Effi cacy of paclobutrazol was determined when applied to rooted cuttings before transplant. Cuttings of large-leaf Rhododendron catawbiense Michx. were treated with paclobutrazol applied as a 40-mL drench. In 1998, concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 10, or 20 mg·L -1 were applied to liners before root development was complete in February, or after cuttings were root-bound in May. The same volume of solution was applied to other plants at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, or 20 mg·L -1 in July 1998, after transplant to 1-gal pots. In 1999, a 40-mL drench of paclobutrazol at 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20 mg·L -1 was only applied to liners in April. All cuttings were transplanted to 1-gal pots and set in the fi eld. The elongation of stems was measured after each of three fl ushes of growth. Plants were far more responsive to paclobutrazol when it was applied before, rather than after transplant. There was a saturating response to paclobutrazol concentration and the half-maximal response occurred at 2 to 4 mg·L -1 (0.08 to 0.16 mg/plant). At low rates, later fl ushes of growth were affected less than earlier fl ushes. However if paclobutrazol was applied at 10 or 20 mg·L -1 , later fl ushes of growth were inhibited more completely than early fl ushes. Flowering was enhanced by paclobutrazol. Paclobutrazol at 2 mg·L -1 applied to rooted cuttings before transplant was suffi cient to inhibit growth of rhododendron, but not to the point where later fl ushes of growth were excessively short. Chemical name used: 2RS,3RS-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-l-yl)-pentan-3-ol (paclobutrazol).