2932 



RHODODENDRON 



RHODODENDRON 



states, and it was first shown by the splendid collec- 

 tions of H. H. Hunnewell at Wellesley, Massachusetts 

 (see A.F. 13:24-31 and Gng. 5:375-7), that, even in a 

 trying climate, they can be grown to perfection if the 

 proper situations are found and the right way of culti- 

 vation is followed. 



Outdoor cultivation. The selection of a suitable 

 situation is of foremost importance. If possible the 

 beds should be sheltered against drying winds and the 

 burning sun by tall conifers, but the shelter should be 

 always light and natural, as too much shelter by dense 

 hedges or walls close to the plants is worse than no 

 shelter at all. Any open well-drained soil which does 

 not contain lime or heavy clay and has 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 feet deep, or deeper when the subsoil is not 

 porous, and in this case the bottom should be filled in 

 about 1 to 2 feet high 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 becomes 

 really dry. In autumn the ground should be covered 

 with leaves, pine needles, hay, or other material to pro- 

 tect from frost. This mulch should be allowed to remain 

 during the summer, especially when 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 if a good ball of earth can be preserved in 

 moving. 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 



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3379. A good plant of garden rhododendron in bloom. 



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 recom- 

 mended for planting in similar climates and for experi- 

 mental trial farther north. They are mostly hybrids of 

 R. catawbiense with R. maximum, R. ponticum, R. 



caucasicum and with some infusion of R. arboreum and 

 perhaps a few other species. As in most of them the 

 parentage of R. catawbiense is the most predominant, 

 they are all usually called "catawbiense hybrids." 

 Choice kinds are (those marked with an asterisk have 

 proved the hardiest) : Album elegans, blush, changing to 

 white; Album grandiflorum, blush, changing to white, 

 flowers larger, less spotted; Alexander Dancer, bright 

 rose, paler in center; Atrosanguineum, rich blood-red; 

 August Van Geert, bright carmine, spotted dark purple; 

 Bacchus, crimson, large flowers; Bicolor, purplish pink, 

 spotted; Blandianum, rosy crimson (H.F. 1859:153); 

 * Bluebell, blush, with light purplish margin; *Boule de 

 Neige, white, early; *Caractacus, deep crimson; Charles 

 Bagley, cherry-red; *Charles Dickens, dark red, spotted 

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



Eale lilac; *Coriaceum, white, spotted yellow, dwarf and 

 ee-blooming; Crown Prince, carmine, spotted greenish 

 yellow; *Delicatissimum, blush, edged pink, changing 

 to almost white, late (Gn. 63, p. 415) ; Edward S. Rand, 

 rich scarlet; *Everestianum. rosy lilac with crisped 

 edges, excellent habit ana very free-flowering (G. 

 26:103); *P. L. Ames, white center, edged pink; *F. 

 L. Olmsted, pink; *Giganteum, bright rose, large clus- 

 ters; *Glennyanum, white, suffused with pink (G.M. 

 44:355; 48:565); *Gomer Water er, blush-pink; Grandi- 

 florum, clear rose; Guido, deep crimson; Hannibal, 

 rosy carmine; ^Henrietta Sargent, pink; Henry W. Sar- 

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

 crimson; John Water er, dark crimson; J. D. Godman, 

 carmine, distinctly spotted; * Kettledrum, rich crimson; 

 *King of Purples, purple, spotted dark brown; Lady 

 Armstrong, rose-red, paler in center, distinctly spotted; 

 *Lady Clermont, rosy scarlet; *Lady Frances Crossley, 

 salmon-pink; Lady Gray Egerton, delicate lilac, spotted 

 greenish brown; * Lee's Purple, purple; Madam Carvalho, 

 blush, changing to pure white; * Melton, rich purple; 

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

 Mrs. Milner, rich crimson; *Norma, pink; *0ld Port, 

 plum-color; Princess Mary of Cambridge, white with 

 purple margin; *Purpureum crispum, lilac-purple, 

 spotted greenish; *Purpureum grandiflorum, purple, 

 large clusters; R. S. Field, scarlet; Ralph Sanders, rich 

 purplish crimson; Rosa mundi, white slightly flushed 

 with yellow spots, dwarf (Gn. 63, p. 369) ; Roseum 

 elegans, rosy lilac, dwarf; Scipio, rose with deep spot; 

 *Sefton, deep maroon, large clusters; Wellsianum, blush, 

 changing to white. 



For greenhouse culture, the most successful way, espe- 

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

 R. Griffithianum, R. barbatum, and R. 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 during the summer, while during the winter 

 water must be carefully applied. The Himalayan 

 species and their hybrids will do well in a cool green- 

 house, where the temperature is kept a few degrees 

 above freezing-point during the winter. The Javanese 

 species and hybrids, however, on account of their con- 

 tinual growing and blooming, require a warmer green- 

 house 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 must 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 



