8o4 RHODODENDRON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



RHODODENDRON. 



Sikkim and Bhotan, I think the results at 

 which I have ai-ri\'ed may be interesting. 

 In order to avoid occupying too much 

 space, I shall first give the names, as 

 furnished to me, of those varieties which I 

 have found perfectly hardy trees without 

 the slightest protection, although some of 

 those which bloom early (about March) 

 have their flowers occasionally spoiled by 

 the spring frosts : — 



" Alpinum ; ^ruginosum ; Anthopogon ; Arboreum 

 album ; Arboreum roseum, very beautiful ; Arboreum 

 nepalense ; Barbatum, magnificent ; Caljxulatum ; 

 Camelliceflorum ; Campanulatum; Campbell! ; Campylo- 

 carpum ; Ciliatum ; Cinnamomeum ; Cinnabarinum ; 

 Crispiflorum, not bloomed ; Eximium, fine, like Falcon- 

 eri ; Falconeri, grand ; Fulgens ; Falconeri superbum, 

 not bloomed ; Glaucum ; Hodgsoni, grand, has not j'et 

 bloomed ; Hookeri ; Keysi ; Lanatum ; Lancifolium, not 

 bloomed ; Metternichi ; Massangei, beautiful bloom 

 this year ; Niveum ; Nobile, a grand plant, never 

 bloomed ; Ochraceum ; Roylei ; Virgatum ; Wallichi, 

 I think same as Niveum ; Wighti. 



" The following were more or less 

 injured last spring (those marked * I have 

 not yet succeeded in acclimatising) : — 



" Argentum, much injured, growing well, not bloomed 

 yet ; Auckland!, much injured, growing well, bloomed 

 well in 1878-79-80 ; Calophyllum, apparently killed, 

 but growing well ; * Dalhousianum, I do not give this 

 up ; * Edgeworthi, I do not give this up ; Formosum 

 Gibsoni, much injured, but growing well ; Jenkinsi, 

 much injured, doing well, never injured in twenty years 

 previous ; Kendriclci, I doubt its name ; Longifolium, 

 much injured, growing well, has never bloomed ; 

 Lindleyanum, much injured, growing well ; Maddeni, 

 much injured, growing well (I see no essential diflference 

 between this and Jenkinsi ; centre of Jenkinsi flower, 

 rose, of Maddeni, yellow) ; Nilghiricum not bloomed, 

 much injured ; * Nuttali, many plants killed, I fear 

 hopeless ; Thomson!, much injured, but growing ; 

 Windsor!, very much injured, but growing well. The 

 last two plants appear to me less hardy varieties of 

 R. arboreum. 



" I have not included any European 

 ■hybrids in my list, of which, between 

 Himalayan sorts alone, I know many, and 

 have a great number of my own rearing 

 also, and the reason I do not give up 

 Dalhoiisiammi and Edgewortlii is that I 

 have seedlings from crosses of them which 

 promise well to be hardy, one especially, 

 between EdgeivortJii and, I think, calo- 

 phylluvi, which only lost its bloom-buds 

 last spring, I am very proud of ; its 

 fragrance is far beyond any I know — 

 'R.oiWsson^s fragran/issimufn and Lindley- 

 anum being, so far, the best. I have 

 named it the Empress of India in honour 

 of our Queen. — H. H." 



Rhododendrons in Scotland. — 

 Indian Mountain Rhododendrons may 

 not only be successful in the southern 

 parts of England and Ireland, but very 

 fine flowers have been sent me from Scot- 

 land (Stonefield, Tarbert, Argyleshire), 

 kinds thriving there that do not always 

 prove hardy in the south. Mr. D. Robert- 

 son, who sent the flowers, said the effect 

 produced by them was very fine, and the 

 following kinds have flowered in that 

 place without any kind of protection : — 



Falconeri., arboreum., arboreum album, 

 niveum, cinna?nomeum, Campbelli, cam- 

 pylocarpum, Thomsoni, barbatum, fulgens, 

 IVallic/ii, ciliatum, Roylei, Edgeworthi, 

 glaucum, Gibsoni, candelabrum, setosum, 

 and pumilum. Another Scotch corre- 

 spondent, writing from Edinburgh, gives 

 the following additional kinds as hardy 

 and flowering well in his garden : — ALru- 

 ginosutn, arge7tteum, barbatum, Bland- 

 fordiosflorum, cinnabarinu7n and its fine 

 form nuyus, Fortunci, fulgens, Hodgsoni, 

 lepidotum, longifoliutn, and virgatum. 



New Chinese Rhododendrons.— 

 These are not yet much known in our 

 gardens, and yet a few kinds have already 

 shown their value. There is now at 

 Coombe Wood a great Aariety of young 

 plants raised from seeds sent home to 

 Messrs. Veitch by Mr. E. H. Wilson, and 

 some at least of them are likely to prove 

 of real importance for us. On the whole 

 they approach the Rhododendrons of 

 Northern India — in fact, several species 

 in the one region have an almost exact 

 counterpart in the other. On the other 

 hand, not a few are quite unlike any other 

 known kinds, such as the charming R. 

 racemosum, in which we have a distinct 

 new type of Rhododendron. We maj" 

 hope, too, from the latitude and elevation 

 at which many of them grow, that they 

 will prove hardier than the Himalayan 

 species. 



R. aucubufolia is a fine species with 

 white flowers, and bold leaves 6 or 8 

 inches long. R. Augustinii has large 

 white, pink, or mauve coloured flowers, 

 finely waved around the edges of the 

 petals. 7?. auriculatum, a fine low tree 

 of 10 to 30 feet, with beautiful white or 

 rosy flowers perhaps finer than in any 

 other Chinese kind. They are funnel- 

 shaped, 3 inches deep and 45 inches 

 across the mouth ; the leaves leathery 

 and 4 to 9 inches long. R. ciliicalyx is 

 another charming plant with even larger 

 white flowers flushed with rose, but it is 

 untried as to hardiness. R. Delavayi, with 

 dark red flowers, comes very near the 

 Himalayan R. arboreum. R. Foi'tunei, 

 though an old kind, is still rare, and 

 one of the best. It is the most fragrant 

 of true Rhododendrons, the flowers com- 

 posed of finely crisped petals, and clear 

 pale rose fading to white. Some garden 

 crosses have lately come from this kind, 

 which promises to give us a very useful 

 early-flowering group for gardens. R. 

 lacteum, grown already to a fine size at 

 Kilmacurragh, Ireland, comes near the 

 Indian R. Falconeri, with trusses of white 

 bell-shaped flowers 2 inches across. Its 



