Rhododendron dauricum, in flower since mid-January. A good show of purple flowers on this native to east and north Asia, the seed from which this plant grew was collected on Hokkaido Island, Japan. A hardy species that is one of the first of the genera to flower, it does rely on a frost free winter to prolong the flowering as early sun directed on frozen blooms is fatal.

Rhododendron dauricum 19791541A