346 THE CULTIVATED EVERGREENS 



servatlon for twenty-three years. However, if the soil shows a 

 specific alkaHnity of ten, it would be unwise to attempt to grow 

 rhododendrons even by replacing the soil with humus or peat. 

 Under such conditions the abundant circulation of under- 

 ground water, strongly impregnated with lime, would render it 

 unfit for rhododendron growth. When rhododendrons are 

 planted in humus, they must be carefully watered, as humus or 

 peat dries out more rapidly than ordinary soil. Protection 

 from the sweep of cold winds by the lay of the land or otherwise 

 is absolutely necessary. A partial protection from direct winter 

 sunshine is advocated by many growers, but this is not neces- 

 sary if they are in vigorous condition and have sufficient 

 moisture at the roots and are heavily mulched with leaves in 

 the autumn. In Durand-Eastman Park, Rochester, on the 

 shore of Lake Ontario, where the soil is a light sandy loam and 

 practically free from lime, the native American rhododendrons 

 have been planted in moist naturally well-drained ravines 

 without any preparation of the soil, other than digging and 

 trenching, and they are growing and rooting freely and give 

 every promise of success. A little mulching of rotted manure or 

 leaves over the roots is about all the attention they secure. 



The standard hardy Rhododendron catawbiense hybrids are 

 the only ones adapted to the northeastern States, and many 

 of them have rich pleasing colors. Amongst the species, R. 

 arbutifolium, brachycarpum, campanulatum, caucasicum and 

 var. pictum, carolinianum, dahuriciim, ferrugineum, hirsutum, 

 maximum, Metternichii, minus, mucronulatum, myrtifolium, 

 and Smirnowii are all hardy under protective conditions 

 described above. R. arbutifolium, myrtifolium, ferrugineum, 

 and hirsutum brown considerably with the late winter's sun, 

 and it is best to lay some evergreen branches over them. It is 

 important to remove the faded flower-clusters. 



