CHAPTER VI 
CULTIVATION 
The treatment of Rhododendrons must vary somewhat 
according to the conditions or the place where they are 
grown. Mr. H. J. Mangles believed in planting the Hima- 
layan species in borders, even where they are grown under 
glass, as they are then less likely to suffer through getting 
dry at the root than when they are in pots or tubs. Like 
many other Ericaceae — Cape Heaths, for example — dry- 
ness at the root is apt to seriously affect the health of all 
Rhododendrons. In conservatories and greenhouses where 
there are no borders, pot cultivation is often successful, but 
close attention must be given to watering. Mangles held 
that when the sun shines strongly against a pot containing 
a Rhododendron, the roots perish and the soil turns sour so 
that new roots will not go into it ; the same result being 
produced by drought, even in a few hours, whilst water 
adds to the mischief, rendering the soil more and more 
sour and unfit for roots. ** I have always borne in mind," 
he said, that the Sikkim Rhododendrons are for the most 
part really alpines, which require coolness at the roots and 
as much open air as possible, but which will not endure the 
inequalities of our climate. I am no believer in starving 
for bloom in the case of Rhododendrons. Mr. Otto Forster, 
who, by the way, was the first to bloom R. Nuttallii in 
Europe, agrees with me, and has recently expressed him- 
