Elepidote Rhododendron: R. hodgsonii

Flower pink, purple or red, sometimes blotched, tubular-campanulate, 1⅛"-1⅔" across.  Ball-shaped truss has 15-25 flowers.  Blooms early to early midseason.  Leaves thick, obovate, oblanceolate or elliptic, prominent midrib, up to 15" long, silver to cinnamon-colored indumentum.  Large shrub to small tree, 5-10 feet high in 10 years.  Cold hardy to 0°F (-18°C).  Species found growing in the wild in Nepal, India (Sikkim, Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, and China (S. Tibet).

Lepidote Rhododendron: 'Mary Fleming'

Flower cream colored, flushed strong to light purplish pink, with a darker pink blotch in throat, campanulate-shaped, wavy edges, about 1" across.  Buds hold 2 or 3 flowers.  Blooms early midseason.  Leaves approximately 2" long, dull, dark green.  Leaves are bronze when new and in the winter.  Plant is sun and heat tolerant.  Typical height: 2 ft. in 10 years.  Plant is cold hardy to -15°F (-26°C).  Prefers some shade for best performance.  Hybridized by Nearing.

Evergreen Azalea: 'Ben Morrison'

Flower deep yellowish-pink with red spotting and irregular white margins, openly funnel-shaped, wavy edges, 2¾" across.  Blooms midseason.  Leaves elliptic, flat, acute apex, cuneate base, 1¾" long, discrete, colorless hairs above and below on midribs and at margins.  Spreading, dense habit.  Grows twice as wide as tall.  Grows to a typical height of about 2 ft. in 10 years.  Hardy to 0°F (-18°C).  Hybridized by Morrison.

Deciduous Azalea: 'Rosy Lights'

Flower deep purplish pink with vivid reddish orange spotting on dorsal lobe, openly funnel-campanulate, wavy dorsal lobe, 2⅜" across.  Dome-shaped truss with 8 flowers.  Blooms late midseason.  Leaves oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, acute apex, cuneate base, 2¾" long, flat, bullate, moderate yellowish green.  Upright, well-branched shrub.  Typical height: 4-5 ft. in 10 years.  Very cold hardy to -35°F (-37°C).  Hybridized by Pellett.