Every gardener in the South knows fall is the best time for planting shrubs. As the cooler weather and shortened day lengths may have stopped leaf growth, the soil becomes ideal for root growth and thus the plant gets acclimated to your landscape. What gardeners don’t know about is a new rhododendron that at long last allows the Southern landscape to achieve a beauty not previously attained.
Dandy Man Color Wheel is an incredible rhododendron that has opened the door wide open for rhododendrons in the South. While I am touting the South, know that it is recommended for zones 5-9, meaning a large geographic area can now relish in its beauty.
I wrote about Dandy Man Color Wheel in January as I was entering my third growing season. Warm weather came early at my house, but March 13, winter returned as we hit 21 degrees. The temperature pretty much toasted all of my azalea and camellia blooms for 2022. But before April Dandy Man Color Wheel was blooming and caught me by surprise, bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds were visiting. Sure, I see all this on the native azaleas, which just happen to be rhododendron species, but I just wasn’t thinking about the Dandy Man Color Wheel.
