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PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS EHokoDENDRON 



Hybrid Ehododendrons 



There are at the present time a vast 

 number of hybrid forms now in cultiva- 

 tion — about 300 of which have received 

 distinct names — and they have mainly 

 been developed by crossing such species 

 as catawhiense, maximum, caucasicum, 

 arhorewm, and ponticum ; and more re- 

 cently such fine species as Auchlandi, 

 HooTceri, and T/jomsoiii have been utilised 

 and have produced, if anything, still finer 

 hybrids. It is a remarkable fact that 

 although many of the species are tender 

 in all except the milder parts of the king- 

 dom their progeny have as a rule much 

 hardier constitutions and have stood the 

 winter in localities whei-e their parents 

 have been kiUed or at least severely 

 injured. The deductions to be drawn from 

 these facts are that to secure a really hardy 

 race of Bhododendrons the plants must 

 be raised from seeds which ripen in the 

 British Islands, and not from imported 

 seeds. Once a plant can be induced to 

 grow in our climate and to ripen good 

 seed, there is every chance of its becoming 

 eventually acclimatised if plants are raised 

 year after year from home-saved seeds. 

 This will be a much better plaji than 

 grafting the more or less tender kinds on 

 stocks of hardier ones, as in severe winters 

 all but the latter are often kiUed, and the 

 work has to be done over again and the 

 labour of several years is wasted. 



The following are some of the finest 

 hardy hybrids of which the true parentage 

 is recorded. There is no doubt that many 

 others equally fine will in the future also 

 be raised by crossing these either with one 

 another or with the more or less hardy 

 species described above. In addition there 

 are many other varieties mentioned below 

 to which fancy names have been given. 



B. Wilsoni is a hybrid between B. 

 ciliatum and B. glaucum, and is inter- 

 mediate between the two. Flowers over 

 an inch long, soft rose. 



As Rhododendrons look better in 

 masses of the same colour, the following 

 is a list of some of the best varieties, 

 arranged according to colour. A long 

 list of mere names would be worse than 

 useless. 



White or Blush-White, spotted or 

 unspotted. — Alarm, Baroness Schroder, 

 Conqueror, Duchess of Connaught, Duo 

 de Brabant, Fair Helen, Florian, Gloric 

 sum, Lady Grenville, Lady Godiva, Lady 

 Olive Guinness, Lady EoUe, Leviathan, 



Manglesi, Minnie, Madame Carvalho, 

 Mrs. George Hardy, Mrs. John Glutton, 

 Mrs. Eussell Sturgiss, Mrs. T. Agnew, 

 Neige et Cerise, Princess Christian, 

 Purity, Sappho, Snowball, Snowflake, 

 Sultana, The Bride, The Queen, Blanche 

 Superbe, Elegantissima, Multiflorum, 

 Omniflorum, Prince Camille de Rohan, 

 Queen of Dwarfs, Splendens, Zampa. 



Pim,h and Base. — Achievement, 

 Adrian, Agamemnon, Alexander Adie, 

 Alexander Dancer, Annie Dixwell, Archi- 

 medes, Blandyanum, Brayanum, Countess 

 of Cadogan, Countess of Clancarty, 

 Cm-rieanum, Cynthia, Desdemona, Duke 

 of Norfolk, Eclipse, Elegans, Fleur de 

 Marie, Hannibal, Hogarth, John Spencer, 

 Lady Armstrong, Lady Clermont, 

 Lady Dorothy Nevill, Lady Easthope, 

 Lady Falmouth, Lady Howe, Lady 

 Tankerville, Lord John Eussell, Mrs. H. 

 Ingeraoll, Mrs. J. Kelk, Mrs. W. Agnew, 

 Paxtoni, Rosabel, Satanella, Scipio, Sir 

 Arthur Guinness, Sir H. de Trafford, 

 Stella, Sylph, Crown Prince, Warrior, 

 Titian, Vivian Gray, Jacksoni, Mirabile, 

 Prascox. 



Crimson and Scarlet. — Altaclerense, 

 Brilliant, Atrosanguineum, Bai Waterer, 

 Barclayana, Captain Webb, Charles 

 Dickens, Correggio, Cruentimi, Decorator, 

 Duchess of Bedford, Duke of Connaught 

 Duke of Portland, Earl of Shannon, 

 F. Gomer Waterer, Frederick Waterer 

 Francis Dickson, H. W. Hunnewell, 

 Ignescens, James Batemau, James Mc- 

 intosh, John Walter, Joseph Whitworth, 

 Lady Herbert, Lord Clyde, Meteor, 

 Mozart, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mrs. John 

 Watferer, Mrs. Shuttleworth, Mrs. W. 

 Bovill, Nobleanum, Prince Albert, Prin- 

 cess Louise, Robert Burns, Robert Mar- 

 nock, E. S. Field, Sfr Eobert Peel, The 

 Grand Arab, Vandyke, W. E. Gladstone, 

 WiUiam Austm, William Cowper, Vesu- 

 vius. 



Purple, Magenta, Claret. — Angnste 

 van Geert, Baron Schroder, Caractacus. 

 Faust, Genserio, Gretry, Lucy Neal, Mrs. 

 Heneage, Negro, Nigresoens, Old Port,- 

 Omer Pacha, Prince Arthur, Princess of 

 Wales, Stamfordiana, Vauban, Victoria, 

 William Downing, Versohaffelti. 



There are many other varieties with 

 shades of colour intermediate between 

 those mentioned. 



R. altaclerense. — This beautiful hy- 

 brid with brilliant scarlet flowers first 

 appeared in 1835, and had been raised 



