JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
June 8, 1882. ] 
8 th 
Tn 
9 th 
F 
10th 
S 
Alexandra Palace Decorative and Pelargonium Exhibition. 
Uth 
SUN 
1st Sunday after Trinity. 
12th 
M 
[11 A.M. Evening F£te, 8 to 12 P.M. 
13th 
TU 
Royal Horticultural Society, Fruit and Floral Committees at 
14th 
W 
York Floral Fete. Three days. 
RHODODENDRONS. 
URING May and early June thousands of British 
gardens are annually rendered extremely gay 
by the varied hues of Rhododendrons, and they 
have become such general favourites that they 
are almost indispensable for beds, borders, and 
shrubberies. When in flower they are unsur¬ 
passed for richness of colour, and at other times 
the deep green, firm, handsome foliage constitutes 
no mean attraction. In dells, sheltered nooks, or in 
open beds on lawns they have a charming effect; but 
in the former, particularly as on sloping banks, they always 
appear to better advantage than in ordinary level beds. Where 
the position, too, is moderately sheltered a greater number of 
varieties can be grown ; and some of the tender forms, which 
in many cases possess the richest tints, cannot be satisfactorily 
cultivated in exposed places, except in the warm southern 
counties. Wherever a good representative collection can be 
had their beauty for several weeks is unrivalled by any other 
occupants of our gardens, and it is not therefore surprising that 
they have gradually secured a foremost position amongst the 
most useful evergreen shrubs in cultivation. 
We have now the results of much careful and thoughtful 
labour at our command. For years hybridisers have been 
working with the Rhododendrons, their objects being to obtain 
a combination of bright colours with a hardy habit, and a large 
measure of success has attended their efforts. It is somewhat 
remarkable that the finest flowers, the most delicate and richest 
tints, together with powerful and pleasing fragrance, are found 
to characterise those species which have hitherto proved too 
tender for satisfactory outdoor culture in this country, except 
in the extreme south. The really hardy original forms were 
mostly rather dull in colour, purple, lilac, and pale rose tints 
predominating; but it was soon evident, when attention was 
given to the matter of crossing, that the desideratum was a 
combination of their constitution with the attractive colours of 
the others. This object was steadily pursued by several ardent 
horticulturists, and the success achieved is fully evident in the 
grand varieties and hybrids now offered by the leading nursery¬ 
men, who make a speciality of such plants. 
It may be interesting to briefly note a few of the earlier 
forms that constituted the basis upon which the hybridisers 
had to work, and in contrasting those with what we have at 
the present time a good idea will be gained of the progress 
made in the past half century. The chief species that have 
been the parents of the ordinary hardy Rhododendrons are 
R. maximum, R. ponticum, R. caucasicum, R. catawbiense, 
and R. arboreum. The first named, R. maximum, is a native 
4G1 
of Western Pennsylvania, where it was originally found grow¬ 
ing in sterile soil on rocky declivities on the banks of rivers 
and shady moist positions. It was introduced to England by 
Mr. Peter Collinson in 1730. It has neat flowers of moderate 
size, varying in colour, but generally rose and white with dark 
spots on the upper petal of each bloom. They are borne in 
compact but not dense heads, which, however, in the typical 
fonts are not produced very freely, though some of the trusses 
obtained from this are amongst the most beautiful known. It 
is late-flowering, but is very hardy, and the blooms, being of 
thick texture, are very durable. 
R. ponticum is a European species, in the first instance in¬ 
troduced from Gibraltar about 17G3, but it is also found in the 
Levant and on Mount Caucasus. Though generally hardy this 
is sometimes injured by late frosts in spring—a disadvantage 
that has been remedied to a great extent in some of its varie¬ 
ties. The flowers are purplish and white with oval petals, the 
upper one spotted, and the heads are moderately compact, the 
leaves being lanceolate and bright deep green. It is worthy 
of note that at the commencement of this century R. ponticum 
was a favourite for forcing, numerous plants being sent to the 
London markets early in the season, when they were much 
valued for decoration. 
R. caucasicum has formed one of the most important of the 
parents of our garden Rhododendrons, for most of the early- 
flowering varieties have been derived from this, directly or in¬ 
directly. It inhabits Mount Caucasus, being found at consider¬ 
able elevations on the verge of perpetual snow, where it is 
accompanied by very few other plants, except some of the 
hardiest. It is dwarf and extremely floriferous, the flowers in 
the original forms being rosy or white, the outer portion being 
often more deeply coloured than the inner. The heads are of 
moderate size, but compact. The leaves are ovate, with the 
margin rolled back, the upper surface being deep rich green 
and the lower brown. It was introduced from the Caucasus 
about 1803, and from it a race of beautiful varieties have been 
secured, especially suited for culture in pots and early forcing. 
R. Nobleanum is one of the best known hybrids which this 
species and R. arboreum have furnished. 
R. catawbiense is another of the American species, inhabit¬ 
ing the mountainous parts of Virginia and Carolina near the 
source of the Catawba river, where it was found in 1808 by 
Mr. John Fraser, who”introduced it the following year. The 
flowers are large, rich rose, and are borne in large rather loose 
heads, the leaves being oblong and dark green. In securing a 
thoroughly hardy race this species has proved most valuable, 
and hybridisers have availed themselves of its qualities very 
extensively. It is free and of good habit, and will endure ex¬ 
tremely severe weather without injury—a fact of great import¬ 
ance in our climate. 
R. arboreum, the last of the species which we shall particu¬ 
larly refer to in these notes, is also one of the most important, 
for to this we are indebted for the brightest red and rose hues 
distinguishing the most showy varieties. It is one of the 
numerous handsome' 1 Indian species, being found near the 
Himalayan Mountains in the Sewalic chain, where it was first 
discovered by Capt. Hardwicke in 1796 growing at high eleva¬ 
tions in Oak forests, where the soil is said to be a rich black 
earth on a stony bed. Seeds were imported to this country 
early in the present century, but it was not until 1825 that any 
of the plants so raised produced flowers, when it at once 
No. 102.—Vol. 1Y., Third Series. 
No. 1768 .-Vol. LXVll., Old Series. 
