tirije 3l^tjoliol>enliron ^ocietp ^otcsf. 
SOME NOTES ON THE RAISING OF RHODODENDRON SEEDLINGS. 
It may be agreed that certain species and hybrids of this family are easy to 
raise a few of, if you sow a lot of seed, although in the first two years of life even 
these will die if subject to prolonged drought or to over-watering. 
We have all seen certain gardens where the self-sown seeds of Azaleas and 
Rhododendrons come up in the open freely, but in the average garden these 
places are less common, and if noticed with care will be seen to show in the most 
positive way what the young plants need and what they most resent. Broadly 
speaking, they enjoy shade from the full sun, and an even measure of moisture 
all through the growing season, with no weeds to smother them. 
Mr. White, of Sunningdale, is perhaps the only man in this country who has 
taken the teaching of nature, and so improved on it, that he has been able to 
raise scores of rare species of Rhododendrons of all sorts and sizes in the open 
with no glass to help him, but I think in most cases he has been able to sow the 
seed in good quantity. Anyone interested in this matter would learn much by 
seeing what he does, and above all by hearing why he does it. The objection to 
his plan is that, at any rate in some instances, it takes quite five years to reach 
the point three-year-olds can be brought to if started under glass, and two years 
of gardening life is a lot to give away. 
I should not like to say positively which is the best way of soving seed, but 
after many years of raising seedlings we now use wooden pans only. They are 
8 inches by 8 inches, and 4 inches deep, vdth the wood in the bottom section made 
of three pieces about one-sixth of an inch apart for drainage. 
In the case of species from abroad, it is not always possible to know what 
sort of rhododendron is in the packet, and so we have a sort of standard mixture 
for the soil in the pans, consisting of one-third silica sand, one-third hedge earth, 
and one-third fine leaf soil. If we know the seed to be of the very small 
high mountain species, we greatly increase the silica sand. The soil in 
the pan has plenty of drainage to keep the openings in the bottom of 
the pan clear, and is well steamed in the pan before sowing. The seed is 
sown on the surface of the pan, and after sowing the pan is covered with a sheet 
of glass of the same size as the pan. 
Germination takes place in good seed about the twenty-first day. As the 
plants develop, a little air is given by raising one edge of the glass, and that is 
increased as they grow, but as far as may be an attempt is made to keep them cool 
and moist without much overhead watering, but some judgment and much 
careful watching is needed in doing that effectively. 
Perhaps the temperature and air moisture of an Odontoglossum house is the 
ideal place for starting Rhododendrons in from April to June, but after that the 
air should not be so moist, or the plants will be too soft to battle with the greatest 
risk in their lives, that is the danger of damping off between August and May. 
237 
