'Roseum Elegans' is an Anthony Waterer hybrid from the 1800s, very similar to ‘English Roseum’ from the same plantsman.
'Roseum Elegans' is the commonest rhododendron hybrid in the north-eastern United States, just like 'Catawbiense Grandiflorum' is in Finland. Because it is so common, it is not as highly regarded as earlier. In Finland, however, it is one of the best of the pink-flowered hybrids, surviving the winters in southern Finland under snow cover. There are a number of clones on the market, many of them less hardy than the original.
'Roseum Elegans' flowers pink in June and grows to about 1.5m in ten years. Snow depresses the loose branches so the shrub tends to grow sideways rather than high, sometimes reaching several metres wide.
