PlantFiles: Rhododendron
Rhododendron auriculatum

This is the plant to grow if you want a shrub covered with fragrant white lillies in the summer. It takes a number of years to bloom from seed. Various Lane County Oregon gardeners have had some success speeding this up with grafting. But when it does bloom! Some years back, the Rhododendron Species Foundation sold a plant that had bloomed pink, from the same seed lot. Ours has yet to bloom, but shows lots of evidence of lots of reddish genes in the leaves, etc. Different forms of this, reflecting different introductions of seed from various locations, are reported to bloom at different times, some blooming IN EARLY AUGUST!
I am curious about your report of auriculatum blooming in an early month. This plant takes a lot of room...it plans to be a small tree, and can be pruned to shape. Hardy in this area once to minus temperatures, but not to count on this. One of our favorites. There are late blooming hybrids, mostly out of Vancover, BC area. Polar Bear can be a very leggy plant.