Gardening for Amateurs 



865 



The beautiful mauve Rhododendron Catawbiense. 



Rhododendrons and Azaleas 



A CHOUGH botanists have ceased 

 to recognise Azaleas as a distinct 

 group of plants and now include 

 them with Rhododendrons, to the gardener 

 the two groups will always remain distinct. 

 Botanists based their original distinctions 

 on the number of stamens borne by 

 the flowers, those with five stamens being 

 called Azalea and those with ten Rhodo- 

 dendron. When sorts with an intermediate 

 number of stamens were discovered, how- 

 ever, this point of distinction broke down, 

 hence the one family name, Rhododendron. 

 Horticulturists, on the other hand, have 

 always regarded the deciduous kinds as 

 Azajgas and the evergreen sorts as Rhodo- 

 dendrons, with the exception of R. indicum, 

 which is usually referred to as Azalea indica. 

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When considering two groups of the same 

 family, the thought naturally occurs that the 

 conditions which govern the cultivation of 

 one are equalty suitable for the other, and 

 such is the case in the present instance. 

 Therefore, before dealing with Rhododen- 

 drons and Azaleas separately, attention is 

 directed to cultural details which refer to 

 both. 



The most important factor connected with 

 the care of these plants is, that the soil in 

 which they are planted must not contain 

 lime in any appreciable quantity, for lime 

 is fatal to their well-being. Then the land 

 must be moist and well drained. Peaty soil 

 is often recommended for Rhododendrons 

 and Azaleas, but it is not absolutely essen- 

 tial, for they grow quite well in loamy soil, 



