Rhododendron... every garden should have some

[Roma]

There were no labels to be seen and my Rhododendron knowledge is limited.
? Rhododendron orbiculare

[Hoy]

3 more from my garden, Rh decorum (with a red flowered relative of 'Elizabeth Hobbie' in the foreground), decorum has a very pleasant scent noticeable at a distance, Lem's Monarch with huge flowers and Rh yakushimanum.

[johnw]

Yes Maggi what is that glorious Kildrummy red that Roma posted?  My what a show they are putting on!  The leaves do not look like any of the Hobbies to me.

Roma - The concatenans looks more like Trewithen Orange to me eyes.  The ?orbiculare might have williamsianum blood in it?

As usual Jens your plants and hybrids in particular are stunning, that hybrid must be one of the very few lanatum hybrids in existence. Yes?  A clean pink it is.  That Goldsprenkel x nikko is wonderful, love the green markings.

johnw - a day of torrential rains here, first tropical storm of the season.

[TC]

With the unbelievable arrival of sunny weather, we have been trying to catch up with the rhododendron flowering and visited Benmore last Sunday - brilliant !, Logan on Wednesday, the Maddenii and Crassums almost there with about 4 weeks away for the Dalhousii flowering.
Dawyck had the plantings of Slieve Donard mecanopsis in full bloom along with the native bluebells - an unusual sight.

I was talking to Richard Baines, the curator at Logan, about Rh. Roylmad.  This is a hybrid between maddenii x cinnabarinum roylei which has managed to take the perfume across to hybrid.  I believe it is a cross made at Logan in 1921 -according to the label and I don't think it exists outside the garden.  I have been pestering him to propagate further specimens to ensure its survival and I believe this is being done - not for my benefit.
I mentioned to him that Benmore had a similar cross named Sirius which he had never heard of.  So after dredging through my over large and largely uncatalogued picture collection I managed to find Sirius.  This is a cross between crassum and royleii and also scented
I hunted for this on the web and although described, there are no pictures I could find of this plant.  Maybe I have the only copies of it.

Any way, for the few who might be interested, here are the pictures.

[johnralphcarpenter]

Two Rhodos in flower today: 'Arctic Tern', which clearly shows its R. groenlandicum parentage, and R. camtschaticum.

[Maggi Young]

Yes Maggi what is that glorious Kildrummy red that Roma posted?  My what a show they are putting on!  The leaves do not look like any of the Hobbies to me

Oh, I was keeping quiet in the hope you would have an answer ! It doesn't look like any of the Hobbies really -  the red isn't dark enough and the foliage too rounded....  so, Pass!

[johnw]

Oh, I was keeping quiet in the hope you would have an answer ! It doesn't look like any of the Hobbies really -  the red isn't dark enough and the foliage too rounded....  so, Pass!

Mystery solved, Ken Cox came to the rescue as quick as lightening.  The Kildrummy reds are 'Hummingbird'.

johnw

[Roma]

Thanks for the name of the red Rhodo, John.  It helps to have a hotline to the expert   I remembered Hummingbird as having pink flowers and in the only rhododendron book I have (Peter Cox's Dwarf Rhododendrons, 1974 edition) he says it has pink to medium red flowers.

[johnw]

Roma  - When I get a chance I will email ken back and see if there are other possibilities.  Close up how red was it?

johnw

[johnralphcarpenter]

Flowering now - R. yakushimanum 'Golden Torch' and R. 'Butterscotch'

[zvone]

Hi!

Some from My Garden:




Best Regards!  zvone

[johnralphcarpenter]

A late bloomer, Rhododendron occidentale SM25.

[TC]

Rhodendron Picotee.  I bought this because it was supposed to be scented.  NO IT IS NOT ! Very annoying

[Roma]

Most of my azaleas flowered very well this year
No names but the double yellow may be 'narcissiflora'

[Roma]

Can anyone name this one?  It is flowering now, later than the others which are nearly over.  The flowers are small but they are scented.

Another of the larger flowered azaleas