The nectar is toxic, containing the neurotoxin grayanotoxin; records of poisoning of people eating the honey date to the 4th century BC in Classical Greece.

[2] It is widely cultivated in western Europe, used both as an ornamental plant in its own right, and as a rootstock onto which other azalea cultivars are grafted.

In Great Britain it has colonised many wet heaths and bogs, but unlike its relative Rhododendron ponticum it does not usually form dominant stands and so is of lower nature conservation concern.

While it is legal to sell and grow it in gardens, users are expected to take care when disposing of material from this plant.

[3][4] The plant is depicted in place of the crown above the coat of arms of the Local Community of Boštanj, Slovenia.