Rhododendron fortunei 'Emma and May'

This selection has drawn our attention because of the beautiful green leaves. The distinct leaves have no indumentum but are so beautiful it’s worth growing just for the foliage. The pink flowers are a soft color. Named for two women that helped women get the right to vote in Washington state.

Flowers are a frosty pink and fragrant! It buds as a young plant and has extraordinary foliage: new growth is coppery blue, which matures to leaves which have a distinct blue tinged sheen. It is a compact grower. Its name honors Emma Smith DeVoe and May Arkwright Hutton, who helped Washington state women get the vote in 1910. Prior to the vote, male politicians tried to placate the women by allowing them to choose the state flower. They chose the rhododendron, but also chose to pursue voting rights for women. The Washington Women's Consortium approached Briggs Nursery to use 'Emma and May' as an appropriate symbol for the upcoming 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in 2010.

Selected form of the species. Flowers shell pink in bud, opening to white. Flowers fragrant.