When a baby is born into a family, we "register" him, however you do not know if he is a future "star". But that is how some people can find out who their ancestors are. (I hope they are not the same people who do not want to register all rhododendrons.)

Just imagine that you win the ‘jackpot’ with the most beautiful rhododendron. You fill in a form. Here it is:

Do you think hybridizers will guess the cross? And SALLEY & GREER? That is why I think it is better to register all of those rhododendrons that you plan to use as parents. However, it is not necessary to register every seedling from a seed pod unless your goal is to register the greatest number of rhododendrons.

I have been told there is a problem about too many names. Should it be possible we are out of names? How many people are there on the earth? Are names really a problem for the people? If there is, I would like to make a suggestion.

Let us take advantage of the year 2000 to begin an international symbol which could be easily understandable by everyone (and, of course, by computers, too). Let me explain:

This is only one example of the symbols which could be used. There are still two years to think about it.

This is my small contribution to this Website. Marc Colombel. (Marc.Colombel@wanadoo.fr)

Plant Portrait of Rhododendron fortunei, Lindl. 1859 Fortunea Subsection (Fortunei Series)

It seems appropriate that Robert Fortune, in keeping with his name, discovered this lovely species in 1855. It is a fragrant rhododendron, but unlike those sweetly scented, tender beauties lindleyi, nuttallii and maddenii, R. fortunei is quite hardy.

Fortune's original collections were made in Chekiang province, in eastern China, at about 3,000 feet. Other plant hunters found the species later, in Anhwei, Kiangsi and Hunan growing in woods and forests at 2,0004,000 feet in elevation. Wilson noted that the species was common on other Chekiang mountains, particularly in the Lushan range of the neighbouring province of Kiangsi, to the west (Davidian, 1989. Vol. 2: 196). The range of ssp. discolor is western Hupeh, Sichuan (Szechuan) and Anhwei.

The leaves of R. fortunei are handsome, and show some variation. They are 3 to 7 inches long, 1.5 to 3 inches wide. A prominent and very attractive feature is the deep red of the midrib and petioles (leaf stalks); these create a ring of colour around the dormant bud that seems to deepen and become more conspicuous in winter. The leaves of the Lu Shan form are typically a dull, olive green in colour, and have rich red petioles.

The flowers of R. fortunei are borne in a loose truss of 5 to 12, and are shaped like wide bells (funnel-campanulate). They are pink to pale pinkish-lilac or rose and, of course, fragrant. R. fortunei has been much used for hybridizing, particularly in North America, and especially in the East, where it is appreciated for its tolerance of summer heat and winter cold. It is noteworthy that, according to Cox, "a particularly fine large flowered, sweet scented clone was used as the seed parent of the original 'Loderi' grex" (1990, 170). The other parent in the 'Loderi' grex is griffithianum, a rather tender rhododendron from the lower elevations of the Himalayas.

There are too many hybrids with R. fortunei to even to think of listing here; some of the most popular plants have this rhododendron as a parent, and two great hybridizers, Rothschild and Dexter, made free use of it.  Indeed, one of the most loved hybrids of all time in Eastern North America is Dexter's 'Scintillation'.

1. Rh. anthopogon; ssp. anthopogon; ssp. hypenanthum
2. Rh. lepidotum;
3. Rh. arboreum ssp. arboreum
4. Rh. arboreum ssp. cinnamomeum
5. Rh. barbatum
6. Rh. campanulatum ssp. campanulatum
7. Rh. campanulatum ssp. aeruginosum
8. Rh. wallichii;

There is a short questionnaire which will help in my research. If you have any of the above in your garden, please contact me at: Dr. Ole R. Vetaas, Botanical Institute, Allegt. 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway. FAX:+47 55589667. Email = Ole.Vetaas@bot.uib.no.  You may download the questionnaire from this Website: http://home.sol.no/~hgrimsla/rhodo/arboret/arborete.htm click at Rhododendron research (home.sol...../query1.htm) or look for Norwegian Arboretum - Milde under www-link ARS home page.

From Horticultural Abstracts, June 1997. In Germany test trials were conducted using seedlings of about 180 Rhododendron species and cultivars to determine how tolerant the seedlings were of neutral or near-neutral soils. Most of the rhododendrons required an acid soil. However, R. micranthum seedlings were found to be exceptionally tolerant, growing almost as well at pH 7.1 as they did at the acidic pH 4.2. Many of the other plants showed iron deficiency after a few weeks at pH 7.1 and most of them died within six months.