KHODODENDKON 



HEATH ORDEB 



BHODODBNDEON 585 



and somewhat resembling those of the 

 Laurustinus [Viburnum Tinus). Stamens 

 10. 



Culture dc. as above. There are 

 several forms of this species, and they are 

 somewhat confused with those of L. lati- 

 folium. One of the chief differences 

 between the two species is that one has 5 

 stamens and the other 10, as stated above. 

 The variety decumhens has very small 

 narrow leaves, and a somewhat trailing 

 habit ; and dilatatum is a Japanese form 

 with broader oblong oval leaves. 



L. thymifolium. — A pretty little shrub 

 about 2 ft. high, native of N. America. It 

 has small, deep shining green leathery 

 oblong obovate leaves about j in. long, 

 and produces heads of starry white 

 flowers about j in. across in May, each 

 blossom having protruding stamens 

 tipped with purple anthers. 



Culture dc. as above. 



RHODODENDRON (Rose Bay).— 

 A genus containing about 130 species of 

 ornamental trees or shrubs, with alternate 

 leaves often clustered at the ends of the 

 branches, rarely sub-opposite or falsely 

 whorled, entire, leathery. Flowers in 

 clusters or corymbs at the ends of the 

 branches, rarely solitary, or axillary ; 

 bracts broad, usually caducous. Calyx 

 5-lobed, cup-shaped or obsolete, leathery 

 or foliaceous, persistent. Corolla often 

 funnel-shaped, bell-shaped or cylindrical, 

 rarely hypocrateriform or rotate, usually 

 5-lobed. Stamens 8-10, rarely 5, or 

 12-18. Ovary 5-20- celled ; style long 

 or short, bent down or incurved, with a 

 knobby stigma. Capsule woody. Seeds 

 numerous, minute. 



There are few finer sights in the 

 garden than a mass of Ehododendrons in 

 bloom in early spring and summer, and it 

 is a pity that many of the most beautiful 

 kinds only find themselves perfectly at 

 home in the southern and milder parts of 

 the country. 



In the favoured parts of Devonshire 

 and Cornwall Ehododendrons assume 

 luxuriant proportions, and begin to open 

 their flowers several weeks before those in 

 the Thames Valley and more northern 

 places. The situations in which Ehodo- 

 dendrons are planted have a good deal to 

 do with their ultimate success or failure. 

 Speaking generally they should not be 

 planted in positions where they will be 

 exposed to the bleak northerly and easterly 



winds, nor yet to violent south-westerly 

 gales. Leaving the stems fully exposed to 

 the wind seems to do a good deal of mischief, 

 although the soil may be warm and in the 

 best condition. By planting in dells or 

 on the sides of banks where the wind will 

 pass over the heads of the bushes, there is 

 a much better chance of growing Ehodo- 

 dendrons successfully. Every one has 

 probably experienced the warmth and 

 shelter of a tree trunk, a wall, or even a 

 hedge, during a bitterly cold east wind. 

 Ehododendrons and other plants, being 

 living things, and influenced by heat and 

 cold, are just as sensitive as animals and 

 human beings to warmth and shelter. If 

 these two points are attended to in planting, 

 it will be fairly easy to grow Ehododen- 

 drons well, even in unfavourable parts of 

 the kingdom, provided the soil and drainage 

 are perfect. 



Soil. — Ehododendrons not only thrive 

 in good light sandy peat, but will also 

 flourish in any good sandy loam and leaf 

 soil. They dislike stiff dry clayey soils, 

 and lime is fatal to them. To test the 

 presence or absence of lime, take a fair 

 sample and pour a little vinegar or 

 sulphuric acid on it. If lime be present 

 the soil will fizz, but not otherwise. Its 

 presence or absence in a soil may also be 

 discovered by breathing into water con- 

 taining samples of soil in the way stated 

 under Kalmia. A soil which is naturally 

 chalky is quite unsuitable for Ehododen- 

 drons, and it is simply waste of time 

 planting them in it, as the plants 

 never flourish, although they may linger 

 on for some years before finally giving up 

 the struggle for existence. 



Propagation. — Ehododendrons are in- 

 creased in various ways. In favourable 

 parts several of the hardiest kinds ripen 

 their seeds, from which young plants 

 develop every year. The choicer kinds 

 may have the minute seeds carefully 

 sown in pans of fine sandy peat (no soil 

 covering being required) and kept in a 

 shady part of the greenhouse or cold 

 frame until the seedlings are well up, and 

 fit to be pricked off into similar pans. 

 Except in the mildest parts, however, it 

 will hardly be safe to transfer seedlings — 

 especially of the choicer kinds— to the 

 open air until they are a few years old, 

 and also strong and sturdy, as well as 

 being thoroughly hardened ofl'. 



Where the plants are bushy and low- 

 growing there is no difiiculty in layering 



