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Post by Shuggie on May 6, 2007 10:04:16 GMT
If you're fortunate enough to have reasonably acid soil, Rhodies (and Azaleas) are for you. If you don't have acid soil, then many of the smaller ones (Yak Hybrids) can be grown in tubs. I've found a good potting mixture to be 1/3 John Innes No. 2, 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Composted Bark. They need so little attention it's unbelievable, whether in the ground or in a tub: a good handful of B&Q Azalea and Rhododendron fertilizer in about March; another handful after they've flowered .. and that's it. Site them somewhere where they get a mixture of sunshine and shade. Here are some pictures of three of my treasures: 1. Lem's Cameo: sometimes described as "The Cadillac of Rhododendrons"; about 5' tall; reasonably hardy; young growth is dark red/bronze; the "father" of many hybrids; 2. Starbright Champagne: an American-bred hybrid of (I think) Lem's Cameo; about 4' tall; young growth red/bronze; 3. Nancy Evans: a hybrid of Lem's Cameo; about 4-5' tall; buds are a deep orange; young growth green/bronze; very floriferous; readily available at garden centres Lem's Cameo and Starbright Champagne are not often available at garden centres but can be purchased online at (in my opinion) the "home" of Rhodies in Central Scotland: www.glendoick.com/Hint: if you live in central scotland and you're thinking of visiting Gendoick, make sure your card can take a bashing - there will always be something you can't possibly live without! p.s. thanks to RevMichael and Fi for numpty-friendly instructions on how to incorporate pictures in messages!!
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Post by Mandy Lifeboats on May 6, 2007 10:48:49 GMT
I don't have favourites but if I did, rhodies would come near the top. Unfortunately I live on the edge of the Cotswolds which is about as limey as you can get. In my ignorance, when we moved in I bought a rhodie which promptly turned all yellow and sickly and died. Meanwhile my other half - a scavenger through and through - was nicking bits of stone walling when out with the dogs, eventually building a raised bed. I filled it with ericaceous compost - cost a fortune, but the wall was free - and set to with the rhodies. That was about 15 years ago and every year I get a sumptuous display - see below 'Silver Sixpence' and 'Fabia'. Mnads
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Post by Shuggie on May 6, 2007 11:18:47 GMT
I filled it with ericaceous compost Ericaceous compost is OK for tubs, but it's a bit on the light side - being essentially peat + fertilizer. If you live in a windy neck of the woods, the plants tend to blow over. Additionally, the compost, like all peat composts, becomes "unwettable" if it dries out too much. The John Innes is used to give extra weight and wettability. OK, there's a touch of lime in it but, providing the JI proportions don't exceed about 1/3, you shouldn't have too many problems. If the Rhodies develop a touch of chlorosis, a dose of Sequestrene will soon cure that.
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Post by revmichael on May 6, 2007 11:53:41 GMT
Great pictures young Shuggie (you are described as a young limb). My soil is very neutral (if you can say very neutral) so I haven't had much success with rhodies.
Scotland must be the place for them, although there are lots around Virginia water which is not far from here, and we sometimes goes for walks in the Spring.
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Post by Janglers on May 6, 2007 14:03:24 GMT
Sorry, I don't like them. Yes they are pretty in gardens, but they are killing native plants. They drop something onto the ground beneath them so that nothing else will grow , killing anything that tries to establish itself. A very good way of keeping their own species going, but no good to British native plants. I believe that they are ripping them up in some parts of the UK.
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Post by Shuggie on May 6, 2007 22:15:16 GMT
Sorry, I don't like them. Yes they are pretty in gardens, but they are killing native plants. They drop something onto the ground beneath them so that nothing else will grow , killing anything that tries to establish itself. A very good way of keeping their own species going, but no good to British native plants. I believe that they are ripping them up in some parts of the UK. Janglers, What you say is very true, but unfortunately doesn't relate to the Rhodies grown in gardens. The wild ones which behave like thugs are Rhododendron Ponticum, a Spanish immigrant with a prediliction for self seeding - hence the invasive nature. The ones grown in gardens are almost exclusively from the Himalayas, China and Japan. The most common dwarf hybrids emanate from R. Yakushimanum, from Yakushima Island off the coast of Japan. The larger hybrids (particularly the red or pink varieties) stem from R. Arboreum, the tree Rhodie from the Himalayas. There were, admittedly, problems years ago when hybrids were grafted on to root stocks of R. Ponticum - if the scion died, the rootstock continued to grow and establish a new colony of R. Ponticum. Nowadays the problems don't exist - the rootstock for grafted plants is R. Ponticum "Cunninghams White" which doesn't self seed.
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Post by Janglers on May 7, 2007 5:55:09 GMT
Sorry, I don't like them. Yes they are pretty in gardens, but they are killing native plants. They drop something onto the ground beneath them so that nothing else will grow , killing anything that tries to establish itself. A very good way of keeping their own species going, but no good to British native plants. I believe that they are ripping them up in some parts of the UK. Janglers, What you say is very true, but unfortunately doesn't relate to the Rhodies grown in gardens. The wild ones which behave like thugs are Rhododendron Ponticum, a Spanish immigrant with a prediliction for self seeding - hence the invasive nature. The ones grown in gardens are almost exclusively from the Himalayas, China and Japan. The most common dwarf hybrids emanate from R. Yakushimanum, from Yakushima Island off the coast of Japan. The larger hybrids (particularly the red or pink varieties) stem from R. Arboreum, the tree Rhodie from the Himalayas. There were, admittedly, problems years ago when hybrids were grafted on to root stocks of R. Ponticum - if the scion died, the rootstock continued to grow and establish a new colony of R. Ponticum. Nowadays the problems don't exist - the rootstock for grafted plants is R. Ponticum "Cunninghams White" which doesn't self seed. That's good to hear Shuggie.
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Post by Shuggie on May 7, 2007 7:30:27 GMT
They drop something onto the ground beneath them so that nothing else will grow , killing anything that tries to establish itself. Incidentally, Janglers, the "something" is the dead leaves, which contain a substance which is poisonous to most other plants - it's a survival mechanism which, to judge from the results, is very effective!
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Post by Fi on May 7, 2007 22:36:14 GMT
I PM'd Shuggie yesterday about pruning Rhodies - not a common thing to do, and i could find nothing more than deadheading by googling. One we moved got half of it's branches broken off and it now looks hideously leggy. His response was:-
- which may be useful to other Rhodie growers. I'll try and remember to let you know the results next year. Mind you, I may have to visit Glendoik Nursery, just to crosscheck with the owners. I have a high regard for them too - not just the rhodies for which they are famous, but the rest of their stock too - it's all of the highest quality. They do do mail order andhere is their address again. They are a tad pricey, but I think it's money well spent, even if we can't afford it.
Oh and I am hugely chuffed - I did a pH reading for the soil in our garden, which is reddish brown clay with a bit of silt and smallish cobbles, therefore not exactly promising, and lo and behold it's acid - somwhere between 6 and 6.5. Which means we can plant all our azaleas and rhodies out , rather than keeping them in containers - a couple of feeds a year and they should be happy.
My favourite rhodie is R. williamsianum. It's nowhere near as showy as most rhodies, but the simplicity appeals. The one we've got is still a baby, but I look forward to when it looks like this:
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Post by Shuggie on May 8, 2007 13:16:24 GMT
Be careful with Williamsianum, Fi - it flowers early and it's only borderline hardy - rural Aberdeenshire might be a little severe for it. Mind you, you're not far from the coast so it might be OK
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Post by Shuggie on May 8, 2007 13:20:56 GMT
Mind you, I may have to visit Glendoik Nursery, Famous last words "I simply do not have room for any more Rhodies". Don't forget your card, Fi!! ;D ;D
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Post by Fi on May 9, 2007 0:08:02 GMT
Be careful with Williamsianum, Fi - it flowers early and it's only borderline hardy - rural Aberdeenshire might be a little severe for it. Mind you, you're not far from the coast so it might be OK True - but it's of a size that it can be tucked up in bubble wrap for any cold spells, or more appropriately cold and windy spells. I know that's not the greenest of answers, but it works exceedingly well. Talking to the locals, we've seen the back of winters where it usually gets down to minus 20 at night for a week or even a fortnight - bliss.
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Post by Fi on May 9, 2007 0:10:50 GMT
Mind you, I may have to visit Glendoik Nursery, Famous last words "I simply do not have room for any more Rhodies". Don't forget your card, Fi!! ;D ;D ................ and ;D ;D to you too! xx
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