Rhododendron... every garden should have some

[Paul T]

Um..... Rhododendron-like? 

[Maggi Young]

Paul!
that's not good enough... if I weren't sitting freezing here I'd give you a lecture o on the infinite variability of Rhod leaves...
I'll assume you mean they are ( to the uninitiated) standard rhodo-ish..... longer than wide... but.....
What length are they... indumentum on either/both/ only one side? Shape?........

[Paul T]

Pretty much standard.  Little in the way of furriness, no significant ribbing like the species types.  Normal relatively acute tip, not rounded or oval shaped leaves etc.  "Standard" size given that it is one of the flowering ones jsut bought in an 8 inch pot (and therefore treated with whatever hormones to promote high flowering on small plants).

[Maggi Young]

Okay, maybe a pic,  ???then?

[ian mcenery]

Hi Paul I did give you a name it was "Rosa Stevenson"

[Paul T]

Ian,

Sorry, was a typo.  Meant to be "You GAVE me a name....", not "You GIVE me a name..."!  When I saw your response I wondered what you meant, as of course you gave me the name, but when I went back and read my posting I realised why you thought I'd missed it.

Thanks.

[ian mcenery]

Paul with me it's anno domini that causes these things. Anyway if it is less yellow it is unlikely to be the one i said as pure yellows with the sort of foliage you show are few and far between but creams ?? you are on your own   

[ian mcenery]

It's December so why is R pachysanthum flowering?

Also I could't resist R bureavii after the rain the buds are all cinnamon as are the undersides of the leaves

Pleasure are small at this time of year

[Maggi Young]

There must have been enough heat and good light to encourage the pachysanthum to open this extra flower.... very kind  of it, in my opinion, since, as you say, these little pleasures are all the more welcome at this time of year.
 R. bureavii is just one of the BEST rhodos around....that rich furry indumentum is just FAB! .... gorgeous every day of every year.... I LOVE IT!!

[ian mcenery]

Maggi you wouldn't think it was warm but I guess the Rhodie it is just plain confused. Yes Bureavii is one of my favourites I like all with indumentum and probably have overdone these types. I think it is good to remember that flowers last only 4 weeks but the foliage is wonderful on some of them all year. In fact with some its the main reason I grow them - if I had a bigger garden there would be a lot more.

[Joakim B]

Nice to get a winter bonus
I saw a nice one in Lund (Sweden) just a few weeks ago blooming. That was a bonus.
Here in Portugal there is the gardencenter type azaleas that is blooming now and I must admit that I love that.

I might even add a picture of the hole lot later.

Now to my to questions: On the gardencenter azaleas the flowers do not always fall of by them selves but stay and get molded or just look brown and boring. I did a bit of tidying up and just took the flowers and did nothing to the possible seed pods that they seem to get. These does not seem to develop so I do not know if I need to take them away
That would be a lot of work and I hope it is not needed since I only see dry seed pods from earlier time. These doe not seem to be disturbing the plant or making it look worse.
Second question what to have below rhododendron planted in pots? I planted tulips partly because I was given them at the time and partly because I like them and hope they would look nice there. Now I realized that the watering of the rhododendron in the summer might not be idea for the tulips so they might not survive. For next time would cyclamen fit there
It could be the gardencenter persicum variety or even something from the seed exchange if I get lucky. Is there any example on what would thrive there. They get a lot of sun and hence the rhods need a lot of water if I understood things right.

Kind regards
Joakim

[Joakim B]

To illustrate my questions earlier I have pics of the azaleas and the picked off flowers but do I need to try to get the seed caps as well? They do not seem to set seeds. 

I also have a picture of how not to take a picture of your pots that is in the shadow when you (and the camera) is in the sun. You can see the pots of Rhododendrons and they have now tulips around that I think might rot in summer when the Rhods are watered. Do You also think this will happen? Should I try to save the tulips after they have bloomed 
Do You have an alternative to plant with the Rhods? They do get a lot of sun at least in the summer time.
Would cyclamen fit or should I have primula there 
Input in this is very welcome
Kind regards
Joakim
PS sorry for the not so good pics

[Martin Baxendale]

Joakim, leaving the azalea seed pods on the plants shouldn't do them any harm. As for bulbs in the containers with the azaleas, tulips won't like the summer moisture. Narcissus of the trumpet type (not the small bulbocodium, triandrus etc) will tolerate the summer moisture better. Garden centre Cyclamen persicum would be good, as I find that they will stay in growth all year round if kept watered.

[Joakim B]

Thanks Martin now I know what to do.  The cyclamen persicum generally become dormant here  since they do not get water in summer so it will be interesting to see if I can keep them going.
btw my mother-in-law claims a big forehead is a sign of high intelligence and not recieding hairline like some people seems to believe so we can take comfort in that when the envious people try to tease us

Kind regards
Joakim

[TC]

A day without rain!  We went to Culzean Castle Country Park to see what was in flower.  The Snowdrops are up in their thousands but it will take a few days of sunshine to open them.  Already the Rhododendrons have started flowering.  Christmas Cheer has been out for 5 weeks and the unnamed red flowering variety will soon be in full bloom.  The Camellias have also started to bloom.  When I first started visiting this garden 45 years ago, mid to late March was the flowering time for these plants.  Also we noticed some crocus flowering under the shelter of trees. Again, this is very early for here.
Benmore gardens is open on Thursday for a talk on plant collecting in Japan so we will have to go across for this and have a look around to see what is in flower in the Rhododendron line.