42 8 



TREES AND SHRUBS 



Name. 



*Rhododendrons 

 (Azaleas) 



Country or 



Origin and 



Natural Oscer, 



Colour 



and 

 Season. 



General Remarks. 



been much used for forcing, 

 and they are extremely use- 

 ful for that purpose, as has 

 been so well demonstrated 

 by the brilliant groups ex- 

 hibited at various meetings 

 of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society by Messrs Cuthbert 

 and other firms. When 

 planting these hardy Azaleas, 

 choose a sheltered position, 

 not because they are tender, 

 but to protect the flowers as 

 much as possible from cold 

 winds and late frosts. The 

 majority of them are in i 

 bloom before the time of 

 frosts has passed, and some- 

 times the flowers get de- 

 stroyed wholesale. Few 

 shrubs are more suitable for 

 planting in woodland or 

 on the fringe of walks in 

 single groups, as here the 

 colours are fully brought 

 out. A peat soil or a mixture 

 of loam and peat will pro- 

 vide quite suitable material. 

 Mr. Anthony Waterer writes 

 as follows : "In a general 

 way all American plants may 

 be said to delight in and to 

 require what is called a peat 

 soil ; it was at one time be- 

 lieved they would not grow 

 in any other. Experience, 

 however, proves the contrary, 

 and it is now found that 

 Rhododendrons and Azaleas, 

 which are the most important 

 of that class, as well as any 

 other of the more vigorous 

 plants, succeed in almost any 

 soil that does not contain 

 lime or chalk. In many 

 sandy loams they grow with 

 as much luxuriance as they 

 do in peat ; in fact, almost 

 any loamy soil, free from lime 

 or chalk, may be rendered 

 suitable for them by a liberal 

 admixture of leaf mould or 

 any fibrous material, such as 

 parings of pasture lands. 

 When the soil is poor, 

 thoroughly decayed cow 

 dung is one of the best 

 manures for Azaleas." Seed 

 pods should be picked off 

 immediately the flowers are 



