Rhododendron... every garden should have some

[birck j c]

Here a few from today:

(729) My own collection of heliolepis from Yunnan BH-131 september 1996.
(730) campylogynum Black form
(734) Great Expectation with a few white Hardy Gardenia

jens

[Brian Ellis]

Lovely rhodos Jens, I do like the colouring of (730) campylogynum Black form, most unusual.

[Diane Whitehead]

I have tried a couple of clones of hardy gardenias, without success.

Now, I must see if I can get a black campylogynum.

Here are a couple of Rhododendron occidentale which I grew from seed,
I think from seed I collected in California.  They scent the air all around.

[johnw]

I have tried a couple of clones of hardy gardenias, without success.

Diane - Of course the 'Hardy Gardenia' in Jens' picture is an evergreen azalea!

Briggs Nursery has a new Gardenia that is reputedly hardier than 'Klehm's Hardy'. It's G. jasminoides Summer Snow.  Karen at Briggs tells me she left one in a pot in a wheelbarrow  at her second home in Pennsylvania for an entire winter, she planted it and it flowered the following summer.  Might be worth a try but I don't hold out much hope for it here.

Smashing heliopsis there Jens.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

There are a few nurseries in the UK selling "hardy Gardenias"... I've yet to hear of one which has actually survived outside.... I'd like to hear from anyone in Scotland who has had success with one... it's a question that comes up from time to time on the radio phone-in garden programme.

[johnw]

Lawsy Ms. Scarlet Gardenias are as foreign to our climates as sultry nights and mint juleps.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

Lawsy Ms. Scarlet Gardenias are as foreign to our climates as sultry nights and mint juleps.

johnw

Sad, but true.........

[Hoy]

Who has time to look for Gardenias with all those fantastic Rhodos out there

An unknown (actually two different shrubs and slightly different flowers too) just outside the door with Rodgersia aesculifolia and Geranium phaeum.

[zvone]

Who has time to look for Gardenias with all those fantastic Rhodos out there

An unknown (actually two different shrubs and slightly different flowers too) just outside the door with Rodgersia aesculifolia and Geranium phaeum.

Thank's Hoy!


Best Regards!   zvone

[TC]

Several years ago I bought two "hardy" Gardenias which were supposed to be frost resistant.  They were planted in two different parts of the garden.  Neither made it through the winter.  Although Ayrshire is relatively mild, the rain and continual gales turned the foliage into crisps. Expensive experiment over!

This winter has been a disaster for my Rhoddies.  It looked like an early flowering season as the buds on nearly all the plants were well formed late last Autumn.
Of course, the frost came just as many were about to open - the ones that survived the frost were seared by 3 days of Easterly gales.However, I was heartened to see my 40 year old Yak. take everything that was thrown at it and still burst into flower 10 days ago.

A trip round Culzean yesterday was interesting.  A talk with one of the gardeners produced much the same storey.  A good flowering of Magnolias and large leaved Rhoddies. only to be wiped out by a late frost.  However, a walk round the garden produced two Magnolia Grandifloras in flower and this huge, old Rhoddie. bursting with blooms.  This plant is about 10 metres tall and must be well over 100 years old.  It sits next to a Cedar of Lebanon which was planted in the late 18th century.
At least I got my fill of Rhoddies. for the day.

[ronm]

R. campylogynum myrtillioides

Thrown away? A dwarf rhodo? Threatened with the dump?  Utterly shocking...

This is a really super little rhodo. I'm supposing that since it is in a pot and was going to be thrown out, it may not be in the best of health right now.
It is a plant that can be grown in a pot and will make a stunning show plant in good order.


Here in NE Scotland this plant would do in quite a sunny situation. I an area where the weather gets very hot and dry it might prefer a slightly shaded position. If the rescue plant is in poor condition, I'd keep it out of too much cold and bad weather meantime, protected under a hedge, perhaps?
 Plant it out (when the spring is truly springing)  enriched with good leaf mould and in a free draining spot.
Some bone meal amongst the leaf mould seems to be enjoyed by them here.
If the foliage is looking a bit yellow  and grotty (the leaves should in good health be mid to dark green, aromatic when crushed and generally shiny) give the plant a dose of MirAcid feed  or Vitax Q4 .

The little plummy pink thimble flowers have a dusky bloom on them and are just delightful.

The plant is slow growing, beautiful and pretty tough.... worthy of a place in your garden I am quite sure. 

Followed your advice Maggi, and while its not going to win any prizes ( yet! ), at least it has survived and the bees are loving the little flowers. Thanks again Maggi, 

[Maggi Young]

Ah, I love a happy ending. I'm sure that next year it will be a real smasher, Ron.  Those flowers are too cute to be without!

[angie]

Tom that Rhododendron is amazing. Mine were really affected with the late frosts. I don't fancy deadheading that Rhodos, on that subject do you folks dead head your Rhododendrons ( the ones that you can reach off course ) 

Angie 

[Maggi Young]

Iused to dead head them all. Even the dwarf ones with thousands of little flowers... but now I only dead head the ones with bigger flowers. The dwarves I just give a good "rummle"  with both hands.... for the non-Scots speakers, that equates to rubbing my hands vigourously across the surface of the plants:  this dislodges any loose decaying flowers and also knock off some incipient seed heads. I've found that with mature dwarf rhodos that is all that is needed...  here they will flower just as well the next year without "proper" dead heading. I like to keep up with the larger flowered ones though... they seem to have their new growth more inhibited by the presence of dead flowers and also to be more likely to make seed heads which can look a bit untidy (if you don't want the seed!)
I've given up climbing ladders to do that though... only work on the ones I can reach from two feet planted firmly on the ground.

[angie]

Just back in for a coffee break so I will go out and rumble my baby ones once I finish my biscuit. I hate doing the big ones as they take ages, was ok when I only had a few. I did wander if they were better getting the old flowers removed. They look better thats for sure.
Ok coffee and biscuitssssss finished, away to dead head before all this rain comes.

Angie