Today we were not looking for Rhododendron, but Ron Miller wanted to show me one of the few locations of Fothergilla milleri, a species that had been newly described in 2020. So we drove from Pensacola across the border into Alabama to a dense forest at the Perdido River. There, near the insignificant tributary Nelson Branch, are a few small stands of Fothergilla milleri in the middle of the forest. Fortunately, not all of the leaves had yet fallen victim to winter, but some were still showing a little of their usually beautiful red to orange fall coloration. A few plants even still had their typical gray summer foliage. This new species is as beautiful a rhododendron companion in the garden as any other Fothergilla.
