BHODODENDEON 



HEATH OBDBB 



BHODODENDEON 589 



■where the temperature does not exceed 

 50°-55° P., and with a daily sprinkling of 

 tepid water will be easily brought into 

 blossom by the middle of April. After 

 flowering they may be again transferred 

 to the open ground, but it is not advisable 

 to lift the same plants for forcing two 

 years in succession, as the strain would 

 probably be too exhausting and kill the 

 plants. , 



R. formosum {B. Oihsoni). — A pretty 

 shrub 3-8 ft. high, native of the Eastern 

 Himalayas. Leaves bluntly lance-shaped, 

 shining green above, scaly beneath. 

 Flowers in April, white tinged with purple 

 and yellow, large, somewhat beU-shaped, 

 with an angular tube. 



Culture <tc. as above. This is rather 

 tender, but succeeds in the mildest parts 

 of the kingdom in the open air. It is 

 a splendid greenhouse plant. 



R. Fortunei. — A handsome Chinese 

 shrub about 12 ft. high. Leaves more or 

 less linear oblong acute, 5-7 in. long, 

 glaucous beneath, with red-brown stalks. 

 Flowers in May, pale rose, fragrant, shortly 

 bell-shaped, 3-6 in. across, with 7 rounded 

 lobes (instead of the usual 5), 8-10 blooms 

 in a loose cluster ; stamens 14. 



Culture rfc. as above. This species 

 has been successfuUj' crossed with Auch- 

 landn, and Thomsoni, and with the latter 

 species has produced that remarkably 

 fine hybrid known as JS. Luscombei, 

 which produces its loose masses of deep 

 rosy-pink flowers so freely out of doors in 

 April and May. One of the most interest- 

 ing features of B. Fortunei is its fragrance, 

 and now that several garden forms such 

 as Mrs. Thiselton Dyer have been raised 

 from it, there is a chance of obtaining a 

 sweet-scented strain of hardy hybrid 

 Ehododendrons which are sure to be 

 highly appreciated. 



R. fulgens. — A native of the Eastern 

 Himalayas 4-6 ft. high. Leaves broadly 

 obovate or oval elliptic, 4 in. long, glossy 

 above, densely woolly beneath. Flowers 

 in April and May, bright shining blood- 

 red, bell-shaped, in dense heads. 



Culture dc. as above. 



R. glaucum. — A pretty shrub about 

 2 ft. high, native of Sikkim. Leaves 

 crowded at the tips of the branches, 1-3 

 in. long, oblong or broadly lance-shaped, 

 glaucous or whitish beneath, dotted with 

 scales. Flowers in May, pale pinkish- 



purple, about 1 in. across, bell-shaped. 

 Stamens 10. 



Culture Sc. as above. 



R. grande {B. argenteum). — A fine 

 Sikkim tree about 30 ft. high. Leaves 

 obovate oblong acute, 6-12 in. long, 3-5 in. 

 broad, green above, silvery -white beneath. 

 Flowers in May, white, 2-3 in. across. 

 Stamens 10. 



Culture dx: as above. In S. Wales 

 this species has passed safely through 28° 

 frost, but the bloom buds often suffer 

 owing to their earliness. 



R. hirsutum (Alpine Base). — A native 

 of S. Europe 1-2 ft. high, near to B. fer- 

 rugineum. Leaves somewhat elliptic, 

 hairy-edged. Flowers from May to July, 

 pale red or scarlet, in umbellate corymbs. 



Culture dc, as above. See B. ferret - 

 gineum. 



R. Hodgsoni.— A tree 12-20 ft. high, 

 native of the B. Himalayas. Leaves 

 leathery oblong elliptic obovate or ovate 

 lance-shaped, 1^ ft. long, silvery white, 

 rarely rusty beneath. Flowers in May 

 and June, pale piuple or rose, broadly 

 bell-shaped, over 2 in. across, 8-lobed, 

 in heads 4-6 in. in diameter. Stamens 

 16-18, with dark purple-brown anthers. 



Culture do. as above. 



R. Hookeri. — A native of Bhotan 

 12-14 ft. high. Leaves smooth, leathery, 

 stiffish, bluntly oblong oval, 3-6 in. long, 

 rather glaucous beneath. Flowers in 

 April, red, bell-sliaped, with 5 deeply 

 cleft lobes. Stamens 10. 



Culture dc. as above. 



R. Jenkinsi. — A native of Bhotan 6-7 

 ft. high. Leaves oblong lance-shaped acute, 

 4-6 in. long, glaucous and densely scaly 

 beneath. Flowers white, 4-6 in a 

 corymb. 



Culture dc. as above. 



R. Kendricki. — A native of the 

 Bhotan, 6-15 ft. high. Leaves 4-6 in. 

 long, about 1 in. wide, clothed with 

 reddish, clammy hairs when young. 

 Flowers in March, bright scarlet, broadly 

 bell-shaped, 5-lobed, 10-15 in a loose 

 round head. Stamens 10. Tender. 



Culture dc. as above. 



R. Keysi. — A shrub 2-6 ft. high, 

 native of Bhotan. Leaves ovate lance- 

 shaped acute, smooth, glaucous and scaly 

 beneath, 2-3 in. long. Flowers in July. 

 red and yellow, tubular or urn-shaped, 



