The Successful 
Rhododendron Bed 
SIMPLE RULES AND SURE RESULTS 
highest ambition of the plant lover is to have a suc- 
bed of Rhododendrons, together with other ericacece 
wering plants that naturally go with them. 
r few succeed, is well known. Many, discouraged by 
agined or heard-of difficulties, never even make the 
If attempt. And yet, under average conditions, success is as 
A simple and sure as with ordinary shrubs. It is a question of 
t doing just the right thing, before, during and after planting. 
Nature Rhododendrons—and I include under this term 
KnOWS Best Azaleas, Kalmias, Leucothoes, and other ericaceous 
--- genera and similar native (and exotic) plants—grow 
naturally in shady, damp situations, being surface feeders with fine hair¬ 
like rootlets. Plainly, therefore, dry, hard ground or drought checks 
growth or kills outright; nature provides against this; yet how many 
gardeners do? 
First Exca- A deep, porous soil prevents; drought so excavate 
vate The Bed 2 r ? 3 (c . et or rnorc and see that ,n cla y soils good 
---drainage is provided for, so that water will not stag¬ 
nate in the bottom and make “ sour ground.” 
Material for Rhododendrons live largely on vegetable mold and 
the Bed humus; therefore, fill in with a mixture of leaf-mold, 
- rich loam, field sods, swamp muck or peat, with one- 
tenth sharp sand and one-tenth at least of well-rotted manure. The center 
of the bed should be raised above surrounding ground from 6 to 12 inches 
or more, according to diameter of beds and elevation of nearby features. 
Planting , ^ an J- same depth as before (shown by earth line on ” col- 
lar of stem) and firmly press soil around roots with foot, 
but don t pack earth too solid — Rhododendrons are not bricks. Lilies 
and other bulbs and smaller ground-covering species should be planted 
after the larger plants are all in. 
The Great Mulch, and yet mulch 
Secret again, all the year round. 
- This is the great Rhododen¬ 
dron secret. As soon as planted, cover the 
entire surface of the ground with a vegetable 
mulching—preferably hardwood leaves—to the 
depth of a foot when reasonably well packed. 
Never remove this mulching, but let it 
remain the year round, and every fall add a 
new layer of similar depth. A foot of leaves 
in the fall means but a half inch or so of humus 
Yount? Rhododendrons by tens of 
thousands in lath-covered beds at 
Highlands Nursery, 3,800 feet ele¬ 
vation. 
