Does anyone know what this plant is?

[Someaddedsugar]

We've recently returned from holiday and want to purchase one of these but I'm not sure what it is. The leaves are rounded unlike a rhododendron that I think has a slight point to its leaves?

It was spotted in Scotland so hopefully native to the UK.

Huge thanks in advance!

Looks like a rhododendron to me

Thanks @Geneticsbunny!

I agree! :)

Thanks @Adge1616 ☺️

They aren’t native to Scotland but were introduced in the 19C. They have become invasive and will dominate native plants, depriving them of light. I wouldn’t plant one except in a pot.

It's a species rhododendron. Species means wild and in this case native to the Himalayas. This one looks like Rhododendron sinofalconeri. They are the aristocrats of the rhododendron world, much classier than the usual hybrid rhodies, and more difficult to grow and keep happy. Some of them are on the cusp of hardiness. They need acid soil, cool moist air and shelter.
They're not easy to get hold of but Glendoick nursery or Millais nursery would have them.
You have good taste in plants but if you're in the south or east of England you'd be struggling with this. These are the only rhododendrons I grow (she gloated!). They're classic mild wet west of Scotland plants. And they get huge.

This information is so wrong I don't know where to start. There is an invasive rhododendron, Rhododendron ponticum. It doesn't come from the Himalayas - it comes from the Black Sea coast. It was planted for game cover in the 19th century and has gone feral some cases. The Himalayan rhododendrons- this is one- are difficult, slow and emphatically noninvasive. The jolly hybrids rhododendrons sold by garden centres are not invasive either. Rhododendron ponticum can be, but it cannot be sold so it would be difficult to get hold of anyway.

Thanks @Bideshi!

We're in the (usually wet and mild) north east of England - do you think one would survive here?

They're beautiful plants and the ones we saw while we were away were amazing. They didn't look like the rhododendrons my MIL has in her garden but I'm assuming that's because she has the other kind that have been mentioned that are more common.

@Someaddedsugar Have you got a sheltered spot in your garden, out of the wind and sun? Perhaps somewhere where ferns pop up naturally, as this is a sign of cool humidity? If so, then, yes, it's definitely worth a try. A big hole, as much leafy compost as you can get your hands on, and a nice mulch of leaf mould every autumn. These big Himalayan rhododendrons are worth any amount of trouble. They are spectacular. Did you notice that the underside of the leaves are silver? they're covered with a sort of felty coating called indumentum, and it makes the whole shrub look a little metallic.

@Bideshi we do! And it's where I was hoping to plant one of these beautiful plants too! Annoyingly we passed the Scottish garden centre you mentioned a few times while we were on holiday but I didn't think to call in! I'll visit our local garden centre next weekend and see if they can help now I know its name. Thank you so much for the advice!

They won't have it @Someaddedsugar. It's a specialist nursery thing. If you go to the RHS site and enter the name it will give you a list of stockists. You can get hold of it by mail order but I think Glendoick has a £100 minimum order. I've got three in my garden but no spares, sadly.

Yes, but this Rhododendron isn’t Rhododendron ponticum which is the invasive one. So no reason not to plant it, and growing such a large plant in a pot is suboptimal

Sorry, @Bideshi, just seen you’ve answered this more effectively than me!

Thanks @Bideshi - I wouldn't mind ordering a few other plants so will have a browse on their website and hopefully we can get one of these plus a few others. Our garden is a bit of a work in progress as we moved in last year and we could do with some plants for the front of the house too.

Thanks for your reply too @MereDintofPandiculation 😊