Rhododendron Choco and Pink

Rhododendron Choco & Pink is a recent variety that brings a new look to the great group of Rhodos. While its flowering, a beautiful deep pink enhanced by purple to wine-red spots, is fairly classic, its foliage is radically original. Its evergreen leaves have a brown-chocolate colour, remarkable within the genus. Even more novel, the new young shoots unfurl in purple-red, before gradually turning to brown as the season progresses. With its ornamental foliage, elegant in all seasons, and abundant spring flowering, this shrub will stand out in a bed of ericaceous plants. Quite hardy, it grows in moist, humus-bearing soil with an acidic tendency, protected from strong sunlight.

Rhododendrons are part of the large Ericaceae family, rich in about a hundred genera, many of which are highly prized in ornamental gardens, such as Heathers (Erica, Calluna, Daboecia...), the Strawberry Tree with its decorative and edible fruits, Gaultheria and many others. The Rhododendron genus includes no fewer than 850 species, 300 of which live in the tropics, while the others thrive in temperate to cold climates. They form shrubs, bushes or even trees that can reach 15 m in height. Alongside this botanical richness, numerous varieties and hybrids have been obtained by breeders passionate about this plant. Their work has mainly focused on improving flowering, but some varieties have interesting foliage, such as Rhododendron ponticum 'Variegatum' with green leaves edged in creamy white.
Rhododendron 'Choco & Pink' is truly innovative in this respect, with its chocolate-coloured vegetation, adorned with pink spring flowers. The vigorous shrub reaches about 2 m in all directions after 10 years of cultivation and can grow up to 3 m at maturity, forming a beautiful, erect clump that broadens with age. The lanceolate leaves have a brown-chocolate colour that they keep all season, giving the shrub its originality. The young, purple-red shoots create a remarkable contrast, somewhat like the popular Photinias, but with the added attraction of mature chocolate-coloured leaves. This evergreen shrub is thus ornamental in all seasons, creating superb foliage contrasts with other plants. 
Its flowering, though not unusual, is nonetheless attractive when the vegetation becomes covered in clusters of pink flowers for several weeks in May. The floral buds grouped in corymbs at the end of each branch open into so-called gamopetalous flowers, the petals being fused at the base. They form a kind of small trumpet which then opens widely. Their colour is a fairly bright pink, slightly paler in the middle, while the slightly larger upper petal is dotted with purple to wine-red. The gracefully arched stamens and the pistil project from the heart outwards, their colour close to that of the spots.

Revitalising the genus thanks to its ornamental qualities, which earned it a silver medal at the Plantarium horticultural show in 2019, Rhododendron Choco & Pink is a true gem for the garden. Combine it with other ericaceous plants in a themed bed to create a year-round ornamental scene. The Snow Heath Erica carnea 'Foxhollow' will be perfect at the edge of your bed with its foliage changing according to the seasons, bronze, golden green, orange, red, which will create a strong contrast at the base of your Rhodo's chocolate-coloured foliage. Moreover, its long flowering from January to May will precede that of your shrub, in front of which you can plant a Hydrangea macrophylla (Mophead Hydrangea), whose sumptuous inflorescences will take over and bloom all summer.