Great Companion Plants for Rhododendrons and Azaleas

Rhododendrons and Azaleas offer great spring displays of bloom and
can also provide splashes of fall foliar colour. In summer, however, these beds
can look a little dull but there are many great companion plants that grow well
with these acid-loving plants that will add colour and texture to the
rhododendron bed in all seasons. This presentation will highlight those species
that provide great options for companion plants in our southern Great Lakes
region, along with a review of the best planting practices to succeed with
rhododendrons and azaleas.

Kevin Kavanagh owns South Coast Gardens and Consulting, a nursery
and landscape design business in heart of Ontario’s ‘Carolinian
zone’. Kevin spent most of his early career in the
field of nature conservation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and World
Wildlife Fund Canada.

His interest in North American native plants began while
conducting field studies in the diverse eastern forests of Carolinian Canada,
the Appalachian Mountains and the U.S. southeast. Today, Kevin gets great
satisfaction from growing and introducing customers to plants that provide
benefits to pollinators, birds and other wildlife.

Kevin holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) from McGill University, a M.Sc. from
York University and several years of post-grad research in Botany at the
University of Toronto. He has authored several book chapters and articles
celebrating Canada’s
wild places and the rich plant life of Ontario’s Carolinian zone.