The Purple Gem Rhododendron is a great selection for using in borders, hedges, woodland gardens, or foundation plantings. This heavy blooming accent plant produces big trusses of vibrant purple flowers during the spring. These flowers are trumpet-shaped, lightly scented, and standout beautifully against its long, narrow foliage. New growth emerges blue-green in spring, maturing to glossy dark green during the summer, and finally finishing with a warm coppery-bronze color during the late fall and winter. This showy dwarf evergreen features a low mounding growth habit that is upright and dense.