Date: Fri 21-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Suburban-Gardener-Rhododendron

Full Text:

SUBURBAN GARDENER: Rhododendron Madness!

By Anthony C. Bleach

Back in the 1930s Ed Mezzitt observed the power of early flowering plants in

the landscape to awaken the spirit, particularly after a typical New England

winter.

The fierce primary yellow of Forsythia flowers are not comforting. We need the

softer colors that mirror the warmth of May to lift our hearts, although the

resplendent Korean Rhododendron in pink and the purple P.J.M. are blooming

now. Nothing is more sure to lift the spirit than the genus Rhododendron

(which also includes Azaleas). The American Nurseryman four months ago

previewed the best introductions for 1999, some of which were prophetic!

I was delighted to find six new plants introduced by the University of

Connecticut, Department of Plant Science. Here they are:

Rhododendron "Buzzer Beater" -- This is a cross resulting from `Catalgla F3' x

`Jalisco' x R. yakushimanum developed by Gustav Mehlquist and Dr Mark Brand.

It has light flowers with a green or reddish blotch in late May and bright

green foliage with leaves up to seven inches long. Growth rate is medium.

The original plant reaches 9 feet tall and 12 feet wide after 25 years. It

will grow in partial shade to full sun, but will have enhanced cold hardiness

in shaded sites. It prefers well-drained, acid soil and root zone mulch. Grow

"Buzzer Beater" in the shrub border, in wooded areas and or as a specimen.

Rhododendron "Hoopla" -- is hardy to Zone 4, from a cross developed by Mr

Mehlquist and Dr Brand, using `Catalgla' F3. Very jolly, with large numbers of

pink and yellow bi-colored flowers in mid-May. This is a medium-sized plant,

reaching 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide after 30 years' growth in full sun. If

you plant it in the shade, it will grow larger.

Partial shade is ideal and so are the same soil conditions as "Buzzer Beater."

It is valuable in the landscape because it combines cold hardiness with

bi-colored flowers.

Rhododendron "March Madness" -- A Mehlquist-Brand cross using R. `Purpureum

Elegans' x R. `calophytum,' "March Madness" blooms a little later, in April,

giving us rose colored flowers with a red blotch. It is a lepidote type, with

hairy leaves, like P.J.M., but seven inches long, which densely cover the

plant. Its habit is large, with a massive basal trunk and a domed habit. The

original plant reaches about 11 feet and 15 feet wide after 30 years.

Container-grown plants are exceptionally dense. It is best to grow it in

partial shade to full sun, although as it blooms so early, it can be used in a

woodland garden.

Rhododendron "Slam Dunk" -- Flowers are plum to maroon with a prominent wide

and dark blotch, appearing in early to mid-June. Medium sized, it can reach 7

feet tall and 10 feet wide, in full sun. Partial shade, however, is ideal. The

unusual flowers ensure its use in shrub borders, mass plantings, woodland or

as a specimen.

Rhododendron "Tip Off" -- There is something magical about a white flowering

Rhododendron. There is a garden in Watertown, with a small pool hedged around

by R. "Boule de Neige." At dusk, the flowers against the dense foliage seem to

reflect the moon.

One the parents of "Tip Off" is Rhododendron "Chinoides," another white. It is

an early blooming lepidote, flowering in late April with big blossoms with

prominent burgundy blotches. Long, narrow leaves densely cover the plant.

It is medium to large in habit with a massive trunk and a domed shape. Grow it

in partial shade to full sun in well-drained soil and root zone mulch.

The last of the sweet six is a Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria "Sweet Laura." The

native habitat of the genus is tropical and subtropical Central and South

America from Mexico to Chile, where plants grow in open thickets.

This is a hybrid of the perennial that is hardy to Zone 5. Alstroemeria should

be mulched in winter. Remove the mulch gradually, as it breaks dormancy very

early, but young green shoots are susceptible to frost damage.

It is another introduction from Dr Mark Bridgen.

The flowers are often found in floral bouquets, they are so spectacular.

"Sweet Laura" has sunny-yellow flowers with orange highlights at the tips of

the petals. They flower from early summer to early fall.

It is a good garden plant, particularly for cut flowers. They are one of the

most intriguing-looking flowers I know. Grow them in full sun, with fertile,

well drained soil. Make sure they have lots of moisture in the summer.

These plants are available to nurserymen now as micropropogated plantlets from

the university. When you buy them in a year or two they will forever remind

you of 1999, when the Huskies were the kings of the world!

(Anthony Bleach coordinates the horticulture and landscape program at

Naugatuck Community College in Waterbury.)