loo MY SHRUBS 



lettii. The parent — n mighty grower — has loose trusses of pure 

 white trumpet-Hke blooms, and from its young foliage falls a tatter 

 of crimson bracts as the leaves open in late April. R. decorum is 

 the Chinese R. Griffithianum and has fragrant flowers of purest 

 white ; but it is not such a great grower. From that famous raiser, 

 Gill of Tremough, I have " Triumph " and " Glory of Penjerrick " — 

 magnificent hybrids, with enormous, bright, crimson trusses — ^while 

 of other species that are reasonably hardy with a little care against 

 high winds, I own R. Falconeri, whose mighty leaves have a felt 

 of dormouse-coloured tomentum beneath them and R, eximium, 

 which displays still more of this rich felt and foliage only less 

 splendid than its kinsman. Both are from the Sikkim. R. grande 

 (Syn. argenteum) has a dazzling silver under down and an exquisite 

 habit ; but it is a tardy flowerer. R. Dalhousia lives out of doors 

 in summer and makes up bud there, then comes indoors and flowers 

 during spring before again emerging. It is a straggling, epiphytic 

 shrub, from the Sikkim, where it climbs into oaks and magnoUas ; 

 but its lovely, loose trusses of lemon-coloured blossom make it a 

 great favourite with me. The blossoms are as big as an average 

 lily, and are much more like Lilium sulphur eum than its own family. 

 R. Smirnoviiy from Transcaucasia, is a neat rhododendron 

 with purple flowers, and R. triflorum has small pale yellow blossoms 

 in threes and fours. It comes from 8000 feet levels of the Hima- 

 laya, and might perhaps have been left there without loss. It is, 

 however, a kindly flowerer, and would make a good cross with 

 something of more importance. Then I have hybrids of R, 

 arboreum — generous flowerers at six feet high and good for pretty 

 trusses of pink and scarlet bloom. R. harbatum, again from Sikkim, 

 has splendid blood-coloured blossoms. R, Nuttalliiy from Bhotan, 



