A Day among the Rhododendrons. 6j 



A DAY AMONG THE RHODODENDRONS. 



On Friday, June 4, by invitation of H. H. Hunnewell, Esq., we visited 

 his estate at Wellesley, for the purpose of examining his magnificent collec- 

 tions of rhododendrons and azaleas, which were then in the first flush of 

 beauty. Under the guidance of Mr. Harris the gardener, we had the op- 

 portunity not only to view the masses of flowers, of whose beauty no words 

 can give an adequate idea to one who has not seen them, but to ascertain 

 the management by which they are produced, and the plants kept in per- 

 fect health. The first requisite, without which it is vain to expect satis- 

 faction, is thorough preparation of the ground before planting. The soil 

 here is naturally of gravel, with a thin surface-layer of mould ; and this 

 gravel was removed to the depth of two feet and a half, and replaced with 

 a mixture of peat and sharp sand. Such a soil combined with good drain- 

 age and shelter explains the whole secret of growing rhododendrons. It 

 has heretofore been universally believed that they required shade ; but 

 Mr. Harris repeatedly stated as the result of his experience that what is 

 needed is not shade but shelter. In support of this view, he mentioned that 

 he had been obliged to remove pine-trees which shaded the rhododendrons, 

 and he also pointed out several places where they were reaching forth from 

 the shade, showing that they seek the light like other trees. Another idea 

 which has prevailed, but which Mr. Harris finds incorrect, is, that they must 

 be grown in masses so as to protect each other ; for when planted in the 

 soil described above, and well sheltered, they become clothed with foliage 

 to the ground, and so protect themselves. Mr. Harris is frequently under 

 the necessity of thinning out the rhododendrons where planted too closely ; 

 but such are the masses of roots formed when they are frequently transplant- 

 ed, that he has no fear of loss by removal. The best season for transplant- 

 ing is either the middle of May or early in August. They may, however, be 

 removed when in flower ; and we saw a bed which had just been planted 

 with those thinned from other beds. Though every plant promised to grow, 

 they would have been removed earlier, but for press of other work. Mr. 

 Harris thinks, that, to secure perfect development, the plants should ulti- 

 mately be not less than fifteen feet apart. Imagine a rhododendron fifteen 



