Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. VIII 
NO. 9 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. JUNES. 1922 
Rhododendrons. Although the flowers of a few of the plants will 
have faded and those of others will not have opened, the largest num- 
ber of evergreen Rhododendrons in the Arboretum will be in flower 
when this Bulletin reaches its Massachusetts readers. Flower-buds are 
abundant and the brilliant display made by these plants promises to be 
an exceptionally good one. The Rhododendron collection is at the base 
of Hemlock Hill and adjoins the South Street gate. 
Comparatively little success in the cultivation of these plants has 
been obtained in the eastern United States in spite of all the time, 
thought and money which have been expended on them in the last sev- 
enty-five years. This climate is hostile to all broad-leaved evergreens, 
and of the hundreds of species of evergreen Rhododendrons now known 
only the species of eastern North America, five exotic species and a 
few hybrids can be grown in the open ground in Massachusetts; and 
among them are none of the really beautiful trees and shrubs which 
are the glory of a few gardens in more favored regions. A few more 
hybrids may be added to the Arboretum collection, but it is not prob- 
able that there are now anywhere species to discover which will prove 
hardy in this climate. In the neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, or 
near the shores of Puget Sound and not in the east collections of 
evergreen Rhododendrons may be established which may well rival or 
surpass those in the gardens on the shores of the Italian Lakes or in 
Cornwall, although in one Cornwall garden some four hundred species 
are growing and nearly seventy species have been in flower on the 
same day. 
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