Native Rhododendrons in Rhode Island USDA 6b/7a

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:52 am

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:13 am

Very cool, I love rhododendrons. They have a nice tropical feel, and a tropical like flower. First time I seen them in bloom I thought they would only grow in the south. To bad they don't like my soil or I would try them out again, maybe I should try again.

Wes North Van · Post by **Wes North Van** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:50 am

Aaron, all you need is to dig a hole twice as big as the root ball and fill the whole with peat moss and you have recipe for success with Rhodos.
They grow to large trees here.
They also like lots of water but not sitting in it.
Good luck.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:55 am

Beautiful pictures Tim, would like to see summer drive-by photos this year.

Agree with Wes with one addition:
In areas with hot, dry, windy summers, rhodos need almost total shade.

I've tried several "cold hardy rhodos" on my hot south facing property.

The only one alive today is 2 feet from the north wall of the house.
Amended pH soil to approx 5.5 or 6.0 with sulphur, then it worked.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 4:19 pm

Rhodo's do love acidic soil.......which we got. They can tolerate our full sun position if there is ample moisture in the soil. I'd say every other house has at least one Rhodo in the landscape. They are a very common plant in the area. It's cool to see the native ones.....not that common. I see more mountain laurels than Rhodos.

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:22 pm

Great pics, Tim! Litterally every 2nd house in Halifax has a rhodo in the front, along with the native type in other areas

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:51 pm

Wes North Van wrote:Aaron, all you need is to dig a hole twice as big as the root ball and fill the whole with peat moss and you have recipe for success with Rhodos.
They grow to large trees here.
They also like lots of water but not sitting in it.
Good luck.

Thanks Wes.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 4:47 am

Cameron_z6a_N.S. wrote:Great pics, Tim! Litterally every 2nd house in Halifax has a rhodo in the front, along with the native type in other areas

Cameron,

NS has 3 native Rhodo's, if I am not mistaken. One is listed as extirpated, it is the same one that Tim showed (Rhododendron maximum). The entire population (apparently it existed near Bedford, but there are historical records from near Shelburne) was dug up and placed in peoples gardens! Some of the old R. maximums in the town may well be form these original plants. NS's other Rhododendron is R. lapponicum, the arctic lapland Rhododendron. It is found in a single site on Cape Breton I. There are other things that are quite similar, like Labrador Tea (which is a Ledum). Lastly, there is also Rhodora, which is now called Rhododendron canadense (and the white form). Not one that I see grown in gardens very often.

Have you seen the large 15-20 foot one down by the museum (can't recall street names anymore, but it is to the south of the commons) ? Or the 20+ foot Rhodies (not R. maximum) in the public gardens?

Wes- Rhody form depends on species. They grow to be 'large' trees here too, but only those species and hybrids that have the right genetics!

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 6:39 pm

When I get the time it would be interesting to walk though the native Rhodo's to see if there are any unusual forms....perhaps one with extra large leaves........that would be too cool.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:42 am

That would be very cool. If you do find one, it would be useful to mark it then head back in early fall for cuttings (though, truth be told R. maximum is notorious for being difficult to root).

When I began hybridizing Rhodies, my thought was to use R. maximum since you've already got the big leaves; trouble is, the thing is very self-fertile and not all that receptive to crosses. I've been focusing on R. BVT (hardy, supposedly, to -45C) and hybrids. It has beautiful leaves that are glossy and large (see pic below). It has the disappointing trait of early growth that gets blasted quite often by spring frost (and small flowers, but that's not what I am interested in).

<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... VCzx"><img src="http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/45213 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC02474"></a>

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 12:25 pm

Paul, thanks for the info! The only one I knew of being native before was R. canadense. I've seen some large rhodos growing near the museum/commons and the public gardens, and there are also larger ones growing throughout Halifax.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:39 am

Ya, these guys were pretty awesome:
<a href="http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1519 ... HKzF"><img src="http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/44529 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="IMGP0095"></a>

I forget now, but I think they are hyrbids involving R. catawbiense... There is a HUGE R. maximum by the museum!

We're 'stuck' only growing the hardy ones (aka the same ones, but they are more difficult here).

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 8:15 pm

Thats huge.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:08 am

I really want to try R. calophytum.....anyone growing this....how hardy?

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:51 am

Tim- I'm getting a plant of maximum x calophytum this spring. Might be hardy enough for zone 5... I hope.

There have been R. calophytums selected for Pennsylvania (z. 5/6, I think) and I believe they are hardy in Boston. The problem with Rhodos is that there is a lot of mixed information:
http://www.rosebay.org/chapterweb/speccalp.htm

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:43 pm

Hi Paul,

how did your R. maximum x calophytum fair?

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:48 pm

Here's a video I took when driving by the native Rhododendron maximum's in South Kingstown, Rhode Island which is a USDA zone 6b or 7a location.

http://youtu.be/QZE4pjEm0KE

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:08 pm

Holy cow, Tim, they're everywhere.
Thousands of them.

Going that way again when they're in flower? Hope so.

...and slow down

Barb

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:25 am

Awesome.

Tim, I have 1 of the 2 Max x calo's left. It is burnt but looks OK. I will probably try to get another this spring... And holden's spring promise (cataw x rex) which should be a solid big leaf for zone 5.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:30 am

Hi Barb............I'll try to get photos of the Rhodo flowers.............it must be a great sight. I would love to walk the entire area to see if there are any large leaf forms of maximum.......how cool would that be.

Hi Paul,

Hopefullly your slightly burnt 'max x calo' will get more established this season?

The cata x rex sounds cool......what do the leaves look like? How long?

I purchased a R. rex and R. rex v ficto a few days ago..........hopefully they will be hardy?? I've read that the big leaf forms may die from summer heat just as easy from winter cold so placement in the yard will be important..........good thing we don't get much summer heat here. Any tips with growing R. rex?

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 3:59 pm

Those are cool

PalmsNorth.com

Native Rhododendrons in Rhode Island USDA 6b/7a

Native Rhododendrons in Rhode Island USDA 6b/7a

Rhodos

Re: Rhodos