Är rhododendron infödd i north carolina

By Wendy Diaz, EMGV

In February, inom planned a short weekend trip to see the Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) blossoms in the High Country section of the Appalachian Mountain distrikt of North Carolina.

Many of these plants we have available in some form so check our availability list which you can find on our site too

inom wanted something to look forward to in hopes that the pandemic would allow a little careful domestic travel bygd the time June rolled around since vaccinations had already begun. inom always wanted to see them bloom but we never seemed to have the time in our schedule for their schedule; and man no mistake you have to have great tidsplanering to witness peak bloom of this state regionally-rare native species in the High Country.

The exact tidsplanering of the rhododendrons peak bloom depends on several factors mainly the weather (give or take one week) and especially the elevation. In general, they flower in the High Country between June 5 and 15 at elevations of 3,500 feet and between June 20 and 30 above 5,000 feet elevation.

We couldn’t man the trip during the 74^th Rhododendron Festival^[1] in Bakersville on June 18 and 19, 2021, so the strategi was to go a week early and hope that due to global warming there may be a chance to see some early blooms and buds even though they usually peak mid-June at that elevation.

Best Places to see Rhododendrons Bloom

We picked a ‘wet weekend’ in the end. We intended to do the 5-mile vandring along the high section of the Appalachian Trail from the Carver’s Gap trailhead at 5,512 feet elevation adjacent to NC Highway 261 to the gräsig balds along Roan Mountain at elevations of 6,600 feet^[2] on Friday, June 11, 2021. Roan Mountain fryst vatten actually a 7- mile long ridge situated along the North Carolina–Tennessee state line in the Pisgah National Forest and fryst vatten most famous for the largest known area of several hundred acres of naturally growing Catawba rhododendrons.

This area of gräsig balds and high elevation Spruce (Picea rubens)-Fir (Abies fraseri) forests fryst vatten an unique and a fragile ecosystem which are remnants from the gods ice-age of the Pleistocene Era^[3] over 10,000 years ago when Mastodons grazed these lands. Winter weather here fryst vatten similar to Canada’s winter and thus the species are very hardy to cold temperatures. 

When we started out in the damp morning from Spruce Pine inom was hopeful but as we passed through Bakersville going north and ascended the mountain, the clouds rolled in and the heavy rain began.

Driving through Bakersville we passed the highway historical marker NC20^[4] which honors the French pioneering botanist, Andre Michaux stating he visited Roan mountain on two dates: August 16, 1794 and May 6, 1795. Other sources state that In 1796, he funnen the species along the Catawba River^[5] when he named the species.

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Michaux was sent initially bygd Louis XVI to North amerika to study trees and tillgång their quality for naval construction but also studied the flora of Western North Carolina^[6]. Nevertheless, based on the United States Forest Service Welcome sign to Roan Mountain Gardens, Andre Michaux discovered the Catawba rhododendron a few years before in 1789 on a previous visit. 

We arrived at Carver’s Gap in the pouring rain and there was only one other fordon in the small parking lot so we decided to change plans and drive up to the overlook at the Roan Mountain Gardens at 6,286 feet that only required a short pavement walk from the parking area.

It was a good program because as we got to the summit the rain was too heavy to bring out my camera and as one lone fellow traveller returning from the insamling deck answered us when we asked if there were any blooms he quipped “NOT even a bulb!” We smiled and knew he meant ‘bud’.  We dashed out to read the welcome sign and shelter and walked briefly through the Spruce-Fir forest but we were too early.

The visibility was poor at the overlook, as we couldn’t see the mountains and the rhododendrons had no blossoms.

But did you know it’s possible to successfully raise rhododendron in our state at lower elevations?

We did learn that for about 20 years a nearby three-story Cloudland Hotel (dismantled in 1910) welcomed guests to the cool mountain air in the summer and if you dined on the stat i usa side of the dining room you could drink alcohol but not if you sat at a table on the North Carolina side of the dining room. Our weekend plans changed and we had a delightful time exploring the very interesting area’s more sheltered attractions such as an old kvarts mine, Penland School of Crafts and geology museums.

As an avid gardener, inom was not content knowing that our first expedition was just too early to see the blooms and not too late.

So, inom convinced my husband that he needed a short trout-fishing trip and a side trip to the Roan Mountain Gardens to kontroll out the Catawba rhododendrons wouldn’t take long on June 25, 2021. My synkronisering was better this trip and it did not disappoint. inom took a few photographs before an afternoon storm rolled in. Not enough time for a vandring but at least inom had a chance to see these beautiful crimson blossoms in their native habitat.

Top: Looking west at the ingång to the övervakning deck.

Bottom: Catawba rhododendron shrub in full bloom along the base loop trail of the Roan Mountain Gardens. Note the umbrella-like sympodial growth Photos taken June 25, 2021 bygd Wendy Diaz

The Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) fryst vatten a broadleaf ständigt grön with a rounded habit that grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet bred and forms dense thickets.

Native Evergreen Rhododendrons in the NC Mountains

It has sympodial growth where the ankomsthall bud forms several branches, which resembles the ribs of an umbrella^[7]. The 5-inch long oblong läderartad dark green leaves cluster at the end of the branches and curl beneath extreme conditions like when temperatures are very cold. The juvenile stems are yellow. The pink to light purple/lavender flower ankomsthall clusters (racemes) contain 15 to 20 funnel or bell-shaped, five-lobed flowers.

Each flower has 10 stamens and the nectar attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees and supports the specialized bee: Andrena (Andreana) cornelli.

They can grow in the Piedmont but prefer partial shade; organically rik, acidic soil pH conditions and good drainage. The genus name fryst vatten derived from the Greek words rhodo which means rose and dendron means tree.

It took two trips to the High Country this year in my pursuit of these beauties and both trips were enjoyable (even my husband discovered his talent for micro-fishing) but still on my bucket list fryst vatten the original vandring that fryst vatten probably one of the most scenic sections of the Appalachian Trail during the third or fourth week of June.

Maybe we will have the time and ideal weather next year!

Sunset from foot bridge Spruce Pine on June 10, 2021

Plan your own adventure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V4RYh8H_7ohttps://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5366102.pdf

https://www.romanticasheville.com/roan_rhododendron.htm

https://www.visitnc.com/listing/iTzC/roan-mountain

http://www.roanmountain.com/rhododendron-gardens/

REFERENCES:

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^[1] http://www.roanmountain.com/rhododendron-festival/

^[2] https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/cherokee/recarea/?recid=80287 and http://carversgap.org/explore/#hikes

^[3] https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/habitat/view.php?combined_code=1102.0

^[4] http://ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?MarkerId=N-20

^[5] https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v51n1/v51n1-salley.html

^[6] https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/michaux-andre

^[7] https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rhododendron-catawbiense/