Rhododendron JGS007 |
Origin: China
Zone Range: 6-9
Preferred Situation: Semi sun; well draining humus rich acidic soil.
Harvest Date: Saturday 29 December, 2007
Description:
R. fortunei type. Beautiful scented flowers are welcome in any garden but more so from a Rhododendron as it is so uncommon. Rhododendron fortunei and their hybrids are hard to surpass for fragrance. Pale pink trumpet shaped blooms open from dark pink buds in sequence so you can enjoy its sweet scent over an extended bloom that lasts for weeks. Lovely leaves. Sinuous branching. Mature plants reach 4 meters tall with an equal spread. Park your garden bench nearby in May.
Notes:
Funny thing about it scent is that if you're a smoker, you can't smell the sweetly fragrant blooms. Another good reason to quit. All members of the Genus Rhododendron are shallow rooted and must have moisture retentive acidic humus rich soil. Never lime or overfeed. Prune immediately after blooms are spent as next year's flowering buds are formed over the summer on new growth. Another aquisition by the late Ted and Mary Grieg, renowned plantpeople. Worthy enough to establish in their personal garden.
Cultivation:
Traditionally propagated by surface sowing under glass and keeping moist, there are always less bulky, alternate ways of starting Rhododendrons from seed. Generally seed doesn't need any pretreatment. Full a 15 cm deep nursery pot with a sterile medium of equal parts of finely milled peat moss, sand, and loam. Sow thinly! Mix seed with a small amount of sand, evenly disperse seed over the surface of the medium (not too much sand as seed need light to germinate) and tamp firm. Direct sunlight will fry seedlings, an artifical light source is best. Keep moist using fine mist as heavy droplets will dislodge delicate seedling roots; use a plastic cover for greater success. Germinate at 20 C and you should see sprouts emerging within 3 months. When at their 3-4 true leaf stage prick out and transplant seedling. Seedlings cannot tolerate winter temps in their first year so its best to place them in a unheated greenhouse or cold frame. Protect seedlings from nibbling varmits. Seed germinates within 3 months.
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