52 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



the Dell there. They are quite healthy and make good 

 growth annually, but as the flowers expand early in the 

 year, they are therefore often spoiled by a comparatively 

 slight frost. In a way this plant is hardy, yet for garden 

 purposes it must be classed with those that require pro- 

 tection. In the same way R. ciliatum is hardy enough 

 at Kew, but its flowers are generally spoiled by frost. In 

 Cornwall it is as happy and floriferous as any plant 

 could be. 



The shelter afforded by a belt of trees on the east and 

 north is a great help to these Rhododendrons in fact, the 

 majority of garden sorts succeed best when they have 

 partial shade and shelter ; at any rate this applies to all the 

 Himalayan species and those hybrids and seedlings which 

 have Himalayan blood in them. An ideal place for them 

 is the Dell at Kew, a long, winding walk with grass banks 

 rising on both sides, flanked by deciduous trees. Here 

 they are sheltered from cold, cutting winds in spring, a 

 certain amount of shade from bright sunshine is afforded, 

 and the air is always fairly moist, partly owing to the situa- 

 tion being low and close to the river, the trees also doing 

 their share in keeping off drying winds. Rhododendrons 

 may frequently be seen thriving in open, somewhat exposed 

 situations, such, for example, as the Knap Hill Nursery, 

 which lies low and is almost a swamp in places, the soil 

 being black, sandy peat ; consequently the atmosphere 

 is always charged with moisture, and this is a prime 

 factor in providing Rhododendrons with what they most 

 require. 



What has been said with respect to the treatment of 

 Himalayan Rhododendrons applies also to those hybrids 

 and seedlings bred from R. catawbiense, R. ponticum, R. 



