Plant, species of the genus Rhododendron, sub-section Pontica, section Ponticum, subgenus Hymenanthes, genus Rhododendron. Evergreen, large-leaved, large-flowered and frost-resistant shrub or tree up to 6 m tall and trunk diameter up to 20 cm. The shape of the crown is spreading, with rising branches.
Vegetation begins in mid-April and ends with the first autumn frosts, while the shoots are completely lignified. The branches are elastic and do not break under snow load.
The leaves are dark green, leathery oval-lanceolate, up to 20 cm long and 8 cm wide, pubescent from below and sometimes pinkish. In winter, the leaves are lowered and rolled up into a tube.
Flowers up to 4 cm, from white to pink with greenish specks, are collected in candles on the tops of shoots of 10-15 pieces. During flowering, the plant looks divinely beautiful against the background of large foliage. Flowering lasts about a month in June - July. Fruit pods are about 1.5 cm long, ripen in September.
The short-fruited rhododendron grows extremely slowly, reaches an average of 10 cm by the age of five, and only 0.5 m at the age of 10, after which the annual increase is about 5 cm. Blooms at the age of 18-20 years.
A fairly hardy evergreen rhododendron, withstands frosts of -29 ° C (even more in a windless place). This plant is light-loving at temperatures up to +28 ° C, after which the burning of leaves on dry soils is observed.
But it would be more rational to plant it under the light shade of pine trees on dry soils or in the shade of birch trees on waterlogged ones. In nature, it often grows surrounded by fir trees on rocky landscapes.