RHODODENDRON 



RHODODENDRON 



1517 



not contain limestone or heavy clay and lias a moist and 

 fresh subsoil will prove satisfactory. Where limestone 

 or heavy clay prevails, beds must be specially prepared 

 and filled with suitable soil. They should be at least 

 2 to 3 ft. deep, or deeper where the subsoil is not porous, 

 and in this case the bottom should be filled in about 

 1-2 ft. hi^h with gravel or broken stones for drainage. 

 A mixture of leaf-mold or peat and sandy loam will 

 make a suitable soil. In dry spells during the summer, 

 watering is necessary if the subsoil is not very moist; 

 it is most essential that the soil never become really 

 dry. In the fall the ground should be covered with 

 leaves, pine needles, hay or other material to protect 

 from frost. This mulch should be allowed to remain 

 during the summer, especially where the plants are not 

 large enough to shade the ground. An occasional top- 

 dressing of well-decayed stable or cow manure will 

 prove of much advantage. The ground should never be 

 disturbed, as the roots are very near the surface. After 

 flowering, the young seed-vessels should be removed. 

 The Rhododendrons are easily transplanted either in 

 spring or in fall, especially if they grow in peat or turfy 

 loam, and a good ball of earth can be preserved in mov- 

 ing. They should be planted firmly, especially in 

 porous, peaty soil, and thoroughly watered after plant- 

 ing. If they are carefully handled they are not much 

 affected by transplanting, and tender kinds may be, dug 

 in fall, heeled-in in a frost-proof pit, and planted out 

 again in spring. Potted and well-budded plants trans- 

 ferred in January into a temperature not exceeding 60° 

 will develop in about six to eight weeks into very attrac- 

 tive and showy specimens for decoration. 



Hardy Varieties. — The, following varieties have proved 

 hardy in the vicinity of Boston and may be recommended 

 for planting in similar climates and for experimental 

 trial farther north. They are mostly hybrids of R. Ca- 

 tawhiense with R. maximum, Ponticum, Caucasicum 

 and with some infusion of R. arborenm and perhaps a 

 few other species. As in most of them the parentage of 

 R. Cafawbiense is the most predominant, they are all 

 usually called "Catawbiense Hybrids." Choice kinds 

 are: Album elegans, blush, changing to white; Alb^im 

 grandiflorum, blush, changing to white: fls. larger, less 

 spotted; Alexander Dancer, bright rose, paler in center; 

 Atrosanguineum, rich blood-red; August Van Geert, 

 bright carmine, spotted dark purple; Bacclnis, crimson, 

 large fls.; ^Jco?or, piirplish pink, spotted; Blandianum, 

 rosy crimson; Cnrac^f c«s, deep crimson; Charles Bag - 

 ley, cherry-red ; Charles Dickens, dark red, spotted 

 brown, one of the most striking red ones; Coerulescens, 

 pale lilac; Coriaceum, white, spotted yellow, dwarf and 

 free-blooming; Crown Pj-ince, c&rmine spotted greenish 

 yellow; Delicatissimum, blush, edged pink, changing 

 to almost white, late; Everestianum, rosy lilac with 

 crisped edges, excellent habit and very free-flowering; 

 F. L. Ames, white center, edged pink; Giganteum, 

 bright rose, large clusters; Grandiflorum, clear rose; 

 Hannibal, rosy carmine; Henry W. Sargent, crimson, 

 large clusters; H. H. Hunnewell, rich crimson; John 



Waterer, dark crimson; J. D. Godman, carmine, dis- 

 tinctly spotted ; Kettledrum, rich crimson ; King of 

 Purples, purple, spotted dark brown; Lady Armstrong , 

 rose-red, paler in center, distinctly spotted; Lady Gray 

 Egertoyi, delicate lilac, spotted greenish brown; Mrs. 

 C. S. Sargent, similar to Everestianum, but pink; Mrs. 

 Jl/j7Me»-, rich crimson ; Old Port, -plnm-color; Purpureum 

 crispum, lilac -purple, spotted greenish; Purpureum 

 grandiflorum, purple, large clusters; Roseum elegans, 

 rosy lilac, dwarf; Sefion, deep maroon, large clusters; 



Wellesiamim, blush, changing to white. 



Greenhouse Culture. — The most successful way, espe- 

 cially with the taller-growing species, like R. arboreum, 

 Griffithiamim, barbatum and Falconeri, is to plant 

 them out in a porous peaty soil provided with good 

 drainage. If grown in pots a sandy compost of leaf-soil 

 and peat, with an addition of some fibrous loam, will 

 suit them. The pots, which should never be too large, 

 must be well drained and the plants freely watered dur- 

 ing the summer, while during the winter water must 

 be carefully applied. The Himalayan species and their 

 hybrids will do well in a cool greenhouse, where the 

 temperature is kept a few degrees above freezing point 

 during the winter. The Javanese species and hybrids, 



however, on account of their continual growing and 

 blooming, require a warmer greenhouse and must have 

 a minimum temperature of 50° during the winter. They 

 like a moist atmosphere and should be freely syringed 

 in warm weather. In potting them, their epiphytal habit 

 nmst be borne in mind, and the soil should consist mainly 

 of good fibrous peat broken into pieces, with a liberal 

 addition of sand and broken charcoal. The soil should 

 never be allowed to become dry. They are readily 

 propagated by cuttings with bottom heat in the warm 

 propagating house. The Javanese Rhododendrons are 

 especially valuable for their continual blooming during 

 the winter and the brilliant color of their flowers. A 

 large number of beautiful hybrids have been raised; the 

 following are a small selection of them: Balsamince- 

 florum, with double white, yellow or pink fls. Gt. 37, 

 p. 265. G.C. II. 18:230; III. 12:769; Brilliant, brilliant 

 scarlet; Ceres, tawny yellow. Gn. 41:845; Diadem, 

 orange-scarlet ; Duchess of Connaught, vermilion-red ; 

 Duchess of Edinburgh, scarlet with orange-crimson. F. 

 M. 1874:115; ii'os, scarlet -carmine. G.C. HI. 19:327; Ex- 

 quisite, large light fawn-yellow fls. Gn. 56:1232; Fa- 

 vorite, satiny rose; Jasminiflorum carminatum, deep 

 carmine. Gn. 41:852; Little Beauty, fls. small, but 

 bright carmine-scarlet. Gn. 56:1241 ; Lord Wolseley, 

 bright orange-yellow, tinted with rose at the margins; 

 Maiden's Blush, blush with yellowish eye. Gn. 16:204; 

 Princess Alexandria, white, faintly blushed; Princess 

 Frederica, yellow, faintly edged rose; Princess Royal, 

 pink; Rosy Morn, bright pink. Gn. 42:871; Taylori, 

 bright pink with white tube. E.M. 1877:242; Trium- 

 ph ans, crimson-scarlet. 



Propagation. —All Rhododendrons are easily prop, by 

 seeds, which are very small and are sown in spring in 

 pans or boxes well drained and filled with sandy peat. 

 Pots should be well watered previous to sowing. The 

 seeds should be covered only a very little with fine sand 

 or finely cut sphagnum, or merely pressed in and not 

 covered at all. To prevent drying a glass plate may be 

 placed over the pan or some moss spread over the sur- 

 face; this, however, must be taken off as soon as the 

 seeds begin to germinate. The seeds also germinate 

 very readily if sown in fresh sphagnum, but in this 

 case they must be pricked off as soon as they can be 

 handled. In any case, it is of advantage to prick off the 

 young seedlings as soon as possible, but if they are not 

 sown too thickly they may remain in the seed-boxes 



2104. A eood plant of Garden Rhododendron in bloom. 



until the following spring. The seedlings of hardy Rho- 

 dodendrons should be placed in coolframes and grad- 

 ually hardened off ; those of greenhouse species re- 

 main under glass. 



Rhododendrons are also sometimes increased under 

 glass by cuttings of half -ripe wood taken with a heel. 



