Rhododendron canescens "Camilla's Blush"

'Camilla's Blush' is a choice clone of the native Piedmont azalea, Rhododendron canescens, selected and introduced by Jeff and Lisa Beasley of Transplant Nursery in Lavonia, Georgia, who named the plant for their eldest daughter. The shrub came to us as cuttings shared by our friend and fellow plant nut Dean Jolly. From the widespread wild species, this selection was chosen for an especially generous show of soft pink flowers and vigorous, willing growth.

In early spring, before or as the new leaves emerge, 'Camilla's Blush' covers itself in abundant clusters of soft pink, trumpet-shaped flowers, each carrying the long curving stamens and sweet, honeysuckle fragrance for which the Piedmont azalea is loved. The scent drifts through the still-bare woodland, and the early bloom lights up shade while the canopy is only beginning to leaf out. The species name canescens means becoming gray, a nod to the soft gray down on the leaf undersides, and the genus name Rhododendron means rose tree in Greek.

Like the wild Piedmont azalea behind it, this selection belongs to the beloved group of Southern bush honeysuckles grown for fragrance and spring color rather than any use in the kitchen. The usual caution holds: like all Rhododendron, the leaves and nectar of 'Camilla's Blush' carry grayanotoxins and are not to be eaten by people or pets. The flowers instead feed the first hummingbirds, native bees, and butterflies of the season.

Vigorous and upright, reaching eight to ten feet in time, 'Camilla's Blush' naturalizes gracefully at the woodland edge, in an understory planting, or in a soft native drift. Give high, filtered shade, a well-drained, sandy, acidic soil mulched with pine needles, and steady moisture without soggy ground. Set the shrub where the fragrance can be caught on a spring evening, and pair with ferns, native phlox, and other deciduous azaleas for a long, layered season of bloom.