Rhododendron 'Crater Lake'

Rhododendron 'Crater Lake,' used as a hedge in my front garden, is in bloom. April 2025.

Rhododendron 'Crater Lake' is a small leaf, purple flowering Rhododendron that looks more like an evergreen azalea than a Rhododendron, which most of us associate with large leaves. Rhododendron and azaleas are in the same genus: Rhododendron. What separates them is that what we call Rhododendrons have 10 stamens and what we call azaleas have 5 stamens. Since R. 'Crater Lake' looks and behaves like an evergreen azalea, I can clip into a hedge, which you should never do with a large leaf Rhododendron (or a decidious azalea for that matter). The literature says the mature height of R. 'Crater Lake' is five feet. My experience inclines me to estimate seven or eight feet.

'Crater Lake' was developed by Oregon Rhododendron hybridizer Dr. Carl Phetteplace, from a cross between R. augustinii 'Barto Blue' and 'Bluebird.' Interestingly, R. 'Bartlo Blue' was named after Oregon Rhododendron hybridizer, James Barto, who was the source of Fetteplace's original Rhododendron collection.