Rhododendron 'JG009'

Description:
An absolutely stunning rhododendron with lovely smooth blue-green elongated foliage and rugged rusty brown bark. Only blooms once every two years but what a show! Foliage almost disappears behind the deep pink trumpet like flower clusters. Heavy producing nectaries bring in the pollinators from near and far. Flowers are big enough for you to stick a finger in and sample the sweetness. A very tall plant to 5 meters or more with equal spread.

Notes:
Possible hybrid. Faintly fragrant. Another selection from Ted and Mary Grieg.

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. Fill 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.