Tree · Ericaceae
Great laurel
Rhododendron maximum
Great laurel is recorded as native to 17 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 314 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Great laurel at a glance
- Native in
- 314 counties, across 17 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 6a PLANTS minimum temperature −13°F
- Mature height
- 25 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Tolerates shade Medium water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 6a. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −13°F; zone 6a winters bottom out at −10°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Great laurel is recorded as native to 17 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 314 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 314 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Connecticut statewide record
- Georgia 15 counties
- Kentucky 31 counties
- Maine 4 counties
- Massachusetts 4 counties
- New Hampshire 6 counties
- New Jersey 11 counties
- New York 27 counties
- North Carolina 32 counties
- Ohio 6 counties
- Pennsylvania 57 counties
- Rhode Island 2 counties
- South Carolina 2 counties
- Tennessee 30 counties
- Vermont 4 counties
- Virginia 45 counties
- West Virginia 38 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 25 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Shape
- Semi-Erect
- Lifespan
- Long
- Active growth period
- Spring and Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Tolerant (tolerates shade)
- Moisture use
- Medium water use
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- Low
- Precipitation range
- 36 to 60 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse and medium
- pH range
- 4 to 5.5
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- None
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- 18 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −13°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 6a and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 150
- Fire tolerance
- Medium
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Red
- Showy flowers
- Yes
- Bloom period
- Mid Spring
- Foliage color
- Dark Green
- Showy in fall
- Yes
- Keeps leaves
- Yes
- Fruit color
- Brown
Other
- Toxicity
- Moderate
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- Routinely Available
- Family
- Ericaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- RHMA4
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Rhododendron maximum (PLANTS symbol RHMA4).
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources