Arctic Rose Azalea (Rhododendron 'Arctic Rose') - red flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Arctic Rose Azalea

Rhododendron 'Arctic Rose'

Also called arctic rose evergreen azalea

Arctic Rose Azalea blooms from May through June.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
May–Jun
checked
Hardiness
Zones 5–8
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
3.5 ft × 4.5 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Arctic Rose Azalea

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).

Verification
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 8 sources it was checked against

When to plant Arctic Rose Azalea

Plant Arctic Rose Azalea in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Arctic Rose Azalea get?

Illustration of Arctic Rose Azalea drawn to scale beside an adult3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwide
About 3.5 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity: waist-high beside an adult.

See Arctic Rose Azalea in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Arctic Rose Azalea

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Arctic Rose Azalea about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
4.5 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 20 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 1

Add Arctic Rose Azalea to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Arctic Rose Azalea's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 8 published sources on September 26, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • mackeysgrows.comMackey's (garden and farm store, Connecticut)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and diseases
  • Plant Addictsthe store this queue entry namesheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and pests
  • pridescorner.comPrides Corner Farms (grower, Lebanon, Connecticut)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
  • boscosgardencenter.comBosco's Garden Center (Simsbury, Connecticut)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
  • piedmontcarolina.comPiedmont Carolina Nursery (grower, Colfax, North Carolina)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • NC State Extensiongenus pagesun, water, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
  • extension.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Extension, G6825 Growing Azaleas and Rhododendr...sun, water, soil, diseases and pests
  • ASPCAgenus entrytoxicity

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

Good to know about Arctic Rose Azalea

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.

Safety

All parts contain grayanotoxins. Toxic to dogs, cats and horses: vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and in serious cases cardiac failure. Pets and livestock are poisoned more readily than people. per ASPCA

The Azaleas group

One of 20 in the Azaleas group. Same genus, similar care.

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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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