Among the different varieties derived from this species, one standout is ‘Grumpy’ which benefits from a habit wider than tall (120 cm wide by 80 cm high). It is especially notable for its flowering, which is full of character. The salmon-pink floral buds open into pale pink flowers tinged with cream-yellow. The flowering takes place in May on matte green foliage with a brown velvety reverse. The variety ‘Porzellan’ is also a good choice with an 80 cm spread. Its flowers unfold in pure white, a colour enhanced by a yellow-green maculate throat. It is a stocky habit rhododendron ideal to pair with ferns or hostas. Finally, the variety ‘Koichiro Wada’ which does not exceed 80 cm in height and 1 m in width is notable for its young shoots with silvery reflections and its flowering between white and pale pink.
The Yakushimanum rhododendrons ‘Grumpy, ‘Porzellan’ and Koichiro Wada
The stunning Rhododendron ‘Linearifolium’
Here’s a rhododendron that knows how to stand out to charm the most discerning gardeners! Indeed, it has all the attributes to catch the eye, surprise, unsettle and make you wonder…
Dwarf, it offers a height and spread of 80 cm at maturity: perfect for fitting into a small garden. But it isn’t its dimensions that catch the eye; rather its foliage and flowering, to say the least atypical.
The Rhododendron ‘Linearifolium’ bears sparse, linear, very fine and elongated foliage in a dark green maculate with small purples concentrated along the margins of the veins. As for the flowering, it mirrors the foliage.
The flowers are of an unusual shape, with slender petals in bright pink. The flowering is relatively early, from March to late April. This rhododendron has a hardiness of around -10 to -12°C. It will be perfect to accompany the graphic foliage of a Japanese maple.
Rhododendron ‘Azurika’ with very intense violet flowering.
Derived from Rhododendron impeditum, the variety ‘Azurika’ is a miniature rhododendron with a very compact and spreading habit. It does not exceed 60 cm in height, with a spread of around 80 cm. It will readily find a place at the front of a border, but also in a partially shaded rock garden. It can also thrive in a pot on a balcony or terrace. It will be a focal point there too, with its striking colour.
In April–May, on the same plant violet flower buds sit alongside freshly opened blooms in a fairly strong blue-violet and fading flowers that take paler bluish mauve tones. This rhododendron therefore presents a beautiful range of violet shades, on green foliage with blue-silver reflections, lighter on the undersides.
With evergreen, dense and tightly arranged foliage, and flowering in a range of violet shades, this rhododendron will make its presence felt. It is hardy down to -20°C.
The Rhododendron ‘Baden-Baden’ in an intense red colour.
The rhododendron ‘Baden-Baden’ is utterly charming. It forms a small shrub with compact, rounded, spreading growth. At maturity, it reaches 70 cm in all directions. Nevertheless, it stands out for its charm. Beginning with dark green, glossy evergreen foliage, and especially slightly undulating margins. The flowers have a wonderful backdrop against this foliage. In May, this stocky rhododendron is covered with flowers, bell-shaped and waxy in appearance, in a very deep cherry red.
To best enjoy its aesthetic qualities, this rhododendron should be planted at the front of a border, in a cool rockery, or in a pot on a balcony or terrace. It will be stunning with a purple-leaved Japanese maple such as Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’.
Rhododendron 'Blue Silver' with delicate blue-violet flowering
This small rhododendron ‘Blue Silver’ also benefits from a very compact and rounded habit, relatively dense and, of course, evergreen foliage. Its tough and relatively elongated leaves compared with other rhododendron varieties display a pretty green colour with a bluish tint. Flowering occurs between April and May. As with the foliage, its flowers possess distinctive characteristics that add to their charm. Starting with Stamens and pistils that are prominently exposed, emerging from the heart of the flowers in the style of pins stuck into a ball of wool. As for the petals, they form open flowers, arranged in corymbs, of a fairly intense blue-violet.
With hardiness well beyond -20°C, this rhododendron measures 60 cm in all directions. Compact in size, it will sit at the front of a border, in a shaded rockery, or in a pot. The pairing with Heucheras with colourfully varied foliage should form a focal point in a border.
Rhododendron 'Shamrock' with yellow-green flowers
We conclude our selection of dwarf rhododendrons with the variety ‘Shamrock’ which has a bushy habit, compact and rounded and a size of 60 cm in all directions. With a harmonious, well-rounded silhouette, this rhododendron features evergreen foliage, slightly textured, in olive-green.
But it is certainly its fairly early flowering that earns it widespread praise. From March to April, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom, displaying a green-yellow colour among the most distinctive. Small but numerous, these flowers literally cover the foliage. This rhododendron will add a beautiful splash of colour to partly shaded to shaded areas of the garden. Obviously, it can also be grown in a pot on a balcony or terrace, across the country, as it is hardy to around -20°C… provided it is planted in well-drained soil, as rhododendrons dislike excessive moisture.
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