I think I checked the CV cleanup thread and didn’t see any rhododendrons. However, that thread was closed and archived, so when I found this one I thought this was the more appropriate one to reopen for this specific case. I mentioned it over in the IdentiFriday thread.
I also just found out about R. maximum ‘Roseum’ - a hybrid between R. maximum and R. Catawbiense ‘Roseum’ which itself is a hybrid between R. catawbiense and something else, possibly R. ponticum. I think I probably misidentified a few of those myself based on bracts around the buds and will have to retrace my IDs again…
Should I add flags to some of these often misidentified rhodos to alert others to the existence of the frequently observed cultivated hybrids? Based on everything I’ve been seeing so far, I think there’s a >95% chance if it’s in a garden or city park that it’s a hybrid and not a species. Not sure what the current “best practices” are to get the word out about this. Also still no response to my flag on whether Rhododendron x hybridum could/should be used for these.
Agreed, changing the common name would probably help in this particular case. The most “common” rhododendrons in the US by far are the planted hybrids.