ABOUT RHODODENDRONS

Hybridizers often become so obsessed with their own work and what they know that they have very little time or patience for newcomers. When I first started hybridizing, I read the Greer and Salley’s book listing the parentages of all the modern hybrids and noticed the name John Lofthouse next to a lot of very exotic hybrids. So I wrote him a letter and asked him what would he do if he were starting out hybridizing. He sent me a warm and helpful letter along with pollen from his best hybrids and a shoebox full of all the seed that he had hanging around unsown in his refrigerator! It was quite a treat and allowed me to get something of a jump start on my own hybridizing program by using pollen from R. 'Viennese Waltz' and R. 'One Thousand Butterflies' at a time when it was very difficult to get the plants themselves, even on the west coast. If I were John Lofthouse today, I would feel a great sense of accomplishment, for a very large percentage of the seed sent into the Seed Exchange contains R. 'One Thousand Butterflies' somewhere in its parentage. This plant has attained the status of R. 'Lem's Cameo' with hybridizers. For most people interested in hybridizing here in the East, it was necessary to buy named hybrids from mail order nurseries on the west coast, hoping they were budded of course, and growing them in containers in order to use them for their own hybridizing programs. Often the plants would have to be grown a couple of years before they could be used, and then there were frequently poor results. I wonder how many people bought R. 'Trude Webster' or R. 'Very Berry' or some of Harold Greer's other exotic and profusely described hybrids and then spend years trying to get them to set seed. I know I did. And, of course, these plants were produced through the commercial processes of nurseries and we all knew that the hybridizer had taken these plants two or three generations down the road already by the time we were using them. It was also obvious that none of the cutting edge hybridizers were contributing to the ARS Seed Exchange. They were keeping their seed to themselves and to their close friends, making it difficult for a new hybridizer to get access to some of the new genetic pools being produced. This was always frustrating for me, and it seemed it made the process of hybridizing a life-long endeavor.

When I became Chairman of the ARS Seed Exchange, I was determined to change this. I can proudly say that with the 1998 Seed Exchange, we have made available some of the very finest genetic material out there, due mostly to the efforts of Jim Barlup, Frank Fujioka, and Kristi O'Donnell and her crew of dedicated supporters of Meerkerk Gardens. Frank and Jim in particular realized that they were hybridizing plants that could only be grown on a very narrow strip of the western coast of the United States and some other near tropical climates in California and New Zealand. They decided to introduce hardy material into their breeding programs and to make extra crosses so the seed could be available through the Seed Exchange.

They have done an exceptional service to the rhododendron world by giving the rest of us a shot at incorporating their gene pools into our own hybridization programs. Frank got some hardy budded plants from Briggs Nursery and made over a hundred crosses the first year. Then Jim Barlup joined in. This year he sent in 108 crosses of his fine hybrids crossed almost exclusively with hardy east coast hybrids. Tony Knights from the Massachusetts Chapter made suggestions on plants to use and sent Jim pollen from some of the best hardy hybrids. Jim used it all. Dave Hinton from Ontario, Canada has a series of very hardy hybrids from R. brachycapum ssp. tigerstedtii x (smirnowii x yak) which he crossed with some R. proteoides pollen sent to him by Warren Berg. This seed is in this year's Seed Exchange.

On the species side of the Rhododendron world, the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden is no longer conducting its own seed exchange for members. Instead it is sending all of its excess seed to the ARS Seed Exchange. The Seed Exchange will send $1.00 from the price of each packet sold back to the Rhododendron Species Garden. In addition, June Sinclair and Clint Smith have continued their devoted practice of selfing highly desirable species for the Seed Exchange. The sale of those seeds will also benefit the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden.

We have contacted some other sources of good hybrids to try to include them in next year's catalogue. Paul James from Boones Mill, Virginia has one of the very best collections of Weldon Delp and Haag hybrids. There is a whole series of these open pollinated in this year’s catalogue and we hope to get his cooperation in doing some hybridizing for the Seed Exchange this spring. We have asked Hans Hachmann to allow us to make crosses on his plants with West Coast pollen. We have contacted the new director of David Leach's program. He has expressed interest in making some solicited crosses.

So what's the point here? The point is that I believe now is the best time ever for anyone to buy seed from the Seed Exchange, but especially for beginners looking to start growing rhododendrons from seed.

By Al Muller

Nature's miracles are all around us. As plants people, we are thankful for them, but more or less we take them for granted. Sometimes our curiosity gets the better of us, and perhaps in the name of science, we try to look into the heart of a miracle that we become acutely aware of.

Just so, while browsing a botany book one evening, I became interested in a particular aspect of plant growth that I considered of special importance. This was because I had recently planted some rhododendron seeds that I had purchased from our Chapter's seed exchange. I would like to share this with others of us who are using our magnifying glasses to check on germination and growth. Since I am not a botanist, what follows is my understanding of this subject, and my observations following germination.

First, however, it should be noted that neither rhododendron nor azalea (ericaceous) seed require a dormancy period prior to sowing. They may be sown immediately after harvesting.

As we are sowing our precious rhododendron and azalea seeds, some hardly larger than a speck of dust, we take time to try to broadcast the seeds as evenly as possible over the surface of the germination media. But what thought do we give regarding the placement of the seed to provide the proper orientation for normal growth? When we plant bulbs, for example, we take care to orient the bulb so that the point is up, making sure the stem growth will be up and the roots down.

The fact of the matter is that one of nature's miracles guarantees the proper growth of the seed. Therefore, even though corn seed, as another example, is large enough to orient properly during planting, the farmer would never finish planting a hundred-acre cornfield if this were necessary. So he sows by machine at random, knowing that the plants will grow properly. Also, if you planted bulbs on their sides, the stem would eventually grow up, and the roots down. So it is with our small seed.

Nature's miracle, in this case, is a hormone known as auxin (from a Greek word meaning "to increase"). Auxin's principal function is to stimulate increases in cell length, especially near stem and root tips. This is an extremely complex study. However, for our purpose we will take a simple look into the part auxin plays in orientation of the growth of seedlings

After germination, the roots and shoots grow in response to the effect of gravity. Roots are, by nature, positively geotropic-that is, they grow in the direction of gravity. Stems, however, are negatively geotropic, growing opposite to gravity. The growing tip of a root and stem, known as the apical meristem, is where the auxin is produced in minute, but sufficient quantities. One of the mysteries of growth is the ability of the auxin to redistribute in its concentration. The auxin flows back from the meristem into the elongating part of the new shoot.

Larger seeds, such as corn, quickly develop a separate root and stem. However, the smaller rhododendron seed develops a single shoot, which is the beginning of the root and stem. In my observation, the root formation is the first priority. If this is true in a germinating seed lying on its side when a shoot starts to develop, gravity will cause auxin to collect in the upper part of the shoot, where it then stimulates the cells to grow down into the growing medium (due to the effect of gravity-hence, positively geotropic). The opposite end, which will form the stem, then begins a slow vertical growth.

I believe that in this initial phase of development, the stem end straightens any initial bend due to natural auxin migration. However, it is interesting to note, that once the bending occurs in larger plants, and growth continues, the only response to changing orientation of the plant will occur in the area of the newly forming part of the stem. As an example, if a growing plant is laid on its side, only the growing part of the stem will bend upwards for the reasons described above.

Lastly, purely for reference here, a plant (which is placed on a windowsill) bends to face the light, because of another of nature's factors known as phototropism. This phenomenon is also controlled by our friend, auxin. In this case, auxin is redistributed to the shady part of the stem, causing that side to grow at a faster rate. This is most common in sun-loving species. Most shade-loving species display little or no phototropic responses (important in their selection as houseplants).

My reference books point out that plant physiologists are still at a loss to explain all the complex biochemistry of cell growth, the migration of auxin, etc. This brings to my mind the poem, Trees, by Joyce Kilmer, which concludes, "poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree."

In the material above, I made observations and expressed my understanding of this very complex subject, but I also recognize that there is much more to learn. I respectfully invite comments from any authority. My e-mail address is noted below..

-Al Muller e-mail - ajmuller@juno.com

According to the entry in the Journal American Rhododendron Society, January 1982, p. 33, R..‘Relaxation’ is a hybrid raised and introduced by Cecil Smith (1966). It is a R. yakushimanum 'Koichiro Wada' cross.

The flowers are cardinal-red, with dark basal nectaries on campanulate 2" X 2" flowers. The truss is 7-8" across by 3" high, lax, with 12-15 flowers. The new growth has a creamy tomentum on the upper surface of the leaves; the lower surface is covered with heavy indumentum near a grayed orange color. The leaves, 31/2" X 1 1/2", are narrowly elliptic to elliptic, between oblanceolate and narrowly obovate, slightly convex and arching, and of heavy texture.

The plant can be found in its mature form in the Smith Garden. My experience with R. ‘Relaxation' has been a very positive one. It remained a container plant (I have very little garden space). I found it needed plenty of water and did not like the full sun. It flourished in partial shade.

Rhododendron ‘Relaxation' produced a mass of flowers which, for 2-3 weeks, pretty well covered the plant. With the silvery tomentum on top of the leaves and the orange to gray-brown indumentum on the bottom, it retained a colorful appearance long after the last of the blossoms had fallen. The leaves, once the tomentum on top had weathered off, were a deep, glabrous green with depressed veins, giving the plant a pleasing, slightly textured look. As the leaves are held for 2-3 years, the plant is nicely compact since the branches are stiff and the plant is slow growing (it's a semi-dwarf). It can be easily kept in bounds with light pruning. It blooms in early May. It is said to be hardy to -5° F. With its parentage I would expect it to be hardy below that once established in the Garden. I think this is another Cecil Smith hybrid that deserves serious consideration for home gardens. It should be especially valuable in today's smaller gardens. Lynn Gottschall. (From Willamette Chapter Newsletter, January 1996. With permission of author Lynn Gottshall and Willamette Chapter Newsletter Editor Herb Spady)

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These three different factors create the problem of defining a plant's hardiness. Many rhododendrons have good midwinter hardiness but may not harden off early in the fall or they de-acclimate early in the late winter. The lack of either characteristic creates the risk of damage. In our climate (Western Oregon), with relatively warm wet autumns, rhododendrons are frequently killed or damaged because they do not seem to respond to the shortening day lengths. They may stop growing, but they do not harden off. Cold weather in late November or early December can be very damaging. The same is true if the plants de-acclimate during warm periods in late winter. Warmth in February can be especially ominous as the possibility of more cold weather still exists.

These factors are the reason that the American Rhododendron Society has adopted a new definition of hardiness. Two figures are given. 1. The lowest temperature expresses the lowest temperature after which the plant has been reported to perform normally. 2. The highest temperature is the highest temperature after which damage has been observed.

The Hardiness Committee of the ARS is gathering this type of data and hopes to have some figures to report in a few years.

The first day of gardening consisted of mowing 4-foot tall weeds in the back. There was nothing else except a hedge of boxwood and 168 oak, elm, and hackberry trees. The front was bare soil with a few dwarf nandinas and yaupons. Today there is a bridge and brick walkway to the front door, three large azalea and rhododendron beds, and two large foundation beds with more azaleas, rhododendrons, Japanese maples, and mums. The beds are circled with Phlox divaricata ‘Laphamii’. I used Naud Burnett's idea of early azaleas with phlox but put rhodies in the center of the beds.

The back now has two main rhododendron plantings with two more to go. There is a kidney shaped patch of grass near the center. The back has a pond garden, trail garden, foundation/porch garden, and the big finale garden. I am taking my time here as most plants are still small.

The biggest changes to the property are the rhododendron beds, the walkways, the pond, the Japanese maples, and the dark green fescue lawn. The fescue survived quite well this summer, and I believe that the fungicide spray I applied was the main reason. You can use sulphur, Benlate, Daconil, or Consam Triple Action 20 on the Fescue to keep the fungus down after heavy Spring rains. Another change is the elimination of all Blackjack Oaks (3), hackberries (2), a Mexican plum, and some Post Oaks (8). The property still has about 150 native trees, mostly Post Oak and Cedar elms.

The landscape plan emphasizes spring and fall color. Last spring the azaleas bloomed poorly. Even old standards like ‘Coral Bells’, ‘Delaware Valley White’, and ‘Herbert’ did not bloom. An early frost was to blame. Note, however, that all the rhodies that had set buds went on to bloom. Once again it looks like they're tougher than azaleas! Fall colors are from Japanese maples, blueberries, dogwoods, Crape Myrtles, hydrangea, Eunoymous ‘Alata,’ and mums. By the way, I picked out my Crape Myrtle during the fall sale and got one called ‘Muskogee’ that turns a vibrant red in the fall. The fall color this year was exceptional. Likewise, the fall color on the azaleas was exceptional. Almost every variety put on a good show of fall leaf color right through December. Most azaleas have at least half their leaves showing color and some varieties are completely colorful. Their leaf colors are certainly worth watching.

I have over one hundred rhododendrons now. Several of my original plants purchased in 1987 from V.O. Chambers Nursery were brought with me from Tulsa. All are doing well. They withstood hail the size of softballs that tore right through my roof two days after I moved in. I've received several orders from several different nurseries. David Grantham donated many large plants as well. Sue Mohr donated a Whitney Orange that fall bloomed for three and a half months this year! It had from 2 to 3 trusses open at a time. About one-half of my rhododendrons were ordered as yearlings and delivered in the fall of 1992. These original sixty-eight plants now number fifty-three. Fifteen plants, I'm sorry to say, have died in their first two years. My best guess as to why they died, breaks-down as follows: seven from dryness, five from lack of any new spring growth, two from fungus, and one from too much sun.

The plants I ordered arrived in October 1992. I picked these up and planted them the same day they were sent. The plants were about six inches tall. In Spring I checked all plants and only three of the lot showed little or no new root growth. The vast majority had doubled their root systems over the mild winter that year. The small rhodies did not grow until May even though temperatures were very warm that spring. The summer of 1993 was completely dry and the pine bark beds got dry during August. The plants were watered once a week until August when they were watered every 4 or 5 days. Only one flush of growth was recorded.

In 1994 many of the plants began growing earlier in the season, which I liked. However, hail the size of golf balls ripped much of the early growth. Some plants, however, still refused to grow until May, which saved the new growth from the hail, but meant it was too hot for good growth. The summer of 1994 was dry and the pine bark beds went completely dry in August despite a 3 or 4 day watering schedule. It appears that every August the beds become bone-dry from the heat and oak tree roots. It is a frightening feeling to stick your hand in the pine bark after you have been billed for 20,000 gallons of water and discover it is only wet on the top half-inch. To re-wet the beds I must run a hose sprinkler all day.

Most of the rhododendrons showed no stress from being in dry bark for many days. A few died from it, and it is the most serious threat to rhododendrons here. Other plants refused to grow in the spring and therefore died. Two had root rot and one was turned crispy by the hot afternoon sun. Fungus causing die back is also a very serious threat but it has not affected any of the sixty-eight yearlings. Plants that arrive here in spring are particularly hit hard by fungus.

It is a new rule at Rock 'n’ Rhodie Ranch to soak all new plants in a bucket of fungicide. I also believe it is better to plant in the fall. Pine bark beds must be checked regularly in late July and August by sticking your hand or shovel down in it. These dry beds will need an all day soak to get wet again. If your plant is wilting from dryness, I think it best to dig it up and let it soak until wet through in a bucket of water. Spraying for fungus is beneficial. I sprayed various fungicides about six times this year. With two hailstorms in two years, maybe I should just grow them inside the house!

Here is the outcome:

There you have the results of the sixty-eight yearlings in their first two years in Texas. Not too bad considering their initial small size, a hailstorm, and the unbearable summers with no rain

There are many more rhododendrons performing well for me. The ones that I purchased as 2 or 3 year-old plants and are growing well are: ‘Lem's Monarch’, ‘Rocket’, ‘Very Berry’, ‘Cotton Candy’, ‘Solidarity’, ‘Anna Rose Whitney’, ‘Jean Marie de Montague’, ‘Manda Sue’, ‘One Thousand Butterflies’, ‘Dorothy Amateis’, ‘Dora Amateis’, ‘Emasculen’, ‘Purple Splendor’, ‘Catawbiense Album’, ‘Nova Zembla’, and all crosses with R. hyperythrum. Two species, R. hyperythrum 'Dr. John L. Creech' and R. adenopodum, performed well. The ‘Scintillation’ plants look good but I have trouble setting buds on all the branches. I have cuttings of ‘Francesca’, ‘Sappho’, ‘Anna Rose Whitney’, ‘Scintillation’, and others that are coming along slowly.

‘Purple Splendor’ is one of my original plants. It bloomed in September this year which it had never done before. You might not believe this, but it sent out new growth then set buds again this November!

--Keith Johansson—

(From the Ozark Chapter Newsletter, March 1997. Used with permission of Keith Johansson, author and editor.)

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Rhododendron schlippenbachii is also called the Royal Azalea. It is considered by many to be among the most beautiful of azaleas. The flowers are 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide, occurring in clusters of 3-6. They range in color from pure white to rose pink with a light spotting of reddish brown dots on the upper petals. They are often slightly fragrant. Mature plants are commonly four or five feet high in the garden, but Joe Gable had one that was about 10 feet tall. I have heard of 12-foot plants in New Jersey. At my last home there was a stunning plant about 6 feet tall, white with a faint blush of pure pink (i.e., no trace of blue). It blooms in mid-May. The rather large obovate deciduous leaves are distinctive and are carried in whorls of five leaves. The leaves are a deep orange color before dropping in the fall. The azalea is found in thin woods in Korea and northeastern Manchuria. It also occurs sparingly in central Japan, where the white ones are. It is hardy, at least to Boston and Rochester, N.Y.

I have planted several here in Oak Ridge, but I can't say they are thriving. They have a reputation for being finicky, failing to thrive for no particular reason. Joe Gable said they were aptly named. "They often slip back," he used to say.

Named by Maximowicz after Baron A. von Schlippenbach, a Russian naval officer who discovered the plant in Korea in 1854. It was first introduced into the United States from Korean seed by the Arnold Arboretum in 1905. Later introductions included seed from Japan.

Rhododendron schlippenbachii is now classified in Section Sciadorhodion, along with R. albrechtii, R. pentaphyllum, and R. quinquefolium, all of which can be grown in Oak Ridge. (However, R. pentaphyllum needs protection when young.)

Many retail nurseries carry R. schlippenbachii. In my opinion, it deserves a place in every rhododendron enthusiast's garden!-TH

This Internet story begins with an email message

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From Angie Davis to R&A News

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Herb Spady enters the story

Now this isn’t the end of the story. A few days before receiving the above message, a neighbor of Spadys had called to say she had received a message from someone named Paul Litzau in Maryland who wanted some cuttings of R. ‘Smokey.’ Herb, Betty’s husband, called him and then sent him some cuttings. Mr. Litzau is a member of Mason-Dixon Chapter. Remembering the above email we realized that Paul’s granddaughter had already been in communication with me, Betty, about the Shaw rhododendron.

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Editor gets the final word this time.

The following articles are published in full on other Web Sites. You may connect directly from this Web Site to read these articles.

"Vireya Cultivation" by Chris Callard http://website.lineone.net/~cjcallard/cultivation.htm

"Rhododendron Culture" by Robert McKenzie http://www.netaxs.com/~mckenzi1/culture.html

"Rhododendron Problems" from Washington State University Website Every person who has a rhododendron in the garden will want to look at this site. The materials and conditions are for people from the state of Washington so use with caution for your area. http://pep.wsu.edu/hortsense/rhody.html

Date: 02/22/99

From:  azaleaed@brinet.com (Ed Collins)
To: BETTYSPADY@aol.com

Betty,

There is a minor update in reference to my article in the last issue of the Journal. Is it too late to get this information into the Rhododendron and Azalea News?

I received a message from Dr. Christine Nalepa that the name Arhyssus lateralis is not correct. It has been positively identified as Kleidocerys resedae (Panzer) (Family: Lygaeidae). Kleidocerys resedae is quite commonly collected in North Carolina, and the host records in the N.C. State University Insect

Collection indicate that it is found on, among others, plants of cedar, sycamore, hemlock, Virginia pine, birch and azalea. Lygaeids are commonly known as "seed bugs".

Best Wishes,