Rhododendrons & Azaleas

For centuries these plants have been popular with gardeners around the world. Many of the species we are familiar with were actually originated in Asia, with the largest concentration of the commonly found varieties being Chinese and Japanese in origin. They also come in two leaf types: deciduous (loses its leaves in winter) and evergreen (pretty self explanatory, no?). Additionally, there are standard varieties, which can grow quite large, and dwarf varieties which never grow more than about 2 feet tall. The dwarf variety of azalea (commonly known as satsuki) is also popular for making into bonsai. Now, while stationed at American military bases actually located in the ...  Read the complete review

Victorian Horticulturalists in the 18 C traveled far lands and brought home with then many plants which they introduced to our country. The Rhododendron was one of these it is native in the western and eastern Mediterranean, Spain, Portugal and Turkey and also occurs east in countries to Asia. As a child I can remember traveling through Woburn Park to visit an aunt and my mother being awed to see these magnificent flowers The Rhododendron belongs to a genus of flowering plants in the Ericaceae family species and most have showy flower displays. This genus contains many plants including the azalea. The rhododendron has small shrubs10 -20m cm tall ...  Read the complete review

If anyone were to ask me which was my favourite flower I would be hard put to give them an answer as there are so many that could fill that position. However, way up high on the list I would have to put Azaleas and Rhododendrons. In fact, although there is a massive variety, Azaleas and Rhododendrons are classified as being the same species. They vary in the fact that they can either be evergreen or deciduous; they can grow into huge trees or grow to only a few inches high. Some have leaves that are four to five inches in length whilst others are about a quarter of an inch. The flowers also come in a huge variety of colours ranging through white, pink, ...  Read the complete review

I think that most people have come across Rhododendron and Azaleas either in people?s gardens or in the public parks. The white and pink varieties seem to be the most popular. Rhododendrons come in over 500 varieties and these include the Azaleas too, seeing there isn?t much difference to the two, they both grow in the same type of soil and come in either shrub, dwarf, compact or tree form. I love the different colours and fragrances these plants produce, the only problem I have is that there?s not enough room in my garden for more than two of these plants. The name Rododendron comes from the greek names rhodon which means rose and ...  Read the complete review

This plant is nice while it is in flower although the flowering period is short. It is evergreen but quite slow growing the invasive Rhododendron Ponticum is a pest and spreads via seed and suckers the cultivated hybrid types are a lot slower to grow. There are some nice compact dwarf types which really are dwarf and only make 2 to 3 foot of growth. I would give this plant a miss as there are better evergreen flowering shrubs than this around. The Rhododendrons like to be in an acid soil so unless you are on acid soil it is a waste of time. In my opinion as a grower of shrubs Rhodo's are over rated. The best way to display a smaller growing type is to plant it into an ...  Read the complete review