Monticello Gardens

Common name: Catawba Rhododendron

Family: Ericaceae (Heath)

Distribution: Southern Appalachian Mountains

Hardiness: USDA Zone 4

Life form: Evergreen shrub

Usage: Ornamental

Comments: In 1799, the plant collector John Fraser discovered Catawba Rhododendron growing in the Great Smoky Mountains on a summit "which commands a view of five states." Fraser and his son brought plants back to Britain in 1809 where it soon became a valuable Rhododendron for breeding with species from Russia and the Himalayas.