Rhododendrons are among the most decorative of all the evergreen flowering shrubs. The brilliance of their blooms is awe-inspiring so they justly deserve their title ‘queen of the evergreens’.
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The rhododendron is an ancient plant with fossilised remains at least 50 million years old found in North America and Europe.
In the nineteenth century English hybridisers set out to develop rhododendrons that would flower after the frosts were over and whose foliage and flower buds would not be cut back by severe winter frosts.
Following on from this, plant breeders in Australia have over many years, been developing new varieties to suit our conditions, in particular our hot, dry summers.
As a result it’s possible, with the correct selection of varieties, to have rhododendrons in bloom all year round.
They now range in sizes from diminutive ground covering plants to large shrubs and small trees, while some are epiphytes growing on tree branches or in rocky crevices.
The large trusses of flowers, usually single, but sometimes semi-double or double, vary from a tubular to widely-funnelled shaped with the petals almost reflexed.
The colour range of flowers is vast from violet, lavender, cream and light green to crimson-red, orange, yellow and white with all the shades in between and can be blotched, spotted, striped, edged or multicolored.
Some varieties have lovely patterned bark and some, like Rhododendron ‘Fragrantissimum’, have the most delightful fragrance.
To grow rhododendrons successfully provide them with a rich, loamy, acid soil, a position in part shade with morning sun and perfect drainage.
If the soil is alkaline, apply a dressing of sulphur at about 30 grams per square metre to help correct the acidity. Its effect can be long-lasting if sprinkled over the top of a composted pine bark mulch.
Rhododendrons need plenty of water especially in summer. Yellow and sunburned leaves during this time may be an indication that the root system is drying out.
Leaves transpire moisture to keep them cool, so apply a mulch of pine bark, pine needles, leaf mould or straw around the plant to help keep the soil damp and to retain valuable moisture.
Rhododendrons need little in the way of fertilising, but do benefit from an application of Dynamic Lifter Advanced for Camellias, Azaleas and Rhododendrons as it provides a balance of composted manure blended with the appropriate mineral nutrients.
They are also easy to move even when fully grown because they form compact masses of fine roots which are lifted intact with the root ball.
The ideal time to relocate is from late autumn to early spring before new growth begins.
A trim after flowering is all the pruning they require, or you can just continually remove spent flower heads to keep them in a compact, manageable shape.
DIARY
July 18: The Australian Plant Society meets at the Max Fry Hall on Gorge Rd, Trevallyn at 7.30pm. Mick and Helen Statham will speak on plant species found on the Svarlbard archipelago off the northern coast of Norway where they recently visited. Visitors are welcome to attend the meeting at no charge and can gain expert advice on gardening with native plants. For more information visit www.apstasnorth.org
July 19: The Launceston Horticultural Society meets at the Windmill Hill Hall, High Street, Launceston at 8pm.
July 20: The Launceston Orchid Society will meet at the Newnham Uniting Church Hall, George Town Road, Launceston, 7pm.