Rhododendron Anna Rose Whitney

The Rhododendron 'Anna Rose Whitney' is a vigorous Rhododendron with rapid growth that offers a flowering as spectacular as it is radiant ! Adorned with dense foliage, this beautiful variety offers enormous bouquets of bright and intense pink flowers in spring, particularly luminous in semi-shade, but almost pretentious in full sun. Its assets of a harmonious habit, an evergreen and generous growth, and a spectacular flowering in May-June, will give it its full measure in light, cool, limestole-free soil, and in a humid climate. A classic among pink Rhododendrons.

Resulting from the cross-breeding between several species and varieties, the Rhododendron 'Anna Rose Whitney' is a North-American horticultural achievement dating from 1954. It is a plant from the Ericaceae family, almost exclusively suited to acidic soils. It is a hybrid variety with large flowers that are very hardy. With rapid growth for a 'rhodie', it forms a bush with an upright and ramified habit, dense, almost as wide as it is tall. By the age of 10, it will reach  2 m (7 ft) in height for 1.30m (3ft) to 1.50m (5ft) in spread. Its branches carry persistent thick, ovate to elliptical, dark olive green leaves with a matt finish, velvety and lighter on the underside. Its growth is harmonious and its foliage elegant, so it has a real presence in the garden all year round. However, it is in May-June that it stands out thanks to its remarkably generous bright pink flowering with carmine at the heart. Shaped like large campanulate bells of 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter, the blooms are grouped by 12 to 21 in enormous conical clusters at the end of the many stems. 

'Anna Rose Whitney', of good size, has enough presence to feature in a large bed of bushes or in a hedge. You can also try growing it in a large pot on the terrace or balcony, where its dimensions will remain more modest. Its cultivation is not difficult, provided that it benefits from suitable soil and climate; rhododendrons are plants as attractive as they are exclusive! The flowering of a somewhat "kitsch" pink in full sun reveals an extraordinary brightness in the shade, it will be necessary to take this into account when choosing its location. It goes well with the white blooms of other varieties such as Rhododendron Boddaertianum and the pastel tones of Hydrangeas (the choice is vast, from white to pink, through blue). Other peat soil-loving plants like Skimmia, Pieris, Fothergilla, anemone trees, heathers and Japanese maples are good companions for Rhododendrons.