TREE-LIKE AND BIG-LEAF RHODODENDRON SPECIES

Large evergreen shrubs or small trees. The large fragrant flowers (late spring to early summer) are white to pink or rose, often flushed and/or marked with colorful flecks. An easily grown, vigorous and free-blooming species, tolerant of a wide range of conditions including full sun. From seed collected in the wild at 3400m.

An impressive species that was only recently introduced into cultivation. Closely related to floribundum but with a darker fuzzy indumentum and pink to wine-red flowers (vs. purplish) in mid-spring. An easily grown, strong upright grower with really stunning, glossy and bullate, deep green leaves. Very attractive and best grown in light shade or the woodland garden.

An impressive species that was only recently introduced into cultivation. Closely related to floribundum but with a darker fuzzy indumentum and pink to wine-red flowers (vs. purplish) in mid-spring. An easily grown, strong upright grower with really stunning, glossy and bullate, deep green leaves. Very attractive and best grown in light shade or the woodland garden.

This is a taxon that we refer to as the “Guizhou form” of the incredibly widespread and variable ssp. discolor. Like its close relatives, it forms a large and vigorous, upright evergreen shrub with smooth, bright green foliage. The lightly fragrant flowers appear in mid-summer and are a striking pure white, often flushed with deep green in the throat. This is an easily grown, floriferous garden plant with heat and cold tolerance. Grown from seed collected in the wild.

This is a large and vigorous, upright evergreen shrub with smooth, bright green foliage. The large and showy fragrant flowers are white flushed pink to deep pink in mid- to late spring, providing a grand display. This is an easily grown, floriferous garden plant with heat and cold tolerance. One of the best all-around species for gardens. This offering has been grown from hand-pollinated seed produced here at the RSBG.

 These are seedlings grown from a hand-pollination here at the RSBG utilizing what we are currently calling R. fortunei (round-leaf form). The parent plants were grown from seed of “orbiculare ssp. cardiobasis” collected wild by Alan Clark in NE Guangxi and they do look very much like what one would expect – rounded leaves with a strongly cordate leaf base - very similar to the leaves of orbiculare. However, once the original seedlings flowered, we realized they were actually more closely related to the widespread and variable R. fortunei with large and upright trusses of very openly campanulate and fragrant white to pink flowers in late spring (vs. the pendulous, non-fragrant bells of orbiculare in mid-spring). The habit of this new collection was also much more upright and tree-like (as in fortunei) vs. a dense rounded shrub (as in orbiculare). So – these are basically large and vigorous, upright evergreen shrubs with round, very “orbiculare”-like foliage and showy fragrant flowers in late spring to early summer. The parent plants are simply stunning. 

 These are seedlings grown from a hand-pollination here at the RSBG utilizing what we are currently calling R. fortunei (round-leaf form). The parent plants were grown from seed of “orbiculare ssp. cardiobasis” collected wild by Alan Clark in NE Guangxi and they do look very much like what one would expect – rounded leaves with a strongly cordate leaf base - very similar to the leaves of orbiculare. However, once the original seedlings flowered, we realized they were actually more closely related to the widespread and variable R. fortunei with large and upright trusses of very openly campanulate and fragrant white to pink flowers in late spring (vs. the pendulous, non-fragrant bells of orbiculare in mid-spring). The habit of this new collection was also much more upright and tree-like (as in fortunei) vs. a dense rounded shrub (as in orbiculare). So – these are basically large and vigorous, upright evergreen shrubs with round, very “orbiculare”-like foliage and showy fragrant flowers in late spring to early summer. The parent plants are simply stunning. 

This is a large and vigorous, upright evergreen shrub with smooth, bright green foliage. The large and showy fragrant flowers are white flushed pink to deep pink in mid- to late spring, providing a grand display. This is an easily grown, floriferous garden plant with heat and cold tolerance. One of the best all-around species for gardens. These are grown from seed collected in the wild in a newly explored region. Nice large specimens!