Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) Plants
Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) Plants
An attractive, small shrub of bogs that adapts to consistently moist garden soils. The lightly fragrant, summer blooms are round clusters comprised of dozens of tiny white flowers. The evergreen leaves are aromatic, with folded over edges and undersides covered in rusty orange hairs. Larval host for the Northern Blue butterfly (Plebejus idas). The upright stems are occasionally used as nest material by palm warblers.
Native to: Great Lakes, Canada, and the Northeast, including Maine
Growing conditions: Sun to part shade in medium to wet soils
Natural habitat: Bogs, spruce swamps, alpine summits, shorelines of lakes and streams
Grows up to: 1-3’
Blooms: May-June
Pairs well with: Tamarack, sheep laurel, marsh fern, blue lobelia, marsh marigold, pitcher plant