Rhododendron... every garden should have some

[johnw]

In the mid 1990's I grew seed of Rhododendron sinogrande.  It's a fun thing to grow as its growth is so rapid. The third leaf formed is usually so big the seedling almost falls out of the pot.  As a young vigorous plant the leaves can be up to a meter long.  Unfortunately it is far too tender for here though I planted one in the south of Nova Scotia and with snow cover it lived for 5 years though it never grew with the same vigour.  It is hardy to about -7c, even then it can be damaged.

I gave two seedlings to Scots. One a neighbor's father who lives in Campbeltown (Argyll) and to another friend's father who lives in Kishorn (Strathcarron, Ross-shire).  After 15 years the Kishorn  plant is the first to set buds and is flowering just now.  It's growing in a windy spot just meters from the sea and over-looking Skye to the west.  Winter cannot have been too bad there.

Rather exciting.  More when it opens fully.

It would be interested to hear of ones growing in colder areas of Scotland.

johnw

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi all,
Just for Rhododendrons lovers ( who unfortunately I'm not ) this pic of Rhododendron Arboreum. Photo taken in Lyon's BG / France.
Hope it'll be of interest to some of you
J-P

[johnw]

Rhododendron mucronulatum Woodland Pink x Cornell Pink - the very top of a 4m bush this morning.  This plant came through the great freeze of mid April 1981 with almost open buds unscathed.

No frost here this morning but tops of pots slightly frozen just 4 blocks away.

Jean-Patrick - the arboreum looks like a painting from the late 1800's, magnificent!

johnw

[Roma]

This pic was taken on March 29th but I am just getting round to posting it now.  Rhododendron praecox flowered well this year ( at least above roe deer browsing height).  The flowers must have lasted 5 or 6 days before getting frosted.  Better than last year when they were frosted in bud and didn't open at all.

[Tony Willis]

Rhododendron macabeanum is flowering well this year having escaped the frost. I bought this as a 30 cm high rooted cutting at Alpines 81 and it is now about 3 metres.

My local expert tells me that it is impossible to root cuttings but this is what I was told at the time.

[Ragged Robin]

Wow, that is a wonderful Rhododendron Tony - I love the photo looking up into the 'bee' inside each of the flowers.

[TC]

Spring has finally arrived !  We have been round a few of our favourite gardens in the last 3 weeks seeing what has survived.  Surprisingly there appears to be very little damage considering the severity and length of the frost. Rh. edgeworthii seems to be the worst affected - I do not know if mine is still alive -time will tell. I had kept it in the greenhouse from Nov./April until last year when I planted it out in a sheltered site.  My reasoning was that we never get very low temperatures in winter and almost no snow.  WRONG!!!!!
Anyway, here are a few pictures of what is flowering at present.  These were taken at Culzean Castle Country Park yesterday.  After years of neglect, they have thinned out the woodland and undergrowth to reveal some specimen plants.  As there were no names on them, I have not guessed any although I am reasonably sure of what they are.  However hybrids occurr and some have self seeded naturally.

[TC]

A few more

[johnw]

Tom - Great shots and some splendid plants.

I'd hazard a guess that 185 is a whopping good R. calophytum.

johnw

[Ragged Robin]

I agree with John - a superb view of these wonderful Rhododendrons in full bloom and the colours are stunning - the contrast of the wine and white in 185 is beautiful. Thanks for showing these Tom, I hope the volcanic dust doesn't spoil them.

[johnw]

In flower and bud today Rhododendron primuliflorum (deep pink) ex Glendoick Gardens.  It is a bit redder than this and the scent of freshly crushed strawberries is wafting in the air around it from its scaly foliage.

johnw

[Ragged Robin]

A real beauty John 

I love the colour of the bud and the leaf together and like the thought of crushed strawberries scent - is it released by the warmth of the sun or when it brushes against you?

[johnw]

A real beauty John  

I love the colour of the bud and the leaf together and like the thought of crushed strawberries scent - is it released by the warmth of the sun or when it brushes against you?

Robin - It's a desperate one to photograph.  I was surprised the scent was about as I don't recall having brushed up against the plant.  The sun was shining so it may be a wafter.  There's a huge clump of related species and hybrids - sargentianum,   trichostomum, Bridal Bouquet, Sarled, Maricee - out on the coast and I seem to recall the fragrance was detectable from a yard.

johnw

[fermi de Sousa]

For those of you who like Vireya Rhododendrons I have posted a selection on a new thread "FCHS Autumn Show"
Here's a taster!

cheers
fermi

[Wallace]

How do I get to:
http://www.glendoick.com/content.php?page=redfoliage

Both clicking and 'copy and paste' redirects me to Glendoick.com