Overview
Uses: Foundation plantings, woodland gardens, hedges, and specimen accents.
Benefits: Red buds open to ruffled hot pink blooms with soft pink centers that age to pure white, so all three colors show at once in late spring. Leathery evergreen leaves look good all year, and it has excellent disease resistance, including to Phytophthora root rot, plus good heat tolerance.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5–9
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Broadleaf Evergreen Shrub
Growth Habit: Rounded, Upright — full and dense.
Bloom Color: Red, Pink, White
Foliage Color: Dark Green
Mature Height: 4–8 feet
Mature Width: 4–8 feet
Bloom Season: Spring
Growth Rate: Moderate
Summary
Three flower colors on one rhododendron, all showing at the same time.
Dandy Man Color Wheel® puts on a changing show every late spring. The flower buds start out a bold red, open into large, ruffled blooms with hot pink outsides and soft pink centers, and then slowly fade to clean white before they drop. As the bloom season moves along, red buds, fresh pink flowers and aging white ones all sit on the plant together, so it looks like three shrubs in one.
Outside of bloom it is a full, rounded evergreen with long, leathery dark green leaves that look good through every season. It becomes a substantial shrub, generally four to eight feet tall and wide depending on climate and site, which makes it useful as a specimen by the house, an informal hedge, or a backdrop for a woodland or shade border.
It is also tougher than a typical large-leaf rhododendron. It was selected for resistance to Phytophthora root rot, a soil-borne disease behind many rhododendron losses, and it handles summer heat well enough to grow into Zone 9, farther south than most large-leaf rhododendrons can manage.
Care
Dandy Man Color Wheel® Rhododendron Care
Plant in full sun to partial shade. In northern gardens it can take sun most of the day; in the South, give it afternoon shade to protect the leaves from scorch. It still flowers well in lightly shaded spots.
Give it acidic, fertile soil that stays evenly moist but drains well. Root rot resistance is a safety margin, not permission to plant in standing water: avoid low spots that stay soggy, and amend heavy clay with compost or pine bark or plant slightly raised. Keep the top of the root ball level with or just above the surrounding grade.
Water deeply once or twice a week through the first growing season and during dry spells afterward. Rhododendrons do best when the soil never fully dries, and a two-to-three-inch layer of bark or pine needle mulch helps hold that moisture. Top-dressing with compost each season keeps the organic matter up.
If you feed, apply a light dose of slow release fertilizer in early spring. Rich soil often makes feeding unnecessary.
Regular pruning is not needed. If a branch needs to come out or the plant needs shaping, do it right after flowering so you do not remove next year's buds, which form over the summer.
Size
What Size is the Dandy Man Color Wheel® Rhododendron for Sale Online?
Our Dandy Man Color Wheel® Rhododendron ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. As an evergreen it ships with its leaves on, and in the off-season it may arrive with next spring's flower buds already set. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Dandy Man Color Wheel® Rhododendron Grow?
Expect about 4 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 8 feet wide at maturity, in a full, rounded shape. Plants in cooler climates and leaner soil tend to stay toward the smaller end. Space them about 5 to 6 feet apart for a hedge or backdrop.
Additional Information
What is the botanical name of Dandy Man Color Wheel® Rhododendron?
The botanical name is Rhododendron Dandy Man Color Wheel® ‘NCRX1’. It is a Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrub selected for its color-changing flowers and disease resistance.
Why do the flowers change color?
Each bloom moves through its own sequence: red in bud, hot pink and soft pink when it opens, and white as it ages. Because the trusses do not all open on the same day, the plant carries every stage at once during the bloom period. The color shift is built into the plant and does not depend on soil pH the way hydrangea color does.
Does root rot resistance mean it can go in wet soil?
No. Resistance to Phytophthora root rot gives it a better chance than most rhododendrons in warm or heavier soils, but it still needs good drainage. Plant it where water does not stand after rain, and raise the planting slightly in clay.
Will it work as an evergreen hedge?
Yes. Its full, rounded habit and large leathery leaves make a handsome informal hedge or screen that flowers in late spring and stays green the rest of the year. Plant 5 to 6 feet apart and let the plants grow together naturally. For more plants that hold their leaves through winter, browse our Evergreen Plants.
Do deer eat it?
Deer do browse rhododendrons, particularly in winter. Where they visit regularly, protect plants with fencing or a repellent. If deer pressure is heavy in your yard, our Deer-Resistant Shrubs and Evergreens are a safer bet.
