Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Rhododendron and other Ericaceae => Topic started by: David Nicholson on February 22, 2018, 07:49:29 PM
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My first of the year Rhododendron praecox, a couple of weeks earlier than last year.
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Hello David,
always nice to see Praecox start flowering. Its one of my favourites although I normally get one day and then it gets frosted! At least its a sign that spring might be on its way. Mine have no signs of growth or flower this year yet due to the spell of cold weather we are having. Last year they flowered in early February and still had there leaves although we didn't have a winter as such with quite a few other Rhododendrons having a go at flowering in Nov/Dec. This year my Praecox dropped there leaves and are completely dormant. Looks by the weather forecast I may have to wait a good bit longer. Its beautiful and sunny here but very cold wind with touch of frost every morning.
Another of my early favourites is the Hybrid, Snow Lady which alas is also prone to late frosts. I tend to grow the early ones on North West or North facing aspects to escape the early morning sun. It works most years but if we get a really hard frost they tend to get a bit of damage.
Alasdair
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Hi Ali,
I have Snow Lady too. This one is in an ericaceous raised bed which faces South-West but is shaded by a tall fence a couple of yards in front of the bed. It's well in bud.
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My Cilpinense is full of buds ready to flower, just in time for the hardest frosts for years. I am hoping that the west coast escapes the worst but it is still worrying. In the last few years I have planted tender varieties..Edgeworthii and hybrids. These have flowered successfully but I don't know how much frost they can stand. Two large pots of fragrantissimum hybrids have been brought indoors....we now can't use the dining room table ! They are supposed to be hardy to -9°C BUT I don't want to test this. I have found that it is the continual cold winds that do more damage than actual low temperatures.
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I agree with the cold winds doing more damage than frost. When the ground is frozen then there is no moisture take up from roots and the cold winds tend to desiccate evergreens. You could try wrapping in fleece which allows a little air to circulate. Problem can be removing it without damaging buds etc. I use a heavier duty fleece called UV30 as the light weight fleece (UV18) tends to catch on everything. Another thing I have done in the past is place a large cardboard box over the plant if the frost is not forecast to last for days. Hope the forecasters are exaggerating it a bit as I don't want a prolonged cold frosty spell just at the start of the season. Wont be too bad if we get some snow but at the moment its blue skies and just above freezing with no snow forecast for the next few days. At least we have very little signs of growth in Inverness. There are a few crocus out and that's about it. Last year at this time we were a lot further ahead due to the mild winter.
Alasdair
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My R. praecox are a month behind last year
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But R. irroratum which is only a couple of meters away from the praecox is blooming at the same time as last year.
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R. montroseanum is blooming better than it has ever done before. Some of the blooms were damaged by the frosts that we had a couple of weeks ago.
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R. hookerii 'Tigh na rudh
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R. montroseanum is blooming better than it has ever done before.
Wow, never seen that before and it is amazing!
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Graham, I am envious of your montroseanum! I absolutely love the foliage... sadly our winters would see it grow itself back below ground.
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I gave up on Rh. Praecox years ago, it was always getting frosted. At the minute I have R. Cilpinense and R. thomsonii McBeath's form. R. elegantulum and R. uvarifolium are showing colour from their buds. The elegantulum has only been without flower for a couple or three of months all year.
Your plants are looking good, Graham - especially that sumptuous R. montroseanum !!
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Thanks Gail, Gordon, and Maggi.
R. montroseanum is one of those that has amazing leaves that make it stand out all year and well worth having just for those. The bonus is when it flowers as well as it is this year.
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just the leaves is a reason to grow it, a shame my soil is so alkaline.
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Both montroseanum and hookeri are great material for hybridising. It's weird that no one is using montroseanum, while it is quite apparent that this is a great parent for foliage plants. Nice unexplored path for future hybridisers.
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Rhododendron racemosum.
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Rhododendron 'Snow Lady', a couple of weeks later than last year and a little weather beaten.
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At least her flowers are lovely, David - they look so awful when frosted to look like teabags.
It was the habit of frost doing that to mine which lead me to pass it on to someone with a less frosty garden.
Perhaps a feed with Miracid ( do they still make that?) or Vitax Q 4 to green up the foliage a bit? Perhaps a lot of nutrients are being washed out of your soil by all that rain?
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Here is our Rhododendron uvariifolium - which will be on the cover of Ian's Bulb Log tomorrow - with other rhodos included.
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This gem is also featured in this video from Ian Young
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_e5NtmuFTs&t=14s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_e5NtmuFTs&t=14s)
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.........Perhaps a feed with Miracid ( do they still make that?) or Vitax Q 4 to green up the foliage a bit? Perhaps a lot of nutrients are being washed out of your soil by all that rain?
Thanks Maggi, Miracid is still going and perhaps I'll run a soil test on the bed too, I noticed today that one of my other Rhodies looked a bit pale.
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Rhododendron thomsonii L & S 1965
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Rhododendron mallotum DGEY406
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Today's offering.
R. 'Joachim Reich'
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Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Fred Peste'
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Rhododendron niveum
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Rhododendron spinuliferum
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Rhododendron eximium
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Rh. Arboreum var. album
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Over the last couple of years I've built up a collection of around a dozen small Rhodendrons mainly from Hartside Nursery. All are in pots as I don't currently have anywhere to put them in the garden where they might be happy and they might have to stay that way for some time. Here's the first one to flower, Rhododendron 'Artic Tern'.
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I like the small ones David.
These mostly aren't small:
Rhododendron ocraceum
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Rhododendron johnstoneanum
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Rhododendron schlippenbachii
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Rhododendron tomentosum
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Rhododendron impeditum
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Rhododendron 'Ems'
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Rhododendron 'St Merryn'
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Ralph, do you grow most of your big 'uns in pots? Is this is a room issue or a soil issue? Nice collection there.
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All in pots. Soil - we are on weald clay.
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Rhododendron 'Oban'
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Very nice - a bit like 'Gigha'.
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Today's (fairly) useless information......
'Gigha' is one of Oban's "grandparents"
Oban is R. 'Grouee ' x R. keiskei Yaku' Fairy
Colours very similar, 'Gigha' flowers are flat faced, showing its calostrotum blood while the flowers of 'Oban' are more campanulate.
@Oban was named for the ARS rhodo conference in Oban in 1996
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Not useless at all! Here's 'Gigha' today.
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Thanks for the history Maggi, I love all that stuff.
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I bought this as Rhododendron groenlandicum, which clearly it isn't.
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Similar to this, Rhododendron 'Curlew', but leaves are different.
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Should be more like this, Rhododendron tommentosum.
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Rhododendron Loderi Group 'Pink Diamond'.
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Does anyone know where I can get the genuine R. groenlandicum?
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Ralph, have you tried Perryhill Nurseries, Hartfield, East Sussex?
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Rhododendron fastigiatum
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Rhododendron 'Wren'
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Rhododendron 'Curlew'
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Ralph, have you tried Perryhill Nurseries, Hartfield, East Sussex?
Yes, thanks, they don't have it but referred me to Millais Nursery who do.
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Rhododendron calophytum, mucronulatum, dauricum, leucaspis hybrids and R. rex in flower here.
jrc, I can always send you groenlandicum seed if you don't land a plant. The bogs here are full of it.
john
17c & sunny, then rain this evening till Saturday
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jrc, I can always send you groenlandicum seed if you don't land a plant. The bogs here are full of it.
john
17c & sunny, then rain this evening till Saturday
That would be nice!
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Can anyone identify this dwarf yellow flowered Rhododendron?
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Rhododendron cinnabarinum KCSH0318
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Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Silver Sixpence'
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Rhododendron luteum
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Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Percy Wiseman'
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Rhododendron 'Egret'
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Rhododendron 'Persil'
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Can anyone identify this dwarf yellow flowered Rhododendron?
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Does Honey Bee or any of the ....Bees ring a bell?
I'll pm you in Sept for your mailing address.
john
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'Princess Anne' or 'Shamrock' would be my guess (I have both, and they are quite similar).
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'Princess Anne' or 'Shamrock' would be my guess (I have both, and they are quite similar).
'Princess Anne' sounds reasonable especially with the spotted yellowish foliage.
They say 17c today!
johnw
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Yes, 'Princess Anne' is the best bet, especially as Gardening Express list it. Thank you all.
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.................especially as Gardening Express list it...............
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???
That's where it came from, labelled as Rhododendron groenlandicum.
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A few of the many Rhododendrons in flower over the past 2 weeks here.
R. 'Peter Faulk', a strigillosum hybrid and one of the earliest. Owner has obviously planted it too close to that bamboo as it should be rather more compact.
R. recurvoides x proteoides, a seedling I grew with disproportionately large flowers.
R. calophytum steals the show here this spring, all the calophytums even ones that have never set but put on a glorious show this spring
R. calophytum, a long shot for a sense of scale.
From the wizard Jens Birck, Gold Prinz x rex in his Copenhagen garden, a brilliant colour break in a rex hybrid.
john - +15c & sunny, a chilly +5c last night around dawn.
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Is R. groenlandicum the same as Ledum? I noticed our local nursery had one or two last week. They were quite large and I remember them being called Labrador Tea. They were among plants introduced to the local site a hundred years ago but I have not managed to find them. Kalmia angustifolia is still there though.
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They are indeed the same.
john
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Rhododendron 'Bow Bells'.
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Some Rhododendrons that caught my eye at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh this afternoon.
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R. 'Hatsugiri'
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R. augustinii ssp. augustinii
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R. 'Rosa Stevenson'
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More.
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R.rex ssp. fictolacteum
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R. arizelum
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R. macabeanum
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And finally
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R. argyrophyllum nankingensis
UK & Ireland Champion Tree - Girth
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Graham,
Beautiful pictures and plants. Unfortunately, most rhodies do not tolerate our cold winters and (relatively) hot summers.
I have rather standard cultivars that proved to be hardy here. I also avoid buying imported plants (and unknown on local market), as they will not survive in most cases.
Here is one of my beloved azalea, an old "Homebush". Very shade tolerant, very fast grower (250 cm at least after 10 years), reliable bloomer and visible from a distance. The only rhododendron I am inquired about by the people passing by.
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John, this 'Peter Faulk' looks like if you were in PNW and not in NS. Beauty.
Of about 1K seedlings that I grow only two show some variegation. One of them is 'Spellbinder' x rex with a weird yellow pattern repeated on the newly emerging leaves.
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Tomasz - Funny as I find yellow leaves & yellow variegated leaves very common in rex crosses, especially in backcrosses. I have some backcrosses that flush pure yellow and after a few weeks they turn green.
I have tried that Spellbinder x rex cross many times and have never had a take. I wish you success with it. We were quite enamoured with Spellbinder when we visited David Leach in the 80's, everyone wanted it. Now I have grown very tired of its pillywally colour, rex should help that.
R. thomsonii in flower at a friend's out on the coast, it just keeps flowering in the cool. Sucha great species and such a wonderous trunk.
johnw
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Tomasz - Given your fascination with rex hybrids this may be of interest. When we visited Leach the best oplant on his property was his own cross of Catalgla x rex ssp. fictolacteum. I attach a picture of it, sorry very small for some reason. If I enlarge it it's very blurry. Weldon Delp, David Leach & Al Smith @ Leach's garden & Catalgla x fictolacteum in the rear
The plant has been named 'Holden Spring Herald', it's very good and commonly available thanks to Briggs & tissue-culture.
john
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Jens Birck's exquisite Copenhagen garden today. What can one say?
john
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One of the finest deciduous azalea species and an Eastern North American native, Rhododendron vaseyi. This year's flowering is typical, last year was a light year as the drought the previous summer was trying.
johnw
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The rhododendron and azaleas should be putting on a good show at Dundock wood near Coldstream just now. Well worth a visit and it,s free.
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Rhododendron 'Graziela', right, and Rhododendron rigidum YUN95-173 (bought from Jamie Taggart), left rear with Rhododendron luteum, left front.
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Rhododendron 'Karen Triplett'
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Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Golden Torch'
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Rhododendron 'Ruby Hart'
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while i was botanizing in acid meadows i found these Rhododendrons in all their magnificence
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Pictures by Lawrence Peet of this Farrer Medal win for Dave Mountfort and Rhododendron lowndesii at AGS East Cheshire show today.
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Rhododendron lowndesii
Lovely example of this tricky little plant.
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Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Titian Beauty'
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Rhododendron dichroanthum subsp. apodectum - an unusual colour.
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Apparently now in genus Rhododendron but still a Menzesia to me. A lovely blue-leafed hybrid from seed via Barry Starling.
john - a chilly damp 8c.
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Ralph- two very nice ones. I particularly like the Rhodo. dichroanthum ssp. apodectum, a lovely colour.
John- Over the years Barry Starling has produced some absolutely beautiful plants, and your Menzesia is a stormer. I haven't seen Barry since Autumn when he didn't seem to very well and had to leave an AGS Group meeting at half-time , one of these days I'll get to see his garden.
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Click the link to read this Bulb Log from Ian Young with Rhodos, mixed tasks, planting, repotting, cuttings, also the start of the autumn flowering bulbs.
To see the actual scale of these charming Rhododendron pumilum flowers, see page two of the Bulb Log - follow the link!
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2018Aug221534930320BULB_LOG_3418.pdf (http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2018Aug221534930320BULB_LOG_3418.pdf)
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Rhododendron pumilum - Kingdon Ward's "Pink Baby"
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Photo from my friend David Atkinson, who writes : "What a difference rain makes ! Last year's and this year's leaves on Rhododenron sinogrande".
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We can see it's been a harder year than ever to be a large-leafed Rhodo on the East Coast!
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'Wonderred' ('Everred' x 'Moser's Maroon') is a new rhododendron introduced by Glendoick nursery. Looks like a wonderful foliage plant, but it's also said to be free flowering, so this should be a great plant all-around. Leaf underside is purple, leaves are ribbed, young growth is supposed to be reddish-bronze, and flowers should be dark red.
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If you need a little Rhododendron "rush" to get you through winter - how about an armchair visit to these plants in the wild?
100s of Photos of the Scandinavian NW Yunnan Expedition 2018 from Kristian Theqvist
http://www.rhodogarden.com/SNWYE_2018_Plants/index.html (http://www.rhodogarden.com/SNWYE_2018_Plants/index.html) 8)