"presley" wrote:

In the southeast, people grow a dark purple large evergreen azalea that is
often called "formosa". It would not be hardy above zone 7 I believe. There
is a dark purple rhododendron called "purple splendor" which is a very hardy
rhododendron and a good strong deep purple. It is hardy at least to zone 5.

Your take on the R. ponticum hybrid Purple Splendour (the rhododendron,
not the evergreen azalea) is off. Here in Zone 6 where I live, very few
people have been able to keep it healthy. It seems to get smaller each
year after it is planted. It is a beautiful plant, but not very hardy.
It doesn't do well with the heat and cold of the East Coast where I live
in Zone 6. It is rated variously by different people, but the American
Rhododendron Society rates it at -5F. That is probably right.

For a photo of Purple Splendour look at:

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/rhpursp3.htm
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Zone 6