Rhododendrons May at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

RHODODENDRON, ro-do-den'dron, a genus of about 600 species of shrubs and trees of the heath family (Ericaceae), native mainly to cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. They are most numerous in the Himala}-an region of Asia; some 25 are indigenous to the United States. Many are popular ornamental plants. Rhododendrons may be evergreen or they may lose their leaves in the fall. The deciduous rhododendrons are known as azaleas. (See AZALEA.) Certain rhododendrons, such as Lapland rosebav.

Rhododendrons are propagated by seeds, cuttings, layers, and grafts. They like light shade to full sun and a moist, well-drained soil which is acid and rich in humus. Because of their shallow roots, no cultivation can be given. The plants should be mulched with pine needles, oak leaves, or other organic material. The occasional addition of aluminum sulphate is beneficial if the soil tends to lose its acidity. Rhododendrons have alternate, usually smooth-edged leaves; flowers borne generally in clusters at the ends of branches; a five-parted calyx; five petals that are united below; mostly five or ten stamens; and a five-or ten-chambered, woody, many-seeded capsule.

At the height of their flowering season in early and mid-summer, rhododendrons are the most spectacular of all flowering shrubs. FOR SHEER display none surpasses the group of varieties known as hardy hybrids. These are also the easiest to grow, for, as tfieir name implies, they are quite hardy and will thrive in either sun or shade and in almost any soil that is not chalky or limy. If chalk or lime is present, they can be grown in specially prepared beds of lime-free loam and peat and they will benefit from an annual spring feeding with iron and manganese sequestrols. All hardy hybrid rhododendrons are evergreen and make dome-shaped shrubs eventually 6-10ft high and as much across. Pruning is not necessary, but overgrown bushes can be cut back in spring, one year's flowers being sacrificed.