Plant Database
Nova Zembla Rhododendron
Rhododendron ‘Nova Zembla’
Rhododendron 'Nova Zembla' is a legendary, cold-hardy evergreen shrub prized for its stunning clusters of vivid red flowers and exceptional winter hardiness. This classic hybrid forms a dense, rounded, upright mound of large, leathery, elliptic, medium to dark green leaves that remain attractive year-round. In mid to late spring, it produces showy, dome-shaped trusses of large, bell-shaped, frilled flowers in a brilliant, bright red with prominent dark maroon to blackish spotting (freckles) in the throat, creating a dramatic, fiery display. With excellent cold tolerance (to -25°F), good heat tolerance, and resistance to powdery mildew, it is an outstanding choice for foundation plantings, woodland gardens, shaded borders, informal hedges, and mass plantings in colder climates.