They are valued in other areas for their hardiness, flower color, foliage, and compactness. These hybrids will undoubtedly proved to be of great benefit to gardeners in Atlantic Canada. Rhododendron mucronulatum is a native of China, Korea, and Japan. Mucronulate means tipped with a small point and refers to the leaves. Hardy and very early flowering, the shrub reaches a height of 2.4m.
Flowers range from mauve to rose pink and are tolerant of frost even when fully open.
The species is of special value because of its hardiness and early flowering. A breeding program aimed at developing hardy, compact rhododendrons and azaleas for the Atlantic Region was initiated at Kentville in 1958. Crossing continued until 1975, when we had made 211 parental combinations that produced 16,509 seedlings from which we made 214 selections. To date we have named 10 evergreen rhododendrons and 3 deciduous azaleas. The azaleas have been named Minas Flame , Minas Gold and Minas Princess .