Rhododendrons. 1 3 



It is true, we occasionally see rhododendrons flourishing in common gar- 

 den-soil, where no special care has been taken in preparation ; but these 

 cases are rare, and the plants thus thriving are usually the more common 

 varieties, which have, perhaps, survived in a plantation where the better 

 kinds have long ago perished from neglect. 



We propose in the present article to briefly give a few hints upon rhodo- 

 dendron-culture, based merely upon our own experience, the results of 

 which have excelled our most sanguine expectations. 



The first requisite for success is freedom from drought. The roots of 

 the rhododendron, like all of the natural family to which it belongs {Erica- 

 cecB), are very fine and delicate. If these once become dry, the plant is 

 worthless ; for, the fine roots once killed, there is seldom strength enough to 

 renew them, and the plant dies. Therefore, as few have a soil in which 

 the rhododendron will naturally grow, preparation is necessary. 



Another requisite is freedom from excessive moisture ; for, though the 

 plants endure moisture better than drought, a stiff, clayey, retentive soil is 

 uncongenial to them, and they never flourish. 



A gravel subsoil is better than a clay; and, if we can prevent the moisture 

 from passing off too rapidly, we can grow rhododendrons. Let us, however, 

 taking the seemingly most unfavorable situation, show how to prepare a 

 rhododendron-bed. Having a gravel-hill sloping to the north, the time 

 being about the first of November, let us begin operations by staking out 

 a large oval on the side of the hill ; the upper edge being some six feet 

 down the hill, that, when completed, we may look down upon the bed, as 

 the plants, when in bloom, show thus to better advantage. 



First, remove all the loam and sods, which will skim off about four inches 

 of the surface, throwing them outside the stakes for future use. Second, 

 begin at the upper line, and dig out the gravel, rolling it down the hill along 

 and outside the lower line of stakes. 



Continue this till you have a level plateau the size and shape of the 

 proposed bed, and at the upper line of stakes, about four feet or more be- 

 low the level of the original slope of the hill. This is the foundation of 

 the bed. The remainder of the work is filling. Before filling in, how- 

 ever, it is best to provide against too rapid drainage by covering the whole 

 bottom of the bed with pine-needles or oak-leaves to the depth of from one 



