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.
When it comes to rhododendrons, I have always been the hopeful skeptic. When I got mine, they started blooming before I could plant them. My bride, Jan, was so struck by their beauty she said they were going as a centerpiece on the table for a few days. No argument from me, for a host of reasons.
Dandy Man Color Wheel has the potential to get 4 to 8 feet tall and as wide. Being a skeptic, I might not have given them enough room for their companions. This growing season, they have expanded wonderfully. Their large leaf texture stands out on my hillside, putting all visitors on notice. This is a special plant. I actually have four; two are young, and they too are getting happy.
Since I last wrote about it, Dandy Man Color Wheel has won a Rhododendron of the Year award from the American Rhododendron Society. In the announcement they touted a trait that will be music to the ears of the Southern gardener: heat tolerance.
This year I was so mesmerized with its beauty, as the buds start out lipstick red, which I promise you gets the heart pumping with excitement. These open to big ruffled blooms with deep pink undersides and soft pink shades inside. The blooms then age to clear white before falling off. Now you can see the reason Jan wanted the plants for a centerpiece. As the blooms go through their aging progression, you will see all three colors at once.
Dandy Man Color Wheel needs fertile, organic rich, well drained, acidic soil. The location I mentioned is on a gentle sloping hillside that has been collecting falling leaves for decades. It is very fertile and gets just a few minutes of what I call a fiery direct sun.
As far as landscape companions, I am layering the downward slope with azaleas, hydrangeas and hostas. I can tell I will be moving some companions to give the Dandy Man Color Wheel more room. The Proven Winners tag said it had the potential of reaching 8 feet tall with an equal spread, but I wasn’t a believer then.
If you live in the South, even in zone 9, and think you can’t grow rhododendrons, this is one you must try.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
