2936 



RHODODENDRON 



ties are usually increased by veneer- or tongue-grafting, 

 either in winter or in July and August on vigorous- 

 growing varieties raised mostly from cuttings. Graft- 

 ing on rhododendron is now used in some German 

 nurseries with very good results. The best soil for 

 azaleas, if grown in pots, is a sandy compost of half 

 peat and half leaf-soil, with an addition of good fibrous 

 loam. It is essential to plant them firmly, and to give 

 very good drainage. The base of the stem should be just 

 above the surface. The best time for repotting is after 

 flowering, when the new growth commences. During 

 the summer, they should be kept in a coldframe or in 

 the open in a sheltered spot, with the pots plunged in 

 the soil, or planted out in prepared beds, where they 

 make a very vigorous and healthy growth. In Septem- 

 ber they should be repotted and transferred to the 

 greenhouse. They must have plenty of water and free 

 syringing during the hot months. The natural flowering 

 time is from April to June, but in the greenhouse, 

 azaleas may be had in flower from 'November till 

 June. Against the red-spider and thrips, from which 

 the azaleas are liable to suffer if the air is too dry, free 

 syringing with water is the best remedy. Most of the 

 plants used for forcing in this country are imported 

 from Holland, Belgium, and Germany. Formerly 

 azaleas were kept in summer in shade or partial shade, 

 but now it is the custom of the best growers to give 

 them full exposure to the sun, either planted out or in 

 the pots plunged to the rim in ashes or other good 

 drainage material; in the latter case a top-dressing of 2 

 or 3 inches of old cow-manure is very beneficial. The 

 only American treatise is Halliday's "Treatise on the 

 Propagation and Cultivation of Azalea Indica," Balti- 

 more, 1880. 



Some of the best varieties of Indian azaleas are the 

 following (for a completer account, see August Van 

 Geert, "Iconographie des Azal6es," abbreviated here 

 as Ic. Az. 20): 



Single-flowered: Antigone, white, striped and spotted 

 violet (R.B. 7:241. Ic. Az. 3); Apollo, vermilion (Ic. 

 Az. 20); Charmer, rich amaranth, very large (F.M. 

 5:303, 304, 1); Comtesse de Beaufort, rich rose, blotched 

 deep crimson; Criterion, rich salmon-pink, bordered 

 white and blotched crimson (F.S. 8 : 796. F. 1849 : 137) ; 

 Diamond, white, blotched dark crimson (F.S. 21:2233, 

 2234); Due de Nassau, rich rosy purple, very free and 

 large; Easter Greetings, small, flower often semi-double, 

 crimson, very free-flowering; Eclatante, deep crimson, 

 shaded rose; Emil Liebig, pink; Fanny I very, deep 

 salmon-scarlet, blotched magenta (F.M. 10:542); 

 Fielder's White, pure white, early (A.F. 13:1169); 

 Flambeau, rich, glowing crimson (Gn. 16:242, 4); 

 Fuerstin Bariatinsky, white, striped red (Gn. 16: 242. 

 Ic. Az. 13); Haerens' Lorraine, small bright pink flow- 

 ers, very floriferous; Hexe (Firefly), deep crimson, "hose 

 in hose," small fl. very free-flowering (R.B. 31 : 49) ; Jean 

 Vervsene, salmon, striped, bordered white (R.B. 2 : 145. 

 Ic. Az. 11); John Gould Veitch, lilac-rose, bordered and 

 netted white, striped crimson (F.S. 20:2071, 2072); 

 La Victoire, reddish, white toward the edges, spotted 

 maroon-crimson; Louise von Baden, pure white, some- 

 times speckled pink (F.S. 17:1796. F.M. 3:158); 

 Madame Charles Van Eeckhaute, pure white, with 

 crisped edges; Madame L. Van Houtte, scarlet-rose, bor- 

 dered white (F.S. 23:2383. Ic. Az. 5); Marquis of 

 Lome, brilliant scarlet, very fine; Miss E. Jarret, pure 

 white, with crisped edges (R.B. 14:213); Mrs. Turner, 

 bright pink, bordered white, spotted crimson (F.S. 

 8:451. Gn. 56, p. 306); Mons. Thibaut, orange-red; 

 Perle de la Belgique, large, pure white; President Victor 

 Van den Hecke, white, striped and speckled crimson, 

 with yellow center (F.S. 15:1567, 1568); Princess Alice, 

 pure white, one of the best; Princesse Clementine, white, 

 spotted greenish yellow; Professor Walters, pink, with 

 amaranth blotch; Reine des Pays-Bas, rich violet-pink, 

 bordered white (LBL 13:479); Roi de Hollande, dark 



RHODODENDRON 



blood-red, spotted black; Sigismund Rucker, rich rose, 

 bordered white, blotched crimson, very showy (F.S. 

 19:2010, 2011. Ic. Az. 31); Stetta, orange -scarlet, 

 tinged violet; Wilson Saunders, pure white, striped and 

 blotched vivid red. 



Double-flowered: Alice, deep rose, blotched vermilion 

 (I.H. 23:244); Baron N. de Rothschild, rich purple- 

 violet, large (F.S. 23:2477, 2478); Bernard Andre, 

 dark violet-purple, large; Bernard Andre alba, white 

 (I.H. 17:15. Ic. Az. 19); Borsig, pure white; Charles 

 Leirens, dark salmon, blotched dark purple, good form 

 and substance (F.S. 19:1971, 1972); Charles Pynaert, 

 salmon, bordered white (R.B. 10:25); Chicago, deep 

 carmine, bordered white, large; Comtesse Eugenie de 

 Kerchove, white, flaked red-carmine; Deutsche Perle, 

 pure white, early) R.B. 21:85. R.H. 1886:516. Gn. 

 33:460. Ic. Az. 25); Dominique Vervsene, bright orange; 



3382. Rhododendron mucronulatum. ( X %) 



Dr. Moore, deep rose, shaded white and violet, very 

 fine (R. B. 11:61); Eggebrechtii, bright crimson; 

 Empereur du Bresil (Emperor of Brazil), rich rose, 

 banded white, upper petals marked red (Ic. Az. 15); 

 Ernest Eeckhaute, deep carmine, very double; Francois 

 de Vos, deep crimson (I.H. 14:512. Ic. Az. 14. F.M. 

 8:443); Frau Herm. Seidel, white, striped red; Helene 

 Thelemann, rosy pink, free-flowering; Imbricata, white, 

 sometimes flaked rose (I.H. 24:281. F.S. 22:2284, 

 2285. F. 1876, p. 201); Imperatrice des Indes (Empress 

 of India), salmon-rose, bordered white and spotted 

 dark carmine (F.M. 18:357. Ic. Az. 21. F. 1879:97); 

 Johanna Gottschalk, white; John Liewelyn, soft pink; 

 Louise Pynaert, white (R.B. 4:209); Madame Camille 

 van Langenhove, white, striped with rose, very double; 

 Madame Iris Lefebvre, dark orange-carmine, shaded 

 bright violet and blotched brownish red (F.S. 18:1862, 

 1863); Madame Jos. Vervsene, large, pink and white, 

 similar to Vervseneana; Madame Petrick, bright rose, 

 very early; Madame Van der Cruyssen, pink, fine form 

 (A.F. 12:1003); Madeleine, white, large, semi-double; 

 Niobe, white, fine form; Pharailde Mathilde, white, 

 spotted cherry-red (R.B. 13 : 145) ; President Ghellinck 

 de Walle, bright rose, upper petals spotted yellow and 

 striped crimson; President Oswald de Kerchove, pink, 

 bordered white, blotched carmine; Raphael, white; 

 Sakuntala, white, very free-flowering; Simon Mardner, 



