These Meetings Are Open to Non-members
American Rhododendron Society Annual Convention 2000
Western Regional Rhododendron Conference 2000
BITS AND PIECES

From Katherine Mayberry, Taylors, South Carolina when she sent an email change of address.

Gardening Tip: Check your plant tags. Some tags take only one season before cutting into the plant. Re-ink if markings are faded. From The Rhody Runner Tualatin Valley Chapter Newsletter, September 1999.

Living Cost: "Despite the cost of living, it's still quite popular." Seen in "The Yak," Fraser South Rhododendron Society Newsletter:

Another Gardener's Tip: Cheap mulch. In October Jack Lounsbury, Whidbey Island Chapter president, reminds his chapter members of an article by Bill Stipe. Bill uses newspapers to mulch. They make "dandy" weed barriers when place over future rhododendron beds or around plants already covered with bark. He uses 1/2" of paper under 3" of bark. Weeds that manage to come up are easy to pull. Avoid using colored, "glossy" paper and magazines, which may be toxic.

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Rhododendron was built….

Rhododendron was built in 1935 at Portland, Oregon, as a tender for the Lighthouse Service. Upon completion she assumed tender operations out of Portland, which became her permanent station. Before World War II she serviced navigational aids on the Willamette River, in the area of its confluence with the Columbia, and along the nearly hundred-mile reach of the Columbia River before it flows into the Pacific.

Rhododendron transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939 when the Lighthouse Service became part of that service. She remained active as a Coast Guard river buoy tender until 1 November 1941, when Executive Order 8929 transferred the Coast Guard to the Navy. She served as a buoy tender on naval service until 1 January 1946, when she was returned to the Treasury Department. She continued river operations in the Portland-Vancouver area until she was decommissioned 20 August 1958 and was donated to the State of Washington. She was sold by the state 20 April 1959, at which time she began merchant service as Can-do. The former tender remained active in the merchant service until 25 November 1966, when she sank off Anchor Point, Alaska, with the loss of three lives. Found when searching the Internet in Northern Lights Search Engine.

Recipe: Peanut Butter-Chocolate Fudge

From the Fraser South Rhododendron Society Newsletter. Dr. 'Mike' Trembeth Editor has given permission to use materials from the Chapter's newsletters. Her response to the last sentence of the recipe is, "Oh, Suuure."

Garden Pals for Gardeners: Women and arthritis-suffering gardeners can now find tools designed with their comfort in mind. Garden Pals, Inc. is a line of tools created by women and they are recommended by the Arthritis Foundation. Products can be found in Wal-Mart stores or visit the Website at www.gardenpals.com for more information.

Whimsy:

Nelson Smith, Cascade Chapter member, says, "Did you know that rhododendron growers know they are getting old when their knees buckle but their belts won't?" From Cascade Chapter Newsletter October 1999.

Flower Gardening Trivia: In 1998, the number of households that participated in flower gardening was 40 million. That was 600,000 more households than the five-year average of 39.4 million. Total retail sales for flower gardening from 1993-1998 ranged from a high of $3.965 billion in 1998 to a low of $2.107 billion in 1995. In an email message from National Gardening Association Email News.

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 Remember When?
November 1982

[These items were found in the American Rhododendron Society's "Rhododendron and Azalea News" November 1982, edited by Mrs. Thomas Binford (Janet).]

• The Society had 49 chapters and over 5,500 members. Coosa Chapter from Alabama was the 49^th chapter. There were two Canadian chapters and one in Denmark.
• Ruth Hansen, a secretary in the early years, wrote of our history in the Proceedings of the International Rhododendron Conference in 1961.
• The Great Lakes Chapter was setting up plantings in two gardens, the OARDC Display Garden and Holden Arboretum, to memorialize Tony Shammarello.
• The Eugene Chapter Newsletter, then known as The Hybrid, noted the passing Carl Phetteplace.
• Mark Widrlechner from the University of Minnesota offered to do some research using a computer printout system known as CALS (Current Awareness Literature Searching System) to find pertinent citations and abstracts.
• The Rhododendron Species Foundation is to bring out an annual botanic journal. Judy Young who worked on the translation of Rhododendrons of China will be the editor.
• Fred Galle, past president of ARS, was awarded the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal, the highest honor bestowed by them to an individual.
• California Chapters will host the 3^rd Western Regional Rhododendron Conference.
• The 1980 Breeders Roundtable: Breeding Rhododendrons for Commercial Success, Edmund V. Mezitt, Chairman, is now available.
• Dr. Schroeder and others in the Midwest are concentrating on breeding for hardiness. Dr. Schroeder is using 2/3 Iron Clad genes with 1/3 tender genes. He says that ARS members should consider raising some "ugly ducklings" to instill hardiness into the 'Cinderellas."
• The Tacoma Chapter Newsletter had a new section called, "I Wish I Could Get." Listed were cuttings, seeds, books, plants, etc. that people wanted.
• Herbert Spady, President of the Portland Chapter, made available to new members a Rhododendron and Azalea Micellany which included articles about pruning, growing under lights, landscaping, photographing flowers, etc.
• George Ring was ARS President and Mrs. Ed Egan (Fran) was Executive Secretary.

Comments, suggestions and contribution may be emailed to: bettyspady@AOL.com

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