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Rhododendron: The Hybrids / Rhododendron Hybrids

Family

In a horticultural sense the rhododendrons are those members of the genus Rhododendron which are not classified as azaleas or azaleodendrons. Botanically, they fall into two major groups – the lepidote (scaly) and elepidote (non-scaly) rhododendrons – which are just as distinct from each other as either is from the azaleas. Hybrids between the two groups (Iepidote-elepidote crosses) are rare, and only one, ‘John Marchand’, is described here; several have in fact been raised, but have presumably not been ornamental or vigorous enough to be worth propagating. The elepidote rhododendrons (subgen.Hymenanthes) cross readily among themselves, except that ‘elephant-mouse’ crosses are generally not successful. Lepidote hybrids, of which only a few hardy ones existed early this century, are now quite numerous, and some are valuable garden plants, e.g., the various dwarf and medium-sized blues resulting from crosses between R. augustinii and members of the Lapponicum series; and dwarf yellows such as ‘Chink’ and ‘Chikor’; and the Lady Chamberlain and Lady Rosebery grexes; and the old Praecox. The prevalence of polyploidy among the lepidotes inhibits crossing to some extent, but hybrids between the various subgenera into which the lepidotes have been divided by Sleumer are frequent and the plants vigorous: examples are Praecox (subgen. Rhododendron × subgen. Rhodorastrum); Multiflorum (subgen. Rhododendron × subgen. Pseudorhodorastrum); and ‘Chink’ (subgen. Rhododendron × subgen. Pseudazalea).

In the historical notes below, the Hardy Hybrids and ‘Species Hybrids’ are discussed separately, but in the descriptive section all the rhododendron hybrids are treated together. It can be assumed that any hybrid raised by one or other of the Waterer firms in the last century is in the Hardy Hybrid category.

Hardy Hybrids

These could be defined as a group of nursery-bred rhododendrons, mostly many generations removed from the wild parents, which are very hardy, flower mostly in late May or June, tolerate exposure and full sun, and bear firm, upright, many-flowered trusses in a wide range of colouring. They owe their toughness to members of the Ponticum series, but the colouring of all but the white, mauve, and light rosy-pink sorts comes mainly from R. arboreum, and the dense, many-flowered truss of this species has also helped to give the Hardy Hybrids their distinct floral characters.

The first of the parental species to arrive – R. maximum – was introduced by Peter Collins on from America in 1736 but it remained a very rare plant in Britain for more than three decades after that. The next parent of the Hardy Hybrids – R. ponticum – was introduced, according to Aiton, in 1763, but apparently did not come into commerce until some time between 1775 and 1780. From then on there was the possibility of hybridisation between the two. It is said that many intermediates had sprung up by 1806, but the only recorded deliberate cross between the two was the white-flowered ‘Smithii Album’, raised by William Smith of Norbiton.

The third of the Pontic-American species – R. catawbiense – was brought from its remote home in the Roan Mountains by the Frasers, father and son, in 1809, and with its arrival the history of the Hardy Hybrids could be said to have begun. According to Michael Waterer it was crossed at Knap Hill with a rosy form of R. maximum in 1811, which is not impossible, since it is known that the Frasers brought home plants. Crosses were also made, or occurred spontaneously, with R. ponticum. The result was a numerous swarm of late-flowering rhododendrons in shades of blush, light pink, and mauve. Several of these are still cultivated, e.g., ‘Everestianum’, ‘Album Elegans’, and ‘Roseum Elegans’ (of which the Knap Hill nursery had large standards by 1864, said to be half-a- century old).

These Pontic-American hybrids, deriving as they do from three closely related species, had no great potentialities for development. But in 1825 a long-awaited event took place – the first flowering of the Himalayan R. arboreum. This first introduction was of a blood-red form, and it seems to have flowered almost simultaneously in several gardens. At any rate, all the foundation-crosses were figured and described in the same year – 1831. For these seeAltaclerense,Russellianum,and Smithii. They were, however, only the first stage in a breeding programme the ultimate aim of which was to combine the colouring of the blood-red R. arboreum with the hardiness and late-flowering of the Pontic-Americans. In themselves the first-crosses were far from this ideal, for they flowered much too early and were not wholly hardy. The first step was to reinforce the Pontic-American influence by crossing back the Arboreum hybrids onto hardy parents. At Highclere, the pollen of Altaclerense was put on ‘Lee’s Dark Purple’, a late-flowering form or hybrid of R. ponticum, and also on R. maximum, the result being seedlings ranging in colour from pink or rose to deep crimson or deep purple. These were flowering by 1863. Standish had started crossing at Bagshot about 1838, and one of his first efforts, a hybrid between Altaclerense and R. catawbiense, named ‘Blandyanum’, was exhibited in 1847. By the early 1850s many such hybrids were offered by Standish and Noble and the two Waterer firms, flowering towards the end of May. In 1855 Waterer of Bagshot put into commerce ‘John Waterer’ and ‘Mrs John Waterer’ – the first hybrids from R. arboreum that were really late-flowering (early to mid-June). At about the same time this firm distributed ‘Lady Eleanor Cathcart’, with pink flowers heavily blotched as in a pelargonium. What was probably the original plant was 12 ft high in 1856, which suggests an origin not much later than 1836. It is usually supposed to be the result of a straight cross between R. arboreum and R. maximum, but something that seems to have been very similar was raised at Highclere from R. maximum crossed with Altaclerense.

By the 1860s the stream of Hardy Hybrids was in full spate, and most of the varieties still known today made their appearance in that or the next two decades. Although many hybrids were raised by the continental breeders, those that have survived are nearly all of English origin. The greater success of the English breeders is shown by a list of recommended varieties published by Edouard André in his book Plantes de Terre de Bruyères (1864). These are classified into two sections: the English group, very hardy near Paris; and the Belgian group, half-hardy near Paris. A probable reason is that the English nurserymen had pushed their crossing further. Standish and Noble had flowered fourth-generation seedlings by 1855 and were getting seedlings into flower in four years by grafting their tops on R. ponticum. At that rate of crossing, the hybrids that came into commerce in the 1870s may have been seven or eight generations removed from the first-crosses of R. arboreum, It has also been said that the continental breeders used mainly R. maximum as the hardy basis for their hybrids, while the English relied more on R. ponticum and R. catawbiense. According to Standish and Noble the first-cross between R. arboreum and R. maximum did not flower at Highclere until the plants were twenty-six years old, and they stated that hybrids with the blood of R. maximum in them were also slower to flower than those deriving from R. ponticum and R. catawbiense. Still, R. maximum was certainly used in England to some extent – sufficiently, at any rate, to have imparted to so many of the hybrids its prominent flare of speckles.

The breeders never really achieved their aim of putting the glowing red of the best R. arboreum onto a late-flowering, hardy plant, for even the reddest of the old Hardy Hybrids have a blue basis to the flower, as might be expected from their ancestry. The effect of blending R. ponticum and its two American allies with the Himalayan R. arboreum was a proliferation of unexpected new characters for the breeder to work on. For example, the brownish or yellowish markings on the upper (posterior) lobes shown by the European and American parents, especially by R. maximum, are darkened and intensified in many of the hybrids, and become independent of the ground-colour of the corolla. At the other extreme, the corolla may be quite unspotted, a character that apparently first appeared in the old Belgian hybrid ‘Concessum’. Many of the hybrids that became popular were throw-backs which owe little or nothing to R. arboreum – for example, ‘Lady Grey Egerton’, with its near-blue flowers, and the many whites with a large brown or yellow flare deriving from R. maximum.

A species not so far mentioned in connection with this group is R. caucasicum. Crossed with R. arboreum this gave rise to Nobleanum and various dwarfs bred primarily for forcing. As these flower very early they are really the antithesis of what the breeders of the Hardy Hybrids were aiming at, though as plants they are perfectly hardy. There are, however, several hybrids showing the influence of R. caucasicum which do not flower until May, e.g., ‘Prince Camille de Rohan’ and ‘Chev. Felix de Sauvage’, of continental origin, and the common ‘Cunningham’s White’ (which also shows the influence of R. ponticum). The late-flowering ‘Madame Carvalho’ also has the blood of R. caucasicum in it, judging from its upright, crowded pedicels.

By 1900 the development of the old-style Hardy Hybrid had more or less run its course, though a few were put into commerce this century, e.g., ‘Mrs P. D. Williams’ and ‘Mrs T. H. Lowinsky’. The appearance of the famous ‘Pink Pearl’ in 1897 marked the beginning of a new race of hybrids, created by crossing some of the older sorts with the Himalayan R. griffithianum, which had been introduced by Hooker in 1850 and first flowered in this country in 1858. This species had two qualities of interest to the breeder – the great size and beautiful shape of its flowers – and one important disadvantage – its great tenderness. James Mangles, further mentioned below, was the leading advocate of R. griffithianum, and in 1881 he prophesied that it would be the progenitor of hybrids as varied and popular as those that nurserymen of an earlier generation had raised from such unpromising material. The first attempt in this direction of which there is any record was made by Mr Scott for the Lawson Company of Edinburgh, about 1869, using ‘John Waterer’ as the hardy parent. Some of the hybrids were flowering by 1877 and were said to be very fine, but the firm apparently never propagated them. Some were sold (Mangles had one); the rest were dispersed when the firm was wound up in 1888. The first hybrid of R. griffithianum to receive an award was Mangles’ own cross between it and R. ponticum, named ‘Alice Mangles’, which received a First Class Certificate in 1882, but seems to have been lost. Three years later Messrs Veitch received the same award for ‘Manglesii’, named in honour of Mangles, who had died the previous year at the age of fifty-two. This, too, was a first-cross, the other parent being an old white-flowered hybrid of R. catawbiense. Mangles himself had made similar crosses, a few of which had borne their first flowers by the time he died, but these did not reach commerce until long after the arrival of ‘Pink Pearl’ on the scene. Among them are ‘Beauty of Littleworth’, ‘Isabella Mangles’, and ‘Dawn’s Delight’; see also ‘Loder’s White’.

After the appearance of ‘Manglesii’, nothing further of note occurred in this field until Messrs Waterer of Bagshot showed ‘Pink Pearl’, which was not only the first second-generation hybrid from R. griffithianum and the first to have the typical Hardy Hybrid truss, but also one of the very few hybrids of that species of any description to have been exhibited up to that time. This no doubt explains the astonished delight that it evoked. Early this century the same firm put out several other hybrids from R. griffithianum, e.g., ‘Alice’, ‘Corona’, and ‘Mrs E. C. Stirling’, all fine rhododendrons, but since then the development of this class of Hardy Hybrid has been mainly the work of Dutch nurserymen. L. J. Endtz and Co. raised a third generation by crossing ‘Pink Pearl’ with various older hybrids such as ‘Stanley Davies’ and ‘Doncaster’, the result being a number of hybrids in the style of ‘Pink Pearl’ of which at least one – ‘Souvenir de Dr S. Endtz’ – is generally considered to be an improvement on its parent and might by now have supplanted it in the British market had it been more adroitly named. The firm of M. Koster and Sons took a different line. They used first-generation hybrids of R. griffithianum such as ‘George Hardy’ (thought to be one of the parents of ‘Pink Pearl’), and the similar ‘Coombe Royal’ – and crossing these with Hardy Hybrids raised many well-known rhododendrons, e.g., ‘Betty Wormald’, ‘Mrs Lindsay Smith’, ‘Mrs G. W. Leak’, and ‘Mrs Charles E. Pearson’. These had flowered by the end of the first world war and the last two mentioned were named after the wives of members of the delegation of the Horticultural Trades Association which visited Holland in the spring of 1919.

Another set of hybrids deriving from crosses with R. griffithianum was made by Otto Schulz in 1890 in the glasshouses that supplied material for the artists of the Royal Porcelain Factory, Berlin. The other parents used, with the exception of ‘Prince Camille de Rohan’, are not known in this country, and it may be, judging from the results, that some were only two or even one generation removed from R. arboreum. In 1896 all the seedlings that had flowered, some 200 in all, were bought by the Dutch nurseryman C. B. van Nes, but proved to be hopelessly tender in his nursery at Boskoop. However, some were named and put into commerce for the British market, reaching this country before the first world war or shortly after it. The best known of this set are ‘Queen Wilhelmina’, ‘Princess Juliana’, ‘King George’, ‘Lord Swaythling’, ‘Mrs A. M. Williams’, and ‘Geoffroy Millais’. Like most other first-crosses from R. griffithianum, these hybrids really need woodland conditions, especially ‘Queen Wilhelmina’, a lovely but decidedly tender April-flowering rhododendron. In 1898 van Nes embarked on a large-scale breeding programme, in which the Schulz seedlings were crossed with Hardy Hybrids, mostly of British origin. According to Millais, who visited the van Nes nurseries in 1921, some 250,000 seedlings were raised. This may be an exaggeration, but obviously there must be enormous wastage in such hybrid-on-hybrid crosses, with the Ponticum series entering into the parentage on both sides. At any rate, only 250 plants were kept for further trial, and of these thirty-two had been named by 1929 (see the note by C. B. van Nes and Sons in the Year Book of the Rhododendron Association (1929), pp. 137-42). The most famous of these is ‘Britannia’, and it is interesting to note that this rhododendron has the same parentage as ‘Earl of Athlone’, ‘Unknown Warrior’, and ‘C. B. van Nes’, all being the products of a cross between ‘Queen Wilhelmina’ and ‘Stanley Davies’. ‘Britannia’ has in turn given rise to ‘Kluis Sensation’, a fine red-flowered hybrid raised by Messrs Kluis of Boskoop.

The early breeders, as already mentioned, had set great store by lateness of flowering: a hybrid, to be reckoned as hardy, had to flower not earlier than the last week in May. Many of the hybrids from R. griffithianum, however, do not conform to this criterion. The Schulz hybrids sent out by van Nes are, of course, the result of first-generation crosses, and have never been classed as Hardy Hybrids. But even the second-generation hybrids raised from them by van Nes mostly flower in early or mid-May and some, for example ‘Earl of Athlone’, are classified in the R.H.S. Rhododendron Handbook as ‘C’, meaning hardy only in sheltered and warm gardens. It could be said that with the introduction of the blood of R. griffithianum into the trade-hybrids the distinction between them and the hybrids raised by private growers began to be blurred. Other Asiatic species, hitherto ignored by the commercial breeders, now began to be used. John Standish had already produced ‘Ascot Brilliant’, a hybrid of R. thomsonii flowering around the end of April, and later in the century Messrs Waterer of Bagshot used the same species in their breeding, one of the results being the splendid ‘J. G. Millais’, which flowers at about the same time as ‘Ascot Brilliant’, and ‘Sir John Ramsden’.

Another species that began to be used towards the end of the 19th century was R. fortunei, which began to spread into gardens after 1859. The nurseryman George Paul used a selected form of this species known as ‘Mrs Butler’ (or ‘Mrs Charles Butler’) and crossed it with various Hardy Hybrids. He raised altogether some 1,000 plants, which were hailed by William Watson of Kew as the beginnings of a new race, as well they might have become had not their début almost coincided with that of ‘Pink Pearl’, The Paul hybrids mostly flowered early in May, and many had a lax truss which gardeners of the time, accustomed to the compact trusses of the Hardy Hybrids, found too floppy. The firm of Messrs W. C. Slocock has been more successful with R. fortunei. Their ‘Lavender Girl’ (q.v.) flowers late and has the truss of a Hardy Hybrid, but inherits from R. fortunei its distinctive foliage.

R. campylocarpum, introduced by Hooker in 1850, was ignored by the commercial breeders of the last century, but has been used to some extent during the last sixty years to produce yellow-flowered rhododendrons in the style of the older Hardy Hybrids, e.g., ‘Goldsworth Yellow’ and the Zuyder Zee group. For the use of other species, introduced this century, see pp. 825-8.

Species Hybrids

The Hardy Hybrids are the result of intensive breeding through many seed-generations from a limited number of species, three of which – the related R. ponticum, R. catawbiense, and R. maximum – are not in themselves of much beauty. Except for some of the oldest that happen to have been preserved, they are remote in appearance from any of the parent species, and could never be mistaken for anything but what they are – vegetable artifacts, bred for the market. The hybrids now to be considered are collectively the result of what might be termed extensive breeding. Some 120 species of lepidote or elepidote rhododendrons – mainly the latter – have been used in crossing by one breeder or another and, even if those that have been used out of curiosity or because its pollen happened to be available, are eliminated from the total, it remains very large, and embraces virtually every series into which these species are classified. By no means all these hybrids are first-generation crosses, but even the most complex that have so far been raised are only two generations removed from the wild ancestors. The tendency has, in other words, been to breed outwards, adding more and more species to the brew, rather than to explore in depth the potentialities of a limited number of species, as the old hybridists, with so much less material at their disposal, were forced to do.

Mostly the species hybrids have been raised in private gardens by wealthy rhododendron enthusiasts, who were able to follow their own whims, or their own ideals of beauty, without any thought for the general usefulness or the commercial viability of their products. Nevertheless, they produced some of the loveliest of hardy shrubs, many of which are now available in commerce.

Many hybrids were raised at Highclere near Newbury in the time of the second Earl of Carnarvon, who was Vice-President of the Horticultural Society from 1829 until his death in 1833. The most famous of these is Altaclerense (q.v.), but numerous azalea and azaleodendron crosses were also made. The Highclere breeding was supervised by J. R. Gowen (d. 1862), who even by some of his contemporaries was thought to be the Earl’s head gardener. He was in fact a man of independent means, who served as a member of the Council of the Horticultural Society for several years and later became, first its Secretary (1845-50) and then its Treasurer (1850-5). Lindley had named the orchidaceous genus Govenia after him as early as 1831, and he is also commemorated by Cupressus goveniana, introduced to the Society’s garden during the period of his secretaryship.

The Earl of Carnarvon was no doubt inspired by his brother, the Hon. and Rev. William Herbert, Rector of Spofforth in Yorkshire and later Dean of Manchester, a man of remarkable gifts, classical scholar, linguist, and naturalist, but best remembered as a botanist with two important works to his credit – a monograph on the Amaryllidaceae and a classification of the genus Crocus. He was also one of the first experimental hybridisers. His ‘Hybridum’ is mentioned in the section on Azaleodendrons, under Fragrans. He also made an apparently successful cross between R. dauricum and R. ponticum, named by him R. Aprilis, which is of interest as the first recorded hybrid between a lepidote and an elepidote rhododendron.

After 1850 the scope of the hybridiser was greatly increased by the introduction of new species from the Himalaya, including five of the most used parents – R. griffithianum, R. thomsonii, R. campylocarpum, R. cinnabarinum, and R. ciliatum. Most of these had flowered by 1860 and two years later James Bateman of Biddulph Grange in an article in the Gardeners’ Chronicle remarked that hybrids between them were beginning to appear – ‘the first fruits, doubtless, of a splendid and abundant harvest still to come’. But there was a darker side, he added, for ‘as the products of the hybridisers’ skill multiply amongst us, all traces of the original forms will inevitably disappear from our gardens, and nowhere, but in their native Himalayas, will the species be seen as they started into being at the fiat of the Almighty!’ In saying that new Himalayan hybrids were beginning to appear he probably had in mind the hybrids from R. ciliatum, for it was primarily this species and the other, more tender members of the Maddenii series that attracted the attention of the commercial breeders. The nurseryman Isaac Davies had his famous Praecox (R. ciliatum × R. dauricum) in flower by 1858, only eight years after the seed collected by Hooker in Sikkim had been distributed. It was quickly followed by Veitch’s ‘Princess Alice’ (R. ciliatum × R. edgeworthii), which had received a First Class Certificate in the year Bateman made his comments. However, the harvest he predicted was slow to ripen. Apart from R. griffithianum and the species of the Maddenii series, Hooker’s introductions from Sikkim seem to have been of little interest to commercial breeders, but some first-crosses were made in private gardens.

The most active of the amateur hybridists in the latter part of the 19th century was James Mangles of Valewood, near Haslemere (1832-84), known, according to Millais, as ‘the High Priest of the Rhododendron cult’. As already mentioned, he was the first to advocate the use of R. griffithianum in crossing, and himself raised many hybrids from it, few of which had flowered by the time of his death at the age of fifty-two. Some, for example the beautiful ‘Isabella Mangles’, remained at Valewood, the rest (some probably still in seed-pans) were moved to Littleworth Cross near Farnham, the home of his brother Henry Mangles, who died in 1908, and his sister Miss Clara Mangles, who outlived Henry by twenty-three years. Since Henry too was a hybridist and had a Himalayan House at Littleworth, the attribution of some of the hybrids exhibited by him and later by his sister is uncertain. Some, notably ‘Rose Mangles’ of the Royal Flush grex and the famous azaleodendron ‘Glory of Littleworth’, were almost certainly raised by Henry, though his brother is always given the credit. Millais, the historian of the Rhododendron world of his day, seems to have been unaware that Henry ever existed. His first visit to Littleworth was apparently in 1915, and he may have assumed that when Miss Mangles referred to ‘my brother’ she meant James.

Among the Cornish gardens that received Hooker’s Sikkim seed was Tremough, near Penryn, the property of the Shilson family. Here several Himalayan crosses were made towards the end of the 19th century, of which the best known – R. griffithianum × R. arboreum – bears the grex-name Beauty of Tremough. The first hybrid between R. barbatum and R. thomsonii was also made there (Shilsonii). The head gardener at Tremough was Richard Gill (1849-1927), who later set up his own nursery on land leased to him by the Shilson family, which developed into the famous firm of R. Gill and Sons. Other first-crosses of Himalayan species were made at Penjerrick by Samuel Smith, who became head gardener there in 1889. Among his hybrids were R. campylocarpum × R. griffithianum (Penjerrick) and R. griffithianum × R. thomsonii (Cornish Cross). The second Lord Aberconway wrote interesting accounts of the work of these two men, which will be found in The Rhododendron Society Notes, Vol. III, pp. 186-9 and 252-5.

Some six years after Hooker’s Sikkim seed had been distributed, the first of the Chinese rhododendrons arrived (all the Chinese species hitherto introduced had been azaleas or azaleastrums). This was R. fortunei, the parent in the first or second generation of many famous hybrids. One of the first to use it was John Luscombe of Coombe Royal, near Kingsbridge in Devon, a garden once famous for its citrus fruits, which were grown against high retaining walls and protected during winter by lath-blinds. Luscombe crossed R. fortunei with R. thomsonii (Luscombei) and, like Mangles, raised some hybrids from R. griffithianum crossed with Hardy Hybrids, of which ‘Coombe Royal’ is probably one. A poor form of R. fortunei growing in the Temperate House at Kew was mated there with R. griffithianum by W. Binder in 1875. But the far more illustrious form of this cross was made by Sir Edmund Loder, Bt, at Leonardsleee, Sussex, in 1900. He was born in 1849 – an auspicious time, for it was in the autumn of that year that Hooker harvested the seed of the Sikkim rhododendrons which became for Sir Edmund a lifelong interest, though not an exclusive one. As a young man he cultivated alpines, and later brought together at Leonardslee what was then perhaps the most comprehensive collection of conifers in the British Isles (the catalogue was published in the GardenersChronicle for 1919). Apart from Loderi, he raised several other fine hybrids, and was one of the first gardeners to grow outdoors near London many rhododendrons and azaleas hitherto deemed suitable only for the milder parts or for greenhouse decoration.

By the time Sir Edmund Loder died in 1920 a new era in rhododendron history had opened. Between 1900 and 1910 Wilson introduced some sixty new species from Hupeh and W. Szechwan, most of which had flowered by 1920, and the first of many more Forrest introductions from Yunnan and bordering parts had arrived. Altogether, from 1915 to 1975, around 100 species of rhododendron (in the narrow sense) have been used in hybridising that were not available to the 19th-century breeders. At the same time, the crossing of rhododendrons has been carried out on an ever-increasing scale since the second decade of this century, and there is no end in sight.

Considered in their role as parents of hybrids, the 20th-century introductions can be roughly classified as follows:

1. Fortunei Series – To this series, represented in the latter half of the 19th century by R. fortunei and R. griffithianum, was now added R. discolor, closely allied to R. fortunei, but of larger size and with the valuable quality of flowering late. Some sixty-five registered crosses have been made with it, of which about a third have received awards. R. decorum, another ally of R. fortunei, has also been used, but with much less success. Wilson’s R. calophytum, a very distinct member of this series, has produced some fine hybrids, but they are too bulky, and mostly too early flowering, for the majority of gardens.

2. Thomsonii Series – In the typical subseries there is no rival to R. thomsonii, nor in the Campylocarpum subseries to R. campylocarpum, both of them Himalayan species introduced by Hooker in the middle of the last century. But R. wardii, with yellow, widely cup-shaped flowers, has been of almost equal importance to R. campylocarpum as a parent of yellow-flowered hybrids, and the similar R. litiense was used to good effect by Francis Hanger at Wisley. R. wardii was introduced from Yunnan by Forrest and by Kingdon Ward; its ally the pink-flowered R. souliei, introduced by Wilson, has not so far produced any hybrid of real worth. Wilson’s main contribution to this series is R. williamsianum, the parent of many dwarf and medium-sized hybrids, none more lovely than it, but some making better plants for the average garden.

3. Neriiflorum Series – Twentieth-century introductions such as R. discolor and R. wardii are related to species cultivated earlier, but the Neriiflorum group was unknown in gardens until the second decade of this century. R. neriiflorum, R. haematodes, R. forrestii, and R. sanguineum subsp. didymum are responsible for most of the dwarf and medium-sized red-flowered hybrids, while R. dichroanthum, almost unique among rhododendron species (as distinct from azaleas) in its orange or salmon-coloured flowers, has produced hybrids in a range of attractive and unusual shades.

4. Irroratum Series – The typical subseries has been little used in crossing, but the Parishii subseries, which is really entitled to independent rank, contains some splendid red-flowered species which, unlike most reds, do not open their trusses until late May or June. Unfortunately, they are either, like R. elliottii, definitely tender, or Like R. eriogynum, the species most used, on the borderline of hardiness. Most of the hybrids of R. elliottii were raised at Exbury, or by Francis Hanger after he left Exbury for Wisley, but the finest of them are on the tender side. The hybrids from R. eriogynum, the best known of which are Romany Chal and Tally Ho, are hardier but not really suitable for cold gardens.

5. R. griersonianum – This remarkable species is confined to a small area on the borders between Yunnan and Burma, and is not closely allied to any other elepidote rhododendron. Yet it crosses readily even with Hardy Hybrids, and has, for the breeder, the valuable quality of producing hybrid seedlings that set bud abundantly when only four or five years old, even when the other parent is slow to flower when raised from seed. No other species has been so frequently crossed as R. griersonianum: some 155 hybrids registered up to 1968 have it as one parent, of which 48 have received awards, most of them red-flowered. It is a potent parent, passing on to its first-generation offspring its characteristic long-pointed bud-scales and trumpet-shaped flowers.

6. R. auriculatum – Once grouped with R. griersonianum, this species, introduced by Wilson, is the parent of several late-flowering hybrids, of which the best known are the Polar Bear and Argosy grexes.

7. R. yakushimanum – Since about 1950 this species (q.v. under R. degronianum) has been so much used in breeding that it may in time rival R. griersonianum in the number of hybrids it has parented. The great charm of the two Wada clones comes from a subtle combination of characters which cannot be communicated to their offspring, but they have valuable qualities for the breeder none the less – hardiness, dwarf, compact habit, a comparatively late flowering season, a good truss and handsome foliage. Starting in 1951 with crosses of R. yakushimanum with Hardy Hybrids and ‘Fabia Tangerine’, Messrs Waterer of Bagshot have carried out a complex project of hybridisation and selection which has involved selfing and intercrossing the first generation of seedlings (see further in Rhododendrons 1974, pp. 50-3, and for earlier reports R.C.Y.B. 1959, pp. 102-3, and R.C.Y.B. 1962, pp. 97-9). Arthur George has raised crosses between R. yakushimanum and hybrids, including his own’Springbok’, a hybrid between R. griersonianum and R. ponticum. These hybrids, many of great promise, are still rather scarce at present (1975), all the named varieties being clones that have to be vegetatively propagated. Other hybrids of R. yakushimanum are with species, e.g., ‘Streatley’, raised by T. H. Findlay for the Crown Estate Commissioners.

8. Lepidote Species – In the last century, scaly-leaved species and hybrids were few and the majority were tender; of the hardy hybrids, the commonest were Praecox and the various crosses between the alpine roses and R. minus or R. carolinianum. Since the 1930s, however, thanks to the introductions of Wilson, Forrest, and Kingdon Ward, and the work of private hybridisers, there is now a varied choice of dwarf and medium-sized scaly-leaved hybrids. The most widely grown are the crosses between R. augustinii and purple-flowered members of the Lapponicum series. Perhaps the finest, or at least the most satisfactory for cold gardens, are Blue Diamond, Blue Tit, and ‘Saint Merryn’, but there are many others in the same style.

There are a fair number of yellow-flowered species scattered through the lepidote series, but the hybrids from them are fewer than might be expected. In theory R. lutescens or R. bauhiniiflorum, crossed with the two yellow-flowered members of the Lapponicum series, should have given rise to a set of hybrids comparable to the Blue Diamond group. But no such crosses have been recorded. Indeed, almost the only hybrid of R. lutescens that has been raised, and the best known in gardens, is Lionel de Rothschild’s Bo-peep, the other parent of which is R. moupinense, introduced by Wilson. Yellow Hammer, raised at Caerhays, is the only other of the pre-1939 yellow lepidote hybrids that is widely cultivated; it unites Wilson’s R. flavidum with Forrest’s R. sulfureum. In recent years several excellent dwarf and hardy yellows have been raised: see ‘Chink’, ‘Chikor’, ‘Curlew’, and ‘Princess Anne’.

A very distinct group, containing some of the finest rhododendron hybrids, derives from crosses between the variable R. cinnabarinum and R. maddenii, in which the influence of the second parent, obvious in the F1 hybrid, has been diluted by back-crossing with R. cinnabarinum (or by crossing with R. concatenans, a very close ally of R. cinnabarinum introduced by Kingdon Ward). See Royal Flush, Lady Chamberlain, Perseverance, Comely, and ‘Trewithen Orange’. Another set of R. cinnabarinum hybrids stems from crosses between it (or R. concatenans) with members of the Yunnanense subseries of the Triflorum series: see ‘Peace’, Alison Johnstone, and Oreocinn.

R. moupinense, already mentioned as a parent of Bo-peep, has given, from a mating with R. ciliatum, one of the finest of all lepidote hybrids – Bodnant’s Cilpinense; with Praecox, the old hybrid of R. ciliatum and R. dauricum, it has given ‘Tessa’ and ‘Tessa Roza’; and with R. sulfureum Golden Oriole.

The Maddenii series does not mate readily with other lepidotes. Most of the hybrids of the typical subseries, which is highly polyploid, are with the uniformly hexaploid Cinnabarinum series. The species of the Ciliicalyx subseries that have given most hybrids with other series are the small-flowered R. ciliatum, R. burmanicum, and R. valentinianum; R. fletcherianum, recently separated from the latter, has so far been crossed only with R. ludlowii (see ‘Curlew’). In general, the lepidote species are less indulgent to the hybridiser than the elepidotes and seemingly unpredictable in their breeding behaviour. Their greater botanical diversity, and the prevalence of polyploidy, are no doubt the main reasons for this, but other genetic factors may be involved.

Many, perhaps the majority, of the best-known hybrids raised in private gardens in the 1920s and 1930s were first-generation crosses between species, while the remainder, except towards the end of this period, had a species as one parent. When a hybrid was used in crossing it was mostly Loderi, more used as a parent than any other rhododendron except R. griersonianum, or one of the Cornish hybrids combining various Himalayan species. Indeed, one of the interesting features of hybridisation since the coming of the Wilson and Forrest species has been the enduring importance of the older Himalayan introductions. The Naomi, Carita, and Yvonne grexes, three of Lionel de Rothschild’s best-known crosses, owe nothing to rhododendron introductions of this century, the component species being all Himalayans introduced by Hooker, and R. fortunei. The parentage of the famous Lady Chamberlain and Lady Rosebery grexes is also purely Himalayan. Matings between Hardy Hybrids and species started in the last century, when R. griffithianum and R. fortunei, as already mentioned, were the species most used, and crosses of the same type, using more recent introductions, have been made frequently since 1920. Lionel de Rothschild’s cross between ‘Corona’ and R. williamsianum – the Bow Bells grex – is a well-known example, but for the most part the matings have had red-flowered plants on both sides. Lionel de Rothschild introduced from France a hybrid of R. maximum which he called ‘Moser’s Maroon’ and used it with species to produce some of his best-known hybrids. More recent examples are the Hobbie hybrids, mentioned below.

Towards the end of the 1930s breeders began to make hybrid-with-hybrid crosses, using recent productions. For example, Bodnant’s Bartia is a cross made in 1936 between Portia, raised there ten years earlier, and the Cornish Barclayi; five species are involved, representing five series, all of them red-flowered except R. griffithianum (Portia is R. neriiflorum (euchaites) × R. strigillosum; both it and Bartia have received awards, but apparently neither is in commerce). Another example is Lionel de Rothschild’s famous Jalisco cross (q.v.), made shortly before the second world war. Since the 1950s this type of crossing has been used quite frequently, but the parentage is often simpler than it appears to be at first sight. Thus T. H. Findlay’s ‘Queen Elizabeth II’, not yet in commerce, has six species in its parentage, but these belong to only two series – Fortunei and Thomsonii – which are known to blend well in crossing. Many of the most successful hybrids raised in Britain in recent years continue, however, to be F1 species-hybrids, e.g., ‘Blewbury’, ‘Streatley’, ‘Chikor’, ‘Curlew’, and ‘Pink Pebble’, or have a species as one parent. Complex crosses, especially if Hardy Hybrids are involved in the parentage or if the component species are ill-matched, are beyond the scope of most breeders, owing to the large number of seedlings that have to be flowered if something worthwhile is to be obtained.

The first to cross the 20th-century introductions was J. C. Williams of Caerhays (1861-1939), who was also the mentor of Lionel de Rothschild during his apprenticeship as a hybridiser. ‘I was visiting Caerhays for the first time and the owner asked me what crosses I had made; when I told him, to my intense surprise, he told me to burn the lot. Needless to say, I did not follow his advice, but, needless to say also, I have done it since. They were made between hybrids of the old Waterer Rhododendrons and naturally in nearly every case reverted to the ponticum… . He also advised me to study the Mendelian theory and to follow the system that the orchid growers have used with such success’ (L. de Rothschild, Y.B. Rhod. Ass. 1933, p. 71). Many of the Wilson rhododendrons first flowered at Caerhays, and the cross between R. discolor and R. griffithianum was first made there in 1913. Caerhays seems to have been one of the few private gardens to receive seed from Forrest’s 1910 expedition, and two species introduced in that year, crossed with Wilson species, gave what have since become among the most widely grown of species hybrids – Blue Tit and Yellow Hammer. But the most fruitful of J. C. Williams’s crosses was Royal Flush, seedlings from which, given to Lionel de Rothschild, were used by him to produce the Lady Chamberlain and Lady Rosebery grexes, perhaps the most famous of all the Exbury hybrids.

Another pioneer in using the Wilson and Forrest introductions was E. J. P. Magor of Lamellen, who received Chinese seed and seedlings from J. C. Williams. In 1916 he crossed two Forrest introductions to produce Prostigiatum, and in 1919 flowered Oreocinn, which unites the Himalayan R. cinnabarinum with Wilson’s R. oreotrephes. The Stud Book reveals Magor to have been a rather indiscriminate hybridiser, but he produced some fine rhododendrons none the less. Those just mentioned are in commerce, and so too is ‘Gilian’, a fine clone of the Cornish Cross grex, and the beautiful ‘Lamellen’. He also raised ‘Saint Tudy’ and ‘Saint Breward’.

However, these two Cornish gardens were ahead of others only by a matter of four or five years. Hybridisation started at Bodnant and at Exbury around 1920, and in these two gardens were made more than two-fifths of all the crosses listed in the current edition of the Stud Book (published in the second part of the R.H.S. Rhododendron Handbook). The garden at Bodnant in Denbighshire was founded in 1875 by H. D. Pochin (d. 1895), ‘an enthusiast in gardening, with an accurate knowledge of trees, shrubs and all hardy plants’ (Gard. Chron., Vol. 21 (1884), p. 207). Rhododendrons were evidently not among his interests, for few were planted, but the original garden was rich in other ericaceous plants and had a comprehensive collection of the conifers available at that time, many of which still exist. Pochin’s daughter Laura, who inherited from her father both the garden itself and his love of plants, had married in 1877 Charles McLaren, created Baron Aberconway in 1911. Her husband had little interest in horticulture, and the Bodnant garden as it exists today was designed and planted, with her active encouragement, by their son Henry McLaren (1879-1953), one of the most gifted plantsmen of his generation, who became President of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1931, three years before his father’s death, and was succeeded in that position by his son, the present Lord Aberconway. He endowed the garden and presented it to the National Trust in 1949.

The first Chinese and Himalayan rhododendrons were planted at Bodnant in 1909, and to these were later added the harvest of Forrest’s and Kingdon Ward’s expeditions. The breeding of rhododendron hybrids started in 1920 and was the work of Frederick C. Puddle, who had made a name for himself as an orchid breeder before he came to Bodnant as head gardener in 1918. He retired in 1947 and was succeeded by his younger son Charles Puddle. Somewhat fewer crosses were made at Bodnant than at Exbury, and mostly they were on different lines. The Bodnant reds get their colouring mainly from the Neriiflorum series and the Cornish Himalayan hybrids; less use was made than at Exbury of R. eriogynum and R. elliottii. The Bodnant hybrids, too, and especially the later ones, are on the average of smaller stature than those raised at Exbury. No use was made of R. discolor, partly because the second Lord Aberconway disliked the throat-marking that this species imparts to its hybrids, and little use of any of the larger species and hybrids.

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942) was the son of Leopold de Rothschild, whose two London gardens, at Gunnersbury Park and Gunners-bury House (run in tandem, each with its own head gardener), were known for their orchids, which Lionel de Rothschild later bred at Exbury with considerable success, and for such diverse plants as roses, water-lilies, and scented-leaved pelargoniums. The cultivation of fruit under glass was another speciality, and the Japanese Garden at Gunnersbury House, created by the brilliant head gardener there, James Hudson, was famous in its time (Hudson’s lecture on it to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1905 was illustrated by slides made from photographs taken by Lionel de Rothschild, a keen photographer in his youth). In view of his later achievements it is appropriate that the young Lionel, at the age of twenty-four, should have deputised for his father as host to the geneticists and plant breeders who visited the two Gunnersbury gardens during the International Hybridisation Conference of 1906. Even at that time he was interested in gardening (in the lecture referred to Hudson had termed him ‘an enthusiastic patron of horticulture’), but it was only after he bought the Exbury property on the Solent in 1919, two years after his father’s death, that he found scope for his energies and talents as a gardener. During the next twenty years he created a great woodland garden and embarked on a project of rhododendron hybridisation which has never been equalled in quantity or diversity. Lionel de Rothschild was adventurous in his use of parents. In no other garden were R. elliottii and R. lacteum used so much and to such good effect; he was one of the first to see the potentialities of R. wardii as a parent, and used it to produce his famous ‘Hawk Crest’. Having ample space to fill in the Exbury woods, he could use as parents such large species as R. discolor, R. calophytum, and R. auriculatum, and it could be said of many of the Exbury hybrids that, with their subtle colouring, they look better in woodland than in the open garden, even though they do not actually need sheltered conditions. Still, Lionel de Rothschild produced some of the loveliest of rhododendrons, and his achievement was very much a personal one, for he decided himself what crosses were to be made. He was also an authority on the species of Rhododendron, and the founder and President of the Rhododendron Association, which was replaced in 1945 by the Rhododendron Group of the Royal Horticultural Society.

The Exbury hybrids (which include many azaleas as well as rhododendrons) have been more widely distributed commercially than those of any other private garden, and some are now as well known in the United States as they are in this country. From 1934, the head gardener at Exbury was Francis Hanger (1900-61), who in 1946 became Curator of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden at Wisley, and raised some fine hybrids there, such as the Constable grex, ‘Emerald Isle’, and ‘Billy Budd’. Hanger’s predecessor at Exbury was Arthur Bedford, who had succeeded James Hudson as head gardener at Gunnersbury House, where he had previously been foreman, and came to Exbury after the Gunnersbury estate was sold in 1925.

Hybrids were raised in many other gardens between the wars, but nowhere on such a scale as at Exbury and Bodnant. Indeed, breeding was carried on to some extent in most of the larger collections and many excellent hybrids are still to be seen in them which have never been distributed commercially. Hybrids of a type similar to those bred in private gardens have also been raised in nurseries, notably by Messrs Slocock, and more recently, at the Glendoick and Hydon nurseries. During the past few decades, thanks to the efforts of Sir Eric Savill and Mr T. H. Findlay, the Crown Estate Commissioners have been carrying on in Windsor Great Park the traditions of the great private collections of pre-war years. It has not been possible to do full justice in this work to the hybrids raised at Windsor, since so many of the finest have been named and received awards since the late 1960s and have not yet been reproduced in commercial quantities; but some of the earlier ones available in the trade are described below. One of the few private gardens where hybridisation is still carried on is Tremeer in Cornwall, where Lt-Gen. Harrison has produced several hybrids that will prove of value in small gardens, such as ‘Saint Merryn’ and ‘Pink Pebble’. Collingwood Ingram, whose cherry hybrids are so well known, has also made many rhododendron crosses since the 1930s, but at present only his ‘Sarled’ is readily available in commerce. Two promising hybrids raised by him are ‘Carolyn Hardy’ and ‘Oporto’, both of which received an Award of Merit in 1967.

In recent years the dwarf hybrids raised by Dietrich Hobbie in Germany have become quite common in the trade, and several have received awards after trial at Wisley. Herr Hobbie’s property is situated at Linswege in Oldenburg, between the Ems and the Weser, where very severe winters are not infrequent, but the soil, being mostly pure peat several feet deep, is naturally favourable to rhododendrons. Inspired by what he had seen at Exbury and in the Cornish gardens, Herr Hobbie started hybridising in 1939; by 1958 he had made 600 crosses, and planted out a quarter of a million seedlings. The Hobbie clones now in commerce have R. forrestii or R. williamsianum as one parent and a Hardy Hybrid as the other. They have proved to be very floriferous and trouble-free. For further information, see the article by Dietrich Hobbie in the Year Book for 1959.

DESCRIPTIONS

Aladdin (auriculatum × griersonianum). – Flowers up to 14 in a loose truss; pedicels clad with white, glandular hairs. Corolla up to 412 in. wide, funnel-shaped with a slender base, salmon pink with a deeper coloured throat. Leaves oblong-elliptic, acute, narrowed to a slightly cordate base, thinly brown-hairy beneath. A large shrub, flowering late June or early July. (Crosfield. A.M. 1935.)

Mention may be made here of another late-flowering cross between R. auriculatum and a red-flowered species. This is the Leonore grex, with R. kyawii as the other parent. The cross was made at Exbury and also at Borde Hill and Werrington. There is an example at Kew near the Rhododendron Dell, which was flowering beautifully in July 1974.

Albatross (discolor × Loderi). – A beautiful group of hybrids resembling Loderi in their huge, fragrant, seven-lobed corollas varying in colour from almost white to delicate pink from deeper coloured buds, while the influence of R. discolor shows in their tall growth, in their later flowering (from end-May but mainly in June), and often in the pronounced green or maroon ray in the throat (see Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 58). The best known clones are ‘Exbury Albatross’ (F.C.C. 1935), flowers blush pink with a brownish ray in the throat; and ‘Townhill Albatross’, raised by Lord Swaythling, with flowers described as Fuchsia Pink at the edges, paler in the centre (A.M. 1945).

‘Album Elegans’. – Truss compact, with about 16 flowers. Corolla at first tinged with mauve, opening white with a flare of greenish yellow, funnel-shaped, about 214 in. wide. Medium size, vigorous. Early June. An old hybrid of R. catawbiense. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1847.) ‘Album Grandiflorum’ is similar, but the flowers are up to 3 in. wide, flatter, slightly frilled, with a brownish-green flare.

‘Alice’. – Truss conical, with 14 to 18 flowers. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, about 334 in. wide, rosy pink fading to blush at the centre of the lobes, unspotted. Calyx regular, with strap-shaped lobes to 12 in. long. Mid- to late May. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1910.) It is said to be a seedling of ‘Pink Pearl’, but is quite distinct in its unspotted flowers and is also rather laxer and more erect; also perhaps not quite so free-flowering. It is named after Mrs Gomer Waterer.

Alison Johnstone (concatenans × yunnanense). – Flowers up to ten in a loose truss. Corolla funnel-shaped with a tubular base, yellow or greenish yellow at first, becoming apricot pink, about 112 in. wide at the mouth. In the form that received an Award of Merit in 1945 the corolla is unmarked, but in some plants there are two bands of speckles inside. April. (G. H. Johnstone, Trewithen.)

Altaclerense (arboreum × (catawbiense seedling × ponticum)). – This foundation-cross, from which many of the pink- and red-flowered hardy hybrids are derived, was made at Highclere, the seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, in 1826, by J. R. Gowen. The seed-parents were specially forced plants from a cross between R. ponticum and a selected seedling of R. catawbiense. The pollen came from a truss off the plant of R. arboreum at The Grange, Alresford, which had flowered for the first time in the previous year. 1800 seedlings were raised and the bulk distributed to private gardens and nurseries in England and Scotland. Of those retained at Highclere, one flowered in 1831, and was figured and described in the Botanical Register for that year (t. 1414).

Whether any of the plants originally distributed from Highclere still exist it is impossible to say. Having a hybrid as one parent, the plants must have varied, some inclining to Smithii, others to Russellianum (qq.v.).

Amor (griersonianum × thayerianum). – Truss lax, with about ten flowers. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 212 to 3 in. wide, pale pink with a red throat, slightly speckled on the upper lobe. Leaves oblanceolate, acute, with a skin-like indumentum. June. (Stevenson, Tower Court. A.M. 1951.) A charming rhododendron of moderate size.

Angelo (discolor × griffithianum). – This cross was first made by J. C. Williams of Caerhays, who called it ‘Cornish Loderi’, R. discolor being closely related to R. fortunei, which, with R. griffithianum, is the parent of the Loderi grex. The cross was later made at Exbury by Lionel de Rothschild, and by A. G. Soames of Sheffield Park. Angelo resembles Loderi in its flowers, but they are borne later, at the end of May or early June, and usually have more pronounced markings in the throat. The plants grow taller, to about 25 ft. In the form which received the Award of Merit in 1935 when shown from Exbury, the flowers were described as 514 in. wide, wavy-edged, delicately tinged with pink, marked with reddish brown in the throat. Leaves 6 to 8 in. long, including the short, stout petiole (the last a discolor character). In ‘Exbury Angelo’ (F.C.C. 1947) the flowers are white, with green throat markings. In ‘Solent Queen’, another Exbury clone, the flowers are pale rose fading to white (A.M. 1939). ‘Sheffield Park Angelo’ has white flowers with greenish-yellow markings in the throat (A.M. 1950; R.C.Y.B. 1950, fig. 40). The Angelo clones are essentially plants for woodland gardens and need a sheltered, half-shaded position.

‘April Glow’ (formerly ‘April Shower’). – Flowers seven to ten in the truss. Corolla campanulate, 112 to 134 in. wide, frilled, red in the bud, opening deep pink, somewhat darker on the reverse. Leaves oval, rounded at the base, up to 314 in. long, reddish when young. May. Low, dense habit (‘Wilgen’s Ruby × williamsianum; A. C. van Wilgen, Holland).

‘Arbutifolium’. – Flowers about 12 in a racemose cluster; rachis about 1 in. long. Corolla rosy pink, slightly spotted, tubular-funnel-shaped, 118 in. wide, scaly outside, downy inside at the base. Style slightly downy in the lower part; stigma yellow. Calyx very small, the lobes being less than 18 in. long. and much shorter than the ovary, with a few hairs at the edge. Leaves 114 to 2 in. long, up to 78 in. wide, more or less elliptic, equally narrowed at both ends, leathery, dark dull green above, purplish in winter, covered beneath with brown scales among which are scattered larger, darker scales. A dense, dwarf shrub to about 4 ft high, more in width, flowering in June.

A hybrid of unknown history, usually considered to be R. ferrugineum × R. minus; it was in cultivation under its present name in 1833, but was first described by Rehder in 1904. It is useful for its late flowering and fairly common in collections. The rhododendron sent out by Dutch nurseries as “R. punctatum” and occasionally sold in garden-centres in this country is very similar to ‘Arbutifolium’. Its name has recently been altered to ‘Puncta’, to avoid confusion with R. punctatum Andr., which is a synonym of R. minus. A hybrid with, probably, the same parentage as ‘Arbutifolium’ is ‘Hammondii’, distinguished by its narrower leaves, up to 134 in. long and 12 in. wide.

A related hybrid is ‘Myrtifolium’, raised by Loddiges before 1828 from R. minus crossed with R. hirsutum. It differs from ‘Arbutifolium’ in having leaves that are not so dark a green and slightly glossy, more tapered at the apex, somewhat hairy at the edge when young, densely scaly beneath, the larger, darker type of scale being more numerous and more closely spaced; in the larger calyx about half as long as the ovary; and in the taller, laxer habit.

Also to be mentioned here is ‘Laetevirens’ (‘Wilsonii’), of unknown origin, which was considered by Rehder to be the result of a cross between R. ferrugineum and R. carolinianum, a species closely related to R. minus. It has longer leaves than any other hybrid of this group, 212 in. long, 34 in. wide, and also larger flowers, the pale rose corolla being up to 114 in. wide. It flowers in late May or early June and makes a dense leafy bush up to 5 or 6 ft high. Rehder named it R. × laetevirens on the grounds that its garden name, R. Wilsonii, had been validly published for a hybrid between R. ciliatum and R. glaucum.

‘Armistice Day’. – Truss rounded with 10 to 14 flowers. Corolla shaped more or less as in ‘Britannia’, crimson-scarlet, about 3 in. wide. Calyx with narrow lobes. Leaves lanceolate, about 6 by 214 in. Lax habit. May. (Van Nes.)

‘Arthur Bedford’. – Truss compact, with 14-16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 314 in. wide, lavender with a deep brownish-red flare. Leaves oblong-elliptic, to 612 in. long, with purplish petioles. Tall, fairly compact, vigorous. Late May or early June. (Lowinsky, before 1935, distributed from Exbury. F.C.C.T. 1958.) Arthur Bedford was for some years head gardener to Lionel de Rothschild at Exbury.

Arthur J. Ivens (houlstonii × williamsianum). – Flowers about five in the truss. Corolla widely campanulate, up to 314 in. wide, deep rose in the bud, opening Persian Rose with two small crimson marks at the base. Filaments of stamens white. Style glandular throughout. Leaves oblong-ovate, to 234 in. long, 112 in. wide. Low-growing and compact, wider than high. (A. J. Ivens, for Messrs Hillier; cross made 1932. A.M. 1944.) Arthur Ivens was for many years nursery manager to Messrs Hillier.

‘Arthur Osborn’. – Flowers about six in the truss; pedicels clad with white, glandular hairs. Corolla funnel-shaped, about 212 in. wide, dark red. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, to 312 in. long, with a fawn indumentum beneath. Open, dwarf habit. June. (griersonianum × sanguineum subsp. didymum; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.) One of the best late-flowering rhododendrons for a small garden. The name is given as clonal only in the International Register, but the cross was made in other gardens. A clone of the same parentage is ‘Nutmeg’.

‘Ascot Brilliant’. – Flowers 10 to 16 in the truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 2 in. wide, bright crimson red, with black speckling on the upper lobes. Calyx-lobes up to 14 in. long, often tinged with red. Leaves elliptic, to about 412 in. long, slightly glaucous beneath. Medium size, rather lax habit. Late April or early May. (Standish, before 1862.) A hybrid of R. thomsonii crossed with some hardy hybrid, and probably the first ever to have been raised from that species. It is very free-flowering.

Aurora (Kewense × thomsonii). – Flowers eight to ten in a broad, lax truss. Corolla funnel-shaped with a narrow tube, 5- or 6-lobed, 334 in. wide, rosy pink (Neyron Rose), with slight speckling in the throat, nectaries crimson. Calyx 34 in. wide. Leaves intermediate between those of the parents. A tall, very vigorous shrub. April. Raised by Richard Gill in his nursery at Tremough, Cornwall, but named by Lionel de Rothschild. A.M. 1922. It is so similar to the best forms of Luscombei that it has even been suggested that Gill used R. fortunei, not Kewense, in making this cross (Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. III, p. 188). The cross was later re-made at Bodnant.

The Brinco grex (Loderi × thomsonii) is virtually the same as Aurora, but no plant of any note has emerged from it.

The Adelaide grex is the result of a back-cross of R. thomsonii onto Aurora, made at Exbury. The plants show the influence of the species in the foliage and the large calyx, but the flowers are in larger trusses, and the corollas funnel-campanulate, about 312 in. wide, blood-red. A.M. 1935.

Avalanche (calophytum × Loderi). – Flowers fragrant 12 to 14 in the truss; pedicels rosy red. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4 in. wide, 6- or 7-lobed, pure white with three lines of speckles in the throat uniting into a blotch at the very base. Tall-growing, to some 20 ft. Early April. Rothschild. The description is of clone ‘Avalanche’ (A.M. 1934; F.C.C. 1938). In other forms of the cross the flowers are delicate pink (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 18). The clone ‘Alpine Glow’, with pink-flushed flowers, received an A.M. in 1938.

A similar hybrid – Calfort – was raised by Collingwood Ingram from R. calophytum crossed with R. fortunei. In the plant at Wisley the corollas are 334 in. wide, faintly tinged pale lilac, with a heavy maroon blotch breaking into speckles. Leaves narrowly oblong-elliptic. Calfort received an A.M. in 1932, and the same award was given in 1967 to the clone ‘Bounty’, also raised by Collingwood Ingram.

Azor (discolor × griersonianum). – Flowers about eight in a lax truss. Corolla trumpet-shaped, 7-lobed, about 3 in. wide, pink, speckled on the upper lobe, deep red in the throat. Style glandular-hairy in the lower part; stigma red. Leaves dull green, oblong-elliptic or oblanceolate, 7 in. long, 2 in. wide. Tall-growing. June. The cross was made originally at Tower Court, but later repeated in other gardens. The plant described here is a good average member of the grex, but some plants have bluish-pink flowers. The best clone is ‘Azor Sister’, from Tower Court (F.C.C.T. 1960).

‘Bagshot Ruby’. – Flowers 14 to 18 in a rounded truss, on glandular-downy pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, about 134 in. across, ruby-red, upper lobe with a flare of dark brown spots on a lighter ground. Stamens with whitish or pinkish anthers. Style reddish, with a dark crimson stigma. Medium size. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1916.)

Barclayi (‘Glory of Penjerrick’ × thomsonii). – This cross, made at Penjerrick early this century, unites R. thomsonii with R. arboreum (blood-red) and R. griffithianum. Several plants were raised, of which some were propagated, the best known clone being ‘Robert Fox’ (A.M. 1922). The truss has about eight flowers. Corolla blood-red, with black nectaries, shaped as in R. thomsonii and also inheriting from that species the large calyx, coloured like the corolla. Leaves obovate, abruptly short-acuminate, about 5 in. long, half as wide. It is hardy, but flowers very early – late March or early April.

‘Baron Schroeder’. – Flowers about 20 in a large, dense truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 212-3 in. wide, dark reddish purple with a flare of yellowish green on a white ground at the base of the central lobe. Stamens and style crimson. Leaves rather narrow, 5 by 138 in. Moderate growth, dense habit. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.) Named after Baron Sir Henry Schroeder, Bt (d. 1910), one of the leading orchid-growers of his time and a benefactor of the Royal Horticultural Society, who made a substantial contribution to the building of the Old Hall. He preferred to be known by his German title.

‘Baroness Henry Schroeder’. – Flowers about 20 in the truss, on brownish-red glandular pedicels. Corolla 212 in. wide, white flushed with magenta pink, fading to pure white, with a flare of deep crimson speckles. Medium size. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.) There is a clump of this hybrid on the Broad Walk at Kew. The F.C.C. of 1883 belongs to a hybrid of R. javanicum, raised by Messrs Veitch and given the same name.

‘Baroness Lionel de Rothschild’. – Flowers about 16 in a dense, rounded truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, deep crimson at the margins, lighter at the centre, with a greenish-brown flare on a light ground. Anthers dark brown. Stigma crimson. Leaves lanceolate, 512 by 134 in., deep green and rather bullate above, thinly brown-felted beneath. End May. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1880.)

‘B. de Bruin’. – Flowers about 20 in a shapely conical truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 234 in. wide, dark rich scarlet spotted black on the upper lobe. Stamens conspicuously white-hairy. Style and ovary glabrous. Early to mid-June. A fine colour, but poor foliage and straggly habit. The name is believed to commemorate Bas de Bruin, a member of the firm M. Koster and Sons, not Baron de Bruin, as stated in the International Register. But it was raised by A. Waterer at the Knap Hill Nursery.

‘Beauty of Littleworth’. – Flowers 15 to 18 in a large conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, 412 in. wide, white from mauvish-pink buds, speckled with purplish red on the upper lobe. Style glabrous. Leaves elliptic to 8 by 314 in. A tall, vigorous grower. May. F.C.C. This splendid hybrid is quite hardy, needing only shelter from wind and slight shade. In woodland it is apt to grow so fast that it becomes lanky and the young growths are so long that they bend under their own weight. Like the more famous ‘Loder’s White’, it is the creation of J. H. Mangles of Valewood, Haslemere; after his untimely death in 1884 it passed to his brother and sister, who lived at Littleworth Cross near Farnham, and received an F.C.C. when shown by the former in 1904. The same award was given to it in 1953 after trial at Wisley. It is a hybrid of R. griffithianum, probably crossed with a white-flowered Hardy Hybrid.

Beauty of Tremough (arboreum × griffithianum). – This cross was made in several Cornish gardens, but the named clones, with the exception of ‘John Tremayne’, raised at Heligan, were mainly the creation of Richard Gill, who was head gardener to Henry Shilson of Tremough, and later set up his own nursery there. Using a blood-red form of R. arboreum he raised and distributed many seedlings, some of which were named and propagated, notably: ‘Beauty of Tremough’ (F.C.C. 1920); ‘Glory of Penjerrick’ (A.M. 1904); ‘Gill’s Triumph’ (A.M. 1906); and ‘Gillii’ (A.M. 1919). However, these hybrids are not really satisfactory outside the milder parts and are not further dealt with here.

‘Beefeater’. – Flowers about 22 (sometimes a few more) in a flat-topped truss. Corolla fleshy, tubular-campanulate, 3 in. wide, with broad, rounded lobes, Geranium Lake, finely speckled near the base of the upper lobes, nectaries dark crimson. Stigma red. Anthers black. Leaves dull green above, undersides bright green with traces of flock, 8 by 212 in. May. A back-cross of R. elliottii onto Fusilier (elliottii × griersonianum), raised in the R.H.S. Garden at Wisley. F.C.C. 1959. The truss is excessively large and poorly formed.

‘Betty Wormald’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a tall truss; rachis 3 to 334 in. long; pedicels to 214 in. long. Corolla 3 to 4 in. wide, broadly funnel-shaped, slightly frilled, Tyrian Rose at the edge, paling towards the centre, with heavy brownish-crimson speckling on the upper lobe, nectaries red. Style upswept, with a dark red stigma. Leaves dark green, to 7 by 212 in. Medium height. Late May. (Koster and Sons, before 1922, from ‘George Hardy’ crossed with a red hybrid. F.C.C.T. 1964.) Of the ‘Pink Pearl’ type, but with larger, more vividly coloured flowers. ‘Marinus Koster’, also raised by Koster and Sons, is very like ‘Betty Wormald’. F.C.C.T. 1948.

‘Bianchi’. – Flowers about 18 in the truss on upright pedicels. Corolla 2 in. wide, almost bowl-shaped, pale pink, with crimson or green speckling on and below the central lobe. Anthers mauve. Style pale pink with a crimson stigma. Leaves elliptic, dull dark green. A charming old hybrid, now very rare. There is an authentic plant in Mr Frederick Street’s garden at West End, near Woking, and a matching one, of large size, at Grayswood Hill, Haslemere. For its history see F. Street, Hardy Rhododendrons (1954), pp. 74-6, and Gard. Chron., Vol. 132 (1952), p. 66.

Bibiani (arboreum × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). – Flowers about 14 in a dense rounded truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate, dark red with brown spotting. Leaves elliptic, acute, dull green above, brownish or silvery beneath, about 6 by 2 in. April. (Rothschild. A.M. 1934.) A perfectly hardy though rather early-flowering hybrid, showing strongly the influence of R. arboreum. There is an example 15 ft high in the Rhododendron Dell at Kew.

‘Billy Budd’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a dense, flat-topped truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 2 in. wide, lobes broad and shallow, Turkey Red. Pedicels, calyx ovary and style all glandular. Leaves elliptic, slightly wavy at the margin, with traces of floccose tomentum beneath. May. (R. elliottii × May Day; R.H.S. Garden, Wisley. A.M. 1957.)

Biskra (ambiguum × cinnabarinum var. roylei). – Flowers pendent, in trusses of about eight. Corolla widely tubular-funnel-shaped, about 112 in. long, 2 in. wide, vermilion. April. Tall-growing. (L. de Rothschild, 1934. A.M. 1940.)

‘Blandyanum’. – Flowers up to 25 in a dense hemispherical truss; pedicels densely glandular. Corolla narrowly funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, rosy crimson with a few black spots on the centre lobe. Style glabrous, rosy crimson, stigma purple. Ovary white-felted. Calyx glabrous, membranous. Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, 512 by 218 in. obtuse at the apex, cuneate at the base, thinly brown-felted beneath; petiole grey-felted. A dense, rounded shrub. Mid-May. An old hybrid, raised by Standish and Noble, from R. catawbiense pollinated by Altaclerense, and therefore composed of R. arboreum, R. catawbiense (two doses) and R. ponticum. They received a Silver Knightian Medal for it in 1848.

‘Towardii’, which sprang from the same cross as ‘Blandyanum’, was named after the foreman at Bagshot Park, under whom Standish had worked before he set up his own nursery. Judging from a plant at Kew, the foliage is quite as handsome as Standish and Noble claimed, the leaves being dark green and broad-elliptic. But the colour of the flowers is a dark bluish pink and not pleasing. It is probably no longer in commerce.

‘Blewbury’. – Flowers up to 20 in a compact truss. Corolla campanulate, about 112 in. wide, white, spotted with reddish purple on the upper side. Leaves narrow-elliptic, about 312 in. long and 1 in. wide, rather rigid, dark green above, clad beneath with a thin brown indumentum, recurved at the margin, midrib impressed above. Late April or early May, compact and probably not more than 5 ft high (anhweiense × roxieanum; Crown Estate Commissioners). A charming hybrid of great individuality, taking after R. roxieanum but probably making a better garden plant. A.M. April 30, 1968.

Blue Diamond (augustinii × Intrifast). – Flowers four or five per truss. Corolla almost flat with a short tube, deep violet-blue, about 134 in. wide. Leaves elliptic, subacute, up to 138 by 58 in. April. Taller growing than most of the R. augustinii × Lapponicum series hybrids, to about 7 ft or so high, but of dense habit. (Crossfield. A.M. 1935. F.C.C. 1939, to a better coloured form than the one previously shown.)

This is a variable grex. The plant described above is probably the same as the ‘F.C.C. form’ but there is another clone in commerce with relatively much wider leaves, broad-elliptic, roundish at the apex, dark mat green. This has attained 7 ft in 18 years in poor dry soil and sets flower-bud on every shoot, though in the same garden both Bluebird and Blue Tit seldom flower well.

‘Blue Peter’. – Flowers about 15 in a conical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, strongly ridged, about 234 in. wide, with frilled margin, Cobalt Violet fading to almost white at the centre, with coarse speckling on the upper lobe. Stamens very unequal, conspicuously white-hairy at the base. Late May. (Waterer, Bag-shot. A.M. 1933. F.C.C.T. 1958.) A fine near-blue hybrid. As always, the lighter centre enhances the colouring of the flowers when seen from a distance.

Blue Tit (augustinii × impeditum). – Flowers two or three per cluster, of which more than one is usually borne at the end of each shoot. Corolla pale lavender-blue, about 112 in. wide, with faint brownish speckles on the upper lobe. Leaves light green, broadish elliptic, obtuse, to about 1 in. long. Dense habit, attaining 4 by 6 ft in 15 years. (J. C. Williams, 1933.) A charming hybrid, but usually flowering rather patchily, on the strong shoots only.

The Augfast grex (augustinii × fastigiatum) is related to Blue Tit, but the flowers are darker in colour and borne somewhat later. It is also taller-growing. The cross was made by E. J. P. Magor, who named it, later by Messrs Hillier and Messrs Reuthe.

Bluebird (augustinii × intricatum). – Flowers four or five in a small cluster. Corolla almost flat, 112 to 2 in. wide, with a short tube, rich violet-blue. Leaves mostly elliptic, acute or subacute, up to 114 in. long, rather yellowish green when young, in one clone almost chlorotic. April. Low, spreading habit. (Aberconway, 1930. A.M. 1943.) Bluestone, also raised at Bodnant, is a back-cross of Bluebird with R. augustinii.

‘Boddaertianum’. – Flowers 18 to 22 in a dense truss; pedicels glandular, to 1 in. long. Calyx variable, rim-like or with linear lobes to 14 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped, 212 in. wide, pink-flushed at first, becoming white, with a flare of maroon-purple spots reaching from the middle of the centre lobe into the throat. Style glabrous. Ovary glabrous except for a few scattered hairs. Leaves narrow, oblong-elliptic, acute, 7 by 112 in., coated beneath with a very thin indumentum. A large shrub resembling R. arboreum in habit. Late April or early May. A very striking, perfectly hardy rhododendron with a long season of flower.

As pointed out by A. J. Ivens in his manuscript note on this hybrid, the parentage R. arboreum × R. campanulatum usually given for it is unlikely. He suggests R. arboreum crossed with R. ponticum (white-flowered forms on both sides) and this seems very likely, though the latter may have been a hybrid of R. ponticum, not the pure species. In this connection it is significant that a hybrid very similar to what is now known as ‘Boddaertianum’ was in cultivation until recently under the name R. ‘Smithii Album’, and that Smith of Norbiton is known to have crossed R. arboreum with R. ponticum (see R. ‘Smithii’). But judging from the illustration in The Garden, Vol. 75 (1911), p. 264, ‘Smithii Album’ had larger flowers and fewer in the truss than ‘Boddaertianum’.

The history of ‘Boddaertianum’ is not known for certain, but it is said to have been raised by van Houtte and to have been known originally as ‘Gloire d’Anvers’ (Gard. Chron., Vol. 132 (1952), p. 55).

Bonito (discolor × Luscombei). – Truss with about 15 flowers on stalks 112 in. long. Corolla about 5 in. wide, funnel-shaped, pink in bud, opening white flushed with pink, with brown and rose markings on upper side of throat. A tall, vigorous shrub. Late May-early June. (Rothschild.) A.M. 1934. A commercial clone differs from the A.M. plant in having greenish-yellow markings in the throat.

Bo-peep (lutescens × moupinense). – Flowers solitary or in twos. Corolla pale creamy yellow, deeper in the bud, with two lines of darker speckles, broadly funnel-shaped, about 2 in. across. March. A loose bush to about 4 ft high. (Rothschild, 1934. A.M. 1937.) A charming hybrid which unfortunately does not quite coincide in flowering time with Praecox.

‘Boule de Neige’. – Flowers in a dense hemispherical truss; flower-bud scales persistent. Corolla funnel-shaped, 214 in. wide, white, freckled with a few brown and green spots on the upper lobe. Ovary white-felted, Calyx very small. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 4 by 2 in. Dense, fairly dwarf habit. Mid-May. (caucasicum × catawbiense hybrid; Oudieu, 1878.) This hybrid is valued in the north-eastern USA for its great hardiness and excellent habit; it was available in commerce in Britain until recently. It bears some resemblance to ‘Cunningham’s White’, but has broader leaves and a denser truss.

Bowbells (‘Corona’ × williamsianum). – Flowers about six in a lax truss. Corolla pale bright pink from deeper-coloured buds, slightly red-speckled, broad funnel-campanulate, 234 in. wide. Leaves ovate, obtuse, cordate at base, petiole purplish; young growths bright bronze coloured. May. Erect habit, usually under 6 ft high, but old plants in woodland at Exbury are taller; some plants in gardens appear to belong to a dwarf, compact clone. (Rothschild, 1934. A.M. 1935.) This remains one of the best hybrids raised from R. williamsianum.

Bric-a-brac (leucaspis × moupinense). – Flowers in threes. Corolla milky white, not or very slightly spotted, about 2 in. wide, similar in shape to that of R. leucaspis and with the style deflexed as in that species. Anthers brownish red. Leaves leathery, elliptic-obovate, about 2 in. long, veiny but lustrous above. February or March. It is of dwarfer, denser habit than R. moupinense, which it resembles less than the other parent (Rothschild, 1934. A.M. 1945.)

‘Britannia’. – Flowers 10 to 14 in a conical truss. Corolla with a broad bell-shaped tube (gloxinia-shaped) and a spreading slightly wavy limb, 3 in. wide, soft pinkish scarlet with deeper-coloured nectaries, almost unspotted. Leaves up to 9 in. long and 312 in. wide in shade. Late May or early June. (‘Queen Wilhelmina’ × ‘Stanley Davies’; Van Nes. A.M. 1921; F.C.C.T. 1937.) After half a century in our gardens, ‘Britannia’, raised in Holland, remains one of the most popular hybrids and is still, perhaps, the best scarlet of its class. Grown in a well-lighted position it makes a compact bush, but shade from the hottest sun is advisable, since the foliage, naturally a rather yellow-green, becomes more so in a hot position. On the other hand, in too much shade it becomes lax, and develops large leaves which are apt to be broken off by wind.

Brocade (? × williamsianum). – Flowers about six in the truss, on glandular-hairy pedicels. Corolla campanulate, 5- or 6-lobed, 214 in. wide, blush-white shaded rose-pink. Leaves oblong ovate, dark green, rather rigid, up to 3 in. long, on reddish-brown slightly glandular petioles. April. Compact habit, to about 5 ft. (Rothschild.) A pretty rhododendron and also a puzzling one. The other parent was recorded in the Exbury stud-book as ‘Vervaeniana’ – an evergreen greenhouse azalea. Even if such a cross were possible, it cannot have been responsible for this hybrid.

‘Broughtonii’. – Flowers up to about 20 in a pyramidal truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, deeply lobed, rosy crimson shading to paler on the three upper lobes, with dark spotting on all the three upper lobes. Leaves fairly glossy, elliptic to narrow-oblanceolate, to about 10 in. long and 3 in. wide, cuneate at the base. A very large and dense shrub, up to 20 ft or even more in height, Mid- to late May. An old hybrid, deriving mainly from R. arboreum and R. maximum, raised before 1853. It somewhat resembles ‘Cynthia’, but the longer, relatively narrower leaves distinguish it, as well as many other characters, e.g. the wider zone of spotting and the paler centre of the corolla.

‘Butterfly’. – Flowers 10 in a loose truss on pale green pedicels 2 in. long. Corolla with a short tube and widely spreading limb, butterfly-shaped, 3 in. wide (narrower transversely), pale creamy yellow, heavily speckled with crimson. Erect, open habit. Early May. (campylocarpum × ‘Mrs Milner’; Slocock. A.M. 1940.) Very pretty, aptly named, but needs a fairly sunny position if it is to flower freely.

Carex (fargesii × irroratum). – Flowers about ten in a lax truss. Corolla campanulate, 7-lobed, 3 in. wide, pale lilac-pink, darker on the reverse, with some maroon spotting inside, mostly on the upper lobes. Style white, red-glandular to the tip. Calyx 14 to 38 in. wide, glandular. Leaves about 4 in. long, half as wide, broad-elliptic, rounded at both ends. A tall bush. April. A spontaneous hybrid of R. fargesii, of which the other parent was probably R. irroratum, raised at Exbury. A.M. 1932. Two other clones have been named ‘Carex White’ and ‘Carex Blush’.

Carita (campylocarpum × ‘Naomi’). – Flowers 10 or 11 in a lax truss on pedicels almost 2 in. long. Corolla pink in the bud, opening pale yellow, with greenish or brownish speckling in the throat, five-lobed. Leaves elliptic, 5 to 6 in. long, 3 in. wide. (Rothschild, 1935.) This description is from a plant at Exbury probably of the clone that received the A.M. in 1945. But the grex is variable in flower-colour, as might be expected from the parentage. In ‘Carita Inchmery’ the corollas are pink with a straw-pink centre, mostly six-lobed. In ‘Golden Dream’ they are deeper yellow than in the A.M. clone. These and others are portrayed in Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 7. A clone in commerce has corollas translucent white, pink-tinged, at the edges, pale primrose at the centre of the lobes (mostly six in number); buds buff-pink. The Carita grex flowers end-April or early May, and the plants grow to about 15 ft in height.

Carmen (forrestii × sanguineum subsp. didymum). – Flowers three per truss. Corolla deep blood-red, campanulate, almost 112 in. wide. Leaves broad elliptic-obovate, about 134 in. long, dark green. Dwarf to 2 ft or so, more in spread. April or early May. (Rothschild, 1935.) Best planted where the sun can enliven the colour of its flowers.

‘Caucasicum Pictum’. – Truss dense, with about 12 flowers on erect pedicels. Corolla pink at first, later white flushed with pink, with a dense brownish-crimson flare, lobes angled, frilled. Leaves oblanceolate, about 5 in. long, reticulate above as in R. caucasicum. Late April or early May. A dense bush to about 8 ft. A hybrid of R. caucasicum, listed by Standish and Noble in 1853.

‘C. B. van Nes’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a loose truss. Corolla campanulate, 238 in. wide, with broad, overlapping lobes, slightly wavy at the edge, glowing crimson-scarlet, with a few dark spots on the upper lobes. Leaves oblong-elliptic, up to 5 in. long and 134 in. wide, dull, deep green above. Compact habit. Late April or early May. A sister seedling of ‘Britannia’.

‘Cetewayo’. – Flowers about 12 in a small, dense truss. Corolla dark plum-coloured (Beetroot Purple), campanulate, about 2 in. wide. Stamens dark, with whitish anthers. Late May-early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1883. A.M.T. 1958.) ‘… a large bush has all the melancholy dignity of a superb prune mousse’ (J. Russell, Rhododendrons at Sunningdale, p. 42).

Chaste (campylocarpum × ‘Queen of the May’). – Flowers in a bun-shaped truss of about 12. Corolla pale yellow with crimson feathering in upper part of throat, about 314 in. wide; lobes truncate, overlapping. May. (Crosfield.) A fine but uncommon hybrid. The commercial clone is described.

‘Chevalier Felix de Sauvage’. – Flowers up to 20 in a dense truss. Corolla deep rosy pink with a prominent dark eye, funnel-campanulate, 214 in. across, frilled at the edge. Leaves to 5 in. long, 2 in. wide, elliptic, recurved. Dense habit, A hybrid of R. caucasicum raised on the Continent around 1870, flowering late April or early May. ‘Prince Camille de Rohan’ is similar, but the flowers are paler pink and the leaves relatively narrower, about 512 by 158 in. It was raised by Waelbrouck, secretary of the Conseil Communal of Ghent, and put into commerce by Verschaffelt in 1855. The prince admired it in his nursery, so it was named after him.

‘Chikor’. – Flowers up to six in a truss. Corolla with a cup-shaped limb and tubular base, 1 to 112 in. wide, soft yellow, with slight deeper spotting. Dwarf, compact habit. Late April-early May. A lovely, very free-flowering hybrid between R. chryseum and R. ludlowii, raised by E. H. M. and P. A. Cox, Glendoick. F.C.C.T. 1968.

China (fortunei × wightii). – Flowers up to 17 in a loose conical truss. Corolla creamy white with a red mark in the throat, about 312 in. wide. A vigorous shrub of medium size. May. (Slocock. A.M. 1940; A.M.T. 1948.) In ‘China A’, from the same cross, the flowers are more yellow and slightly smaller.

‘Chink’. – Flowers up to five in the truss. Corolla pale primrose, wide funnel-shaped, about 112 in. wide, with greenish-yellow speckling at the base of the central lobe and below the upper sinuses. Calyx small, edged with long silky hairs. Leaves elliptic, apiculate, to 134 in. long, edged with sparse long hairs. March. Low-growing and bushy. (keiskei × trichocladum; Crown Estate Commissioners, Windsor. A.M. 1961.)

‘Chionoides’. – Flowers about 14 in a dense truss. Corolla white from a creamy bud, with a greenish-yellow flare, funnel-shaped from a broad base, 178 in. wide. Style scarcely expanded at the apex. Late. Compact, moderate growth. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1865.) See F. Street, Hardy Rhododendrons, p. 95, and Gard. Chron., Vol. 132 (1952), p. 205.

Choremia (arboreum × haematodes). – Flowers about ten in the truss. Corolla dark scarlet, waxy, tubular-campanulate, about 2 in. wide; calyx petaloid. Leaves stiff, oblanceolate or elliptic, dark green and glossy above, coated beneath with a plastered pale indumentum. April. Excellent dense habit. (Aberconway. A.M. 1933. F.C.C. 1948.)

‘Christmas Cheer’. – Flowers about eight in the truss on erect, reddish pedicels; bud-scales of inflorescence persistent. Corolla funnel-shaped with a broad base, 134 in. wide, frilled at the edge, pink in the bud and when first open, fading to blush but darker outside on the ridges, with pale red or greenish speckles running from the base of the two upper sinuses into the throat. Stamen-filaments white. Style deep pink. Ovary oblong-conoid, white-hairy. Leaves medium green, brown beneath from a very fine close indumentum, elliptic to narrow-obovate, rather narrowly cuneate at the base. April.

The plant described here belongs to a clone in commerce as ‘Christmas Cheer’, which is said to attain about 6 ft in height. It is doubtfully the same as the large plants in the R.H.S. Garden at Wisley and in the Savill Garden under this name. The latter is 15 ft high. It is possible that these are the true ‘Christmas Cheer’, and that the dwarfer plant is the same as ‘Silberaad’s Early Pink’, of which there is a detailed description in the Ivens Manuscript, drawn up in 1930, which seems to agree with the plant described above in every respect.

Another hybrid in this group is ‘Rosa Mundi’, which was probably raised by Standish and Noble. This differs from the plant described above in its dark green leaves and in its still dwarfer habit – only 2 or 3 ft high in twenty years.

Cilpinense (ciliatum × moupinense). – Inflorescence two- or three-flowered. Corolla broad funnel-shaped, 234 to 3 in. wide, pale pink shading to a deeper colour at the edges, with two lines of crimson speckles. Calyx-lobes edged with long hairs. Leaves bright green, glossy, reticulate, elliptic to slightly obovate, to 2 in. long. March-April. (Aberconway, 1927. A.M. 1927. F.C.C. 1968.) The description is of a commercial clone, which does not usually exceed 3 ft in height, but much more in width. A lovely hybrid, nearer to R. ciliatum than to the other parent. There are other forms, however, some with smaller, whiter flowers.

Cinnkeys (cinnabarinum × keysii). – Flowers from terminal and upper axillary buds, forming a many-flowered multiple truss. Corolla about 112 in. long, waxy, tubular, light red with soft yellow lobes. Late May-early June. Erect habit, to 10 ft or even more. (Magor, cross made 1917.) In ‘Minterne Cinnkeys’, raised by Lord Digby, the flowers have pale red lobes. A.M. 1951. This was probably raised from R. keysii var. unicolor.

‘Colonel Rogers’. – A hybrid between R. falconeri and R. niveum, with larger flowers than in the latter, mauve at first but paling to white as they age. It is probable that the original plant was the one mentioned by Millais in 1917 as growing in the garden at Riverhill, Sevenoaks, Kent. The cross is believed to have occurred in other gardens.

Comely (concatenans × ‘Lady Chamberlain’). – This cross was made originally at Bodnant, but the clones that have so far received awards were raised in other gardens. These are:

‘Golden Orfe’. – Flowers about seven in the truss. Corolla similar to that of R. concatenans in shape, i.e., tubular-campanulate and rather short, 2 in. long and wide, orange-yellow (Nasturtium Orange, 25c). Raised at Tower Court, Ascot, and taken to Tremeer, Cornwall, by Mrs Stevenson after her remarriage to Gen. Harrison. A.M. 1964. It is in commerce.

‘Dayan’. – This was raised at Exbury by Edmund de Rothschild, and received an A.M. in 1967; described in R.C.Y.B. 1968, p. 231.

‘Concessum’s Master’. – Dense truss of about 16 flowers. Corolla almost saucer-shaped, 3 in. wide, Rose Bengal, paling to almost white at the centre. June. An old hybrid probably so called because superior to the still older ‘Concessum’, which was raised in Belgium and shown by Standish and Noble in 1854.

Conroy (cinnabarinum var. roylei × concatenans). – Flowers pendent, about six in the truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 2 in. long, 112 in. wide, fleshy, light orange tinged with pink. Leaves elliptic, dark green, 3 in. long. Medium sized. May. (Aberconway. A.M. 1950.)

A similar hybrid is ‘Caerhays Philip’, in which the parent on the cinnabarinum side was var. blandfordiiflorum. The corollas are yellow, more open than in the A.M. form of Conroy, 212 in. wide. Raised at Caerhays by the Hon. Charles Williams and Charles Michael. A.M. 1966.

‘Constable’. – Truss open, with about 20 flowers. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 3 in. wide, in a pleasing shade of greenish yellow, with reddish markings in the throat. Late April-early May. (Hawk ‘Jervis Bay’ × litiense; R.H.S. Wisley. A.M. 1961.) R.C.Y.B. 1962, fig. 35.

‘Constant Nymph’. – Truss dense, dome-shaped, with 12 to 14 flowers. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, to 412 in. wide, waved and slightly frilled at the margin, white, flushed with light purple at the centre of the lobes. Late May. (campanulatum × ‘Purple Splendour’; Waterer, Knap Hill, intr. 1955. A.M.T. 1971.)

Cornish Cross (griffithianum × thomsonii). – Flowers six to nine in a lax truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 4 in. wide, upper lobe and throat beneath it crimson, rest of corolla paler crimson, especially at the centre of the lobes, overall effect two tones of crimson pink. Calyx large, irregularly lobed, coloured like the corolla, about 1 in. wide. Leaves elliptic to obovate, broadly obtuse, to 10 in. long, 312 in. wide. Late April-early May. To about 12 ft high. Bark peeling, pinkish brown. ‘Cornish Cross’ was the name given to plants raised by Samuel Smith at Penjerrick, from a cross made about 1920, propagated and distributed by Messrs R. Veitch. But the same cross had been made at the end of the 19th century by Sir John Llewellyn, Bt, of Swansea and received an A.M. when shown by him under the name ‘Pengaer’ in 1911. In ‘Exbury Cornish Cross’ (A.M. 1935) the flowers are brighter and more evenly crimson than in the plant described above. Smith had used a not outstanding form of R. thomsonii and a R. griffithianum raised at Penjerrick; in the Exbury cross, the F.C.C. form of R. griffithianum was used (Rothschild Rhododendrons, p. 67 and pl. 31; Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. III, pp. 254-5).

Another fine clone of Cornish Cross is ‘Gilian’ (A.M. 1923). It was raised by E. J. P. Magor, who originally gave the parentage as R. campylocarpum × R. griffithianum but later became convinced that he must have misrecorded the cross. His son Major Walter Magor tells us his father was eventually quite satisfied that ‘Gilian’ is a form of Cornish Cross. The flowers are rich crimson red, fading at the centre as they age.

Cornubia (arboreum × Shilsonii). – This cross was made by S. Smith, head gardener to R. Barclay Fox, Penjerrick, in 1901. The seed-parent was a blood-red arboreum. Shilsonii is a hybrid between R. barbatum and R. thomsonii, so the cross brings together the three great red-flowered Himalayan rhododendrons. It was named ‘Lilianii’ at Penjerrick, but half of the 400 or so seedlings raised were made over to Messrs Gill, who named their share ‘Cornubia’. The plants are variable in the shade of red of their flowers, but the influence of R. arboreum shows in the compact, hemispherical truss; the corollas are larger than in that species, 2 to 3 in. wide. The foliage usually has the texture of R. arboreum, but varies in size. The flowering time is late winter or early spring. A.M. 1912 (flowers blood-red).

‘Corona’. – Flowers 10-11 in a pyramidal truss, the rachis 4 in. or slightly mote long. Corolla funnel-shaped, limb cup-shaped owing to the overlapping lobes, 2 in. or slightly more wide, ground colour blush-pink, heavily overlaid Coral Pink, which is the predominant colour of the flower when seen from a distance. Compact habit, moderate growth. Late May. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1911.) A charming, most distinct hybrid, needing slight shade in the drier parts. ‘Peter Koster’ somewhat resembles ‘Corona’, but the corolla is slightly speckled and the rachis is only half as long. (M. Koster and Sons; ‘Doncaster’ × ‘George Hardy’.) It is possible that ‘George Hardy’ or similar hybrid was one parent of ‘Corona’ also.

‘Corry Koster’. – Flowers about 16 in a conical truss; rachis 3 in. long. Corolla at first buff-pink, becoming light pink shading to white at the edges, spotted brown-crimson on the upper lobe, funnel-shaped, about 3 in. wide, margins frilled. Moderate growth. Late May. (M. Koster and Sons, 1909.) Probably a hybrid of ‘Chev. Felix de Sauvage’.

‘Countess of Athlone’. – Truss conical, with about 15 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, with overlapping lobes, wavy-edged, pale mauve with greenish-yellow markings near the base of the upper lobe. Medium growth. Late May. (C. B. van Nes and Sons, 1923; ‘Catawbiense Grandiflorum’ × ‘Geoffroy Millais’.) A pleasing colour, but corolla poorly shaped and truss too large.

‘Countess of Derby’. – A hybrid of ‘Pink Pearl’, differing in the much larger truss, 10 in. wide, large flowers (4 in. wide), of a deeper, cleaner pink. Leaves dull greyish green. The other parent is ‘Cynthia’. (Sunningdale Nurseries, 1913 A.M. 1930.)

‘Countess of Haddington’. – Flowers fragrant, up to six in a cluster. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, white flushed with lilac pink, yellow in the throat at first. Calyx leafy, divided almost to the base, lobes almost 12 in. long, spreading. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse, up to 4 in. long, light green above, margins ciliate. Of rounded, fairly dense habit, to about 6 ft high and wide. April. (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 88 (1963), fig. 38; Gard. Chron., suppl. ill., May 19, 1888.) F.C.C. 1862, when shown by the nurseryman R. Parker of Tooting, and said in the original description to be a hybrid raised ‘from R. dalhousiae’. There can be little doubt that R. ciliatum is the other parent. Indeed, J. H. Mangles, who was well informed on such matters, wrote in 1881 that R. ciliatum was the seed-parent (Gard. Chron., Vol. 15, 2nd ser., p. 108). Once established it should survive most winters in a sheltered place in southern England.

‘Countess of Sefton’. – Flowers about four per truss, fragrant. Corolla funnel-campanulate with spreading lobes, 312 in. wide, white, with red spotting in the upper part and stained red outside when first open. Calyx with shallow, rounded lobes, edged with long, white hairs. Leaves elliptic, bullate, glossy, densely scaly beneath. Low growing and fairly compact. A hybrid between R. edgeworthii and R. Multiflorum (ciliatum × virgatum), raised by Isaac Davies of Ormskirk, Lancs, shortly before 1879. The results of the cross varied, and altogether six of the seedlings were named and propagated, of which the best were said to be ‘Countess of Derby’ and ‘Lady Skelmersdale’, but ‘Countess of Sefton’ seems to be the only one to have survived, at least under its original name. Short descriptions were given in Gard. Chron., 2nd ser., Vol. 12, p. 201 (1879). ‘Countess of Sefton’ is almost hardy, and should survive most winters in a sheltered place in southern England.

Cowslip (wardii × williamsianum). – Flowers about five in a lax truss on glandular red-tinged pedicels. Corolla cup-shaped, 3 in. wide, pink in the bud, becoming ivory white with a slight tinge of pink, streaked with red at the base below the centre lobe. Style glandular to the apex, with a red stigma. Leaves broadly oblong-elliptic, rounded at the apex, cordate at the base, about 212 in. long. Compact and fairly dwarf. April or early May. (Aberconway. A.M. 1937.)

Crossbill (lutescens × spinuliferum). – Flowers about three in each truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 1 in. long and wide, pale yellow, stained red outside, with two bands of yellow-green speckles inside. Stamens and style exserted, the latter about 112 in. long, upcurved. April. The cross was made at Caerhays and later repeated at Exbury.

Cunninghamii. – Flowers up to 24 in a compact truss. Corolla broad-campanulate, about 214 in. wide, white with a flare of dark purple markings and crimson nectaries. Leaves oblanceolate, to 614 in. long and almost 2 in. wide, acute, deep green and rather bullate, clad beneath with a brown tomentum. A large, compact shrub. Early May.

This hybrid was made by George Cunningham, Oakvale Nursery, Liverpool, in the 1840s. The above description, based on the Ivens Manuscript, agrees with the original accounts and figures (Gard. Mag. Bot. Hort. (1851), t. 16; Paxton’s Flow. Gard., Vol. I (1850), p. 81 and t. 16, as R. cinnamomeum var. cunninghamii). So, too, does the hybrid grown under the name ‘George Cunningham’. The parentage of Cunninghamii is R. arboreum var. cinnamomeum crossed with ‘late white Maximum’ (seed-parent).

The R. cunninghamii of K. Koch is probably ‘Cunningham’s White’ (q.v.), which is quite a different hybrid.

‘Cunningham’s Album Compactum’. – Flowers about 14 in a dense truss, from persistent bud-scales. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, white with greenish-brown markings at the base of the upper lobe. Leaves narrow-elliptic, to 4 in. long and only just over 1 in. wide, rigid, dull green above, clad beneath with a brown indumentum. Compact habit, to about 6 ft high. May.

A hybrid of R. caucasicum, believed to have been raised in the 1830s or 1840s at Cunningham’s Comely Bank Nursery, Edinburgh, with a white-flowered R. arboreum as the pollen-parent. According to a letter to Kew (1909) from J. Fraser, then co-proprietor of this nursery, one-third approximately of the seedlings from this cross take after R. caucasicum in habit, and vary in colour from white to pale yellow. This hybrid has been confused with ‘Cunningham’s White’, which has quite different foliage. It was apparently also known in the last century as ‘Cunningham’s Dwarf White’.

‘Cunningham’s Blush’. – Similar to ‘Cunningham’s White’ (see below) but flowers up to 14 in the truss and the corollas tinted with pink even when fully open and with darker speckling. The two may well have come from the same seed-pod. It is an uncommon but quite pretty rhododendron, attaining 12 ft or so in height. There are two clumps of it at Nymans in Sussex, in the Heather Garden.

‘Cunningham’s Sulphur’. – A compact bush with pale yellow flowers, very near to R. caucasicum in its botanical characters, raised by Cunningham and Fraser, Comely Bank Nurseries, Edinburgh, at the end of the last century and sent out originally as “R. sulphureum”. According to J. Fraser, in the letter to Kew referred to under ‘Cunningham’s Album Compactum’, it was raised from R. caucasicum pollinated by a white-flowered R. arboreum.

‘Cunningham’s White’. – Flowers about eight in a lax truss, on ascending pedicels 138 to 158 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped, about 2 in. wide, tinted light mauve when opening, becoming pure white with fine speckling of yellow, brown or purple on the upper lobe. Leaves dark green, oblanceolate, 4 in. long. A compact shrub, usually not more than 10 ft high, flowering early to mid-May. It is a hybrid between R. caucasicum and R. ponticum album. A very similar plant, figured in Bot. Mag., t. 3811, was raised by Veitch and is of the same parentage (assuming that Veitch’s R. ponticum albiflorum was the same as the plant used by Cunningham). Many of the so-called varieties of R. ponticum grown in the early part of the last century were hybrids.

‘Cunningham’s White’ is one of the commonest of the old hybrids, especially in the North and Midlands. In a letter to Kew, received early this century, James Smith of the Darley Dale Nurseries stated that this hybrid thrives well in a limestone district, in evidence of which were the large number of thriving plants planted by his firm near Buxton. It has been recommended for covert planting in place of R. ponticum, probably because it is less aggressive. Being easily propagated by cuttings, and very hardy, it has been used as a stock, especially on the Continent and for rhododendrons intended for export to the colder parts of North America. Even the greenhouse azaleas are said to grow well on its roots.

‘Curlew’. – Flowers solitary, or in twos or threes. Corolla wide-campanulate, 2 in. wide, light yellow, marked with greenish brown in the upper part of the throat. Calyx deeply lobed, long ciliate, lobes to 14 in. or slightly more long. Leaves dark green, narrow-obovate to obovate, about 112 in. long. Dwarf, spreading habit, to about 1 ft high. May. A lovely hybrid raised by Peter Cox, from R. ludlowii crossed with R. fletcherianum ‘Yellow Bunting’. F.C.C. 1969, when exhibited by Glendoick Gardens Ltd.

‘Cynthia’ (‘Lord Palmerston’). – Flowers up to 24 in a pyramidal truss on pedicels to 2 in. long. Calyx-lobes oblong, acute or truncate at the apex. Corolla funnel-shaped, ribbed, about 3 in. wide, deep rose-pink with darker spotting on the upper lobes (mostly confined to the central one). Stamen-filaments pink. Leaves oblong elliptic to slightly obovate, broadly obtuse at the apex, about 612 in. long and 258 in. wide. May.

‘Cynthia’ was exhibited by Charles Noble in 1862 under the name ‘Lord Palmerston’ and was presumably raised by Standish and Noble before the dissolution of their partnership in 1856. It is one of the largest and most vigorous of the old hybrids, attaining a height of 25 ft (or even more in a sheltered place). It was slow to gain recognition but in the early decades of this century it was second only to ‘Pink Pearl’ in popularity. Unfortunately, it is not a good mixer, the flowers having a strong hint of magenta in their colouring.

‘Dairy Maid’. – Flowers about 12 in a dense truss, on red-tinged pedicels. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 2 to 3 in. wide, creamy yellow with a red mark in the throat. Compact habit. Early May. (R. campylocarpum × hardy hybrid; Slocock. A.M. 1934.)

Damaris (campylocarpum × ‘Dr Stocker’). – The following description is of ‘Damaris Logan’, the clone by which this cross is mainly represented in commerce: Truss with 10 to 12 flowers on glandular pedicels 112 to 2 in. long. Corolla campanulate, clear bright yellow (Dresden Yellow), 212 to 3 in. wide. Leaves bright green, oblong-elliptic, 5 by 134 to 2 in., showing the influence of R. caucasicum in their veiny upper surface. Dense growth, medium height. Late April or early May. One of the finest yellows. (K. McDouall, Logan, Wigtonshire, before 1931. A.M. 1948.)

The cross was first made by E. J. P. Magor of Lamellen, and named by him after his youngest daughter. The plant that first flowered with him had primrose yellow flowers in a flat truss of six, resembling those of ‘Mrs Kingsmill’ but deeper in colour (Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. III, p. 52). The cross was also made at Townhill and by Messrs Hillier.

‘Dame Nellie Melba’. – Flowers about 12 in a conical truss; rachis 212 in. long. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. across, rich pink, darker on the tube outside and paling inside towards the centre of each lobe, with two bands of brownish-crimson spots. Leaves dark green and glossy, up to 7 in. long, 214 in. wide. A vigorous hybrid, flowering late April or early May, finely coloured. A.M. 1926. It was raised by Sir Edmund Loder at Leonardslee, but named and distributed by Lionel de Rothschild. It is a hybrid between a blood-red form of R. arboreum and ‘Standishii’. Nevertheless, it seems to be quite hardy.

Damozel (‘A. W. bright rose’ × griersonianum). – Truss lax but well shaped, with about 14 flowers; pedicels, calyx and outside of corolla with white, curled hairs. Corolla 3 to 4 in. wide, funnel-shaped, deep crimson pink (between Claret Rose and Delft Rose), speckled on all lobes. Leaves dull green, oblance-olate, acute, 712 by 2 in. Fast growing but of rather sprawling habit. Mid- to late May. (Rothschild, 1936. A.M. 1948.) The description is of a commercial clone, which seems to be different from the A.M. form.

‘David’. – Flowers 15 to 19 in a dense truss. Corolla campanulate, 234 in. wide, margins slightly frilled, deep blood-red (near Cardinal Red or Currant Red), with black embossed spotting below the central lobe. Style and stamen-filaments white. Leaves dark dull green, oblong-elliptic, 6-7 in. long. Medium growth. May. A fine deep red, one of the best of its colour, raised by F. J. Rose for Lord Swaythling at Townhill Park, from ‘Hugh Koster’ pollinated by R. neriiflorum (whose influence does not show at all).

‘Dawn’s Delight’. – Flowers in a lax truss of about ten; rachis almost 3 in. long. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb 414 in. wide, frilled at the edge, vivid rosy red in bud, becoming delicate pink, paling at the centre, with a few large speckles, banded red outside. Leaves oblanceolate, 714 by 212 in. May. A lovely hybrid of medium size, raised by J. H. Mangles, which was taken to Littleworth Cross after his death in 1884 and received an Award of Merit when shown from there by his sister Miss Clara Mangles, in 1911.

Another Mangles hybrid that may be mentioned here is ‘Daphne Daffarn’, which is uncommon, but represented at Kew in the Rhododendron Dell. The flowers are in dense, rounded trusses of up to 20; the corollas are slightly less than 3 in. wide, slightly frilled of a beautiful shade of pink shading to paler in the centre. The original plant at Valewood is figured in Gard. Chron., September 20, 1930 (suppl. ill.).

Daydream (griersonianum × Lady Bessborough). – Flowers about 12 in a lax truss. Corolla trumpet-shaped, 3 in. wide, rather crumpled, Carmine Rose (52c) with redder speckling and much darker coloured in the throat, eventually fading to straw-yellow or dirty white, but the throat and flare remaining red. Tall. Early May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1940.)

‘Diane’. – Truss compact with eight to ten flowers. Corolla broad-campanulate, 3 in. wide, primrose, paler at the margin, with crimson markings in the throat. Style stout with a pale green stigma. Late April or early May. (Koster. A.M.T. 1948.)

‘Diphole Pink’. – Flowers about twenty in the truss. Corolla 3 in. wide, funnel-shaped, deep rosy pink with orange-brown speckling. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1916.) Still one of the best late-flowering pinks. There is a clump of this hybrid at Kew on the Broad Walk.

‘Doncaster’. – Flowers about 15 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, dark red with a flare of black spots. Easily recognised even when out of flower by its dark green, elliptic-obovate leaves, which are rather wavy-edged, slightly concave above, and apparently edged with lighter green owing to the exposure of the pale underside, and by their pinkish or reddish petioles; also by its dwarf, spreading habit. Late May or early June. It is one of the reddest of the old hybrids but, as in all of this type, there is a blue base to the colour which shows up as the flower ages. It was raised at Knap Hill before 1885.

‘Hugh Koster’ somewhat resembles ‘Doncaster’ in flower and foliage, and is a hybrid of it, but the corollas are rather lighter in colour, and the style and stamen-filaments are white, not pink as in ‘Doncaster’. It is also taller, but still of bushy habit. (Koster and Sons. A.M.T. 1933.)

‘Dr A. W. Endtz’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a rounded truss. Corolla 4 in. wide, frilled, deep lilac-pink. Medium size, compact habit. Late May. (catawbiense hybrid × ‘Pink Pearl’; L. Endtz and Co., before 1927.)

‘Dr Stocker’. – Flowers five to eight in the truss, on ascending, clustered pedicels. Corolla broadly funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, creamy white with a brownish-green flare. Leaves glossy, light green, reticulate above, oblong-elliptic, 512 by 2 in. Fairly dwarf, spreading habit. Late April. A hybrid between R. griffithianum and some form of R. caucasicum, or possibly ‘Cunningham’s Sulphur’. A.M. 1910, when shown by Dr Stocker of Avery Hill, Kent. It was raised by his head gardener G. Abbey and put into commerce by Messrs Veitch of Exeter in 1910.

‘Duchess of Connaught’. – Flowers about 20 in truss. Corolla spreading funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, white, mauve-tinged at first, with a large yellow flare and some brown speckling. Anthers pale purple. Calyx well developed, with membranous, pink-edged lobes. Leaves oblanceolate, 5 to 6 in. long. One of the old white-flowered hybrids from R. maximum.

‘Duchess of Portland’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a conical truss, on erect pedicels. Corolla campanulate, 2 in. wide, lobes not spreading much, folded at first along the centre line and appearing pointed, white with a small crimson mark in the upper throat. Leaves rather thin, oblanceolate, 6 by 2 in., with a thin cobwebby indumentum beneath. April. A compact, medium-sized plant, one of the finest whites, but Frederick Street has pointed out that it is a martyr to rhododendron fly. A.M. 1906. It was raised by Fisher, Son, and Sibray from R. barbatum crossed with ‘Handsworth Early White’. This parentage has been disputed, for obvious reasons, but the foliage strongly suggests that it is correct.

‘Duchess of Teck’. – This hybrid, raised by Messrs Waterer of Bagshot at the end of the last century, was little known until recently reintroduced to commerce. The corollas are lilac-pink at the edge, almost white at the centre, with a conspicuous flare of brown spots. Compact habit. June.

‘Duchess of York’. – Flowers fragrant, 10 to 12 in a lax truss. Corolla almost 3 in. wide, trumpet-shaped, five- to seven-lobed, rosy pink, with a flare of light green spots. Stamens mostly abortive. Foliage recalling that of R. fortunei. Medium growth. End May. A.M. 1894. This is one of many hybrids raised by G. Paul at the end of the last century from R. fortunei crossed with hardy hybrids. It was once hoped that they, and others of similar parentage bred by Luscombe of Coombe Royal, would be the foundation of a new race of hardy hybrids, but most have remained little more than names in the stud-book, and have not been used in breeding further varieties. But more successful hybrids with the same formula were raised later, the best known being ‘Lavender Girl’ (q.v.).

Duke of Cornwall (arboreum × barbatum). – This group is uncommon outside the milder parts of the country and also scarce in commerce. In ‘Duke of Cornwall’, which is the ‘type’ of this grex, the flowers are lustrous dark scarlet-crimson, spotted black on the upper lobes, borne in April; leaves dark green, glossy, 10 in. long, 2 in. wide, glabrous beneath. A.M. 1907. Other clones are ‘Duchess of Cornwall’, with flowers of a beautiful shade of crimson, in a dense truss of 12 to 15, borne in early spring. The leaves are clad beneath with a white indumentum. Also ‘Edmondii’, for which see Millais’ Rhododendrons, pp. 79, 120 and 2nd series p. 123; ‘Trelawny’ (see Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 61 (1936), p. 223; A.M. 1936); and ‘John Holms’ (see Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 83 (1958), p. 38; A.M. 1957).

‘Werei’ is a seedling of R. arboreum raised at Penjerrick, of which the pollen-parent is probably R. barbatum (and certainly not R. thomsonii as was stated when it received an A.M. in 1921). The flowers are a very pleasing shade of salmon-pink, borne in April. The plants known as R. barbatum var. carneum are also probably hybrids between that species and R. arboreum.

‘Earl of Athlone’. – Flowers up to 20 in the truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 234 in. wide, with erect, overlapping lobes, vivid blood-red, with two faint lines of black speckles in the tube. Style stout, white, abruptly upturned at the apex; stigma green. Leaves dull medium green, elliptic-obovate, 4 to 5 in. long. Of rather straggly habit and not a strong grower. Late April or early May. (‘Queen Wilhelmina’ × ‘Stanley Davies’; van Nes. F.C.C.T. 1933.)

‘Earl of Donoughmore’. – Flowers 10 to 15 in the truss; rachis 2 in. long – pedicels glandular. Corolla Spinel Red (54a), darker in the throat, funnel-shaped, about 4 in. wide. Style stout, red, glabrous. Leaves oblanceolate, dull green, to 712 in. long. May. A hybrid raised in Holland by M. Koster and Sons from R. griersonianum crossed with (‘Mrs L. A. Dunnet’ × Hardy Hybrid). It is best grown in almost full sun, as it is inclined to sprawl in shady woodland.

‘Eileen’. – Flowers 16 in the truss. Corolla 3 in. wide, blush with a broad edge of pink (66d) and a flare of yellow on the lower part of the central lobe. Style white; stigma pale red. Medium growth. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.)

Eleanore (augustinii × desquamatum). – Inflorescence four- or five-flowered. Corolla shaped as in the parents, about 3 in. wide, amethyst-violet, slightly spotted. A tall, vigorous shrub. Late April or early May. (Rothschild.) There is also a paler form, which appears to be the one that received the A.M. in 1943.

Elisabeth Hobbie (‘Essex Scarlet’ × forrestii). – Flowers about five per truss, on glandular pedicels 1 in. long. Corolla campanulate, 2 in. wide, Turkey Red. Style and stamen-filaments red. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 2 to 3 in. long, rounded at the apex, glossy, lateral veins impressed. May. (Dietrich Hobbie, Linswege, Germany.) Many plants were raised from this cross. The plant described above is from a commercial clone, and is bushy and very vigorous, with excellent foliage. ‘Scarlet Wonder’, which belongs to this grex, is similar in flower-colour and foliage, but is dwarfer and more spreading. Two others in the same style as ‘Scarlet Wonder’, and said also to be ‘Essex Scarlet’ × R. forrestii, are ‘Baden-Baden’ and ‘Bad Eilsen’.

Elizabeth (forrestii × griersonianum). – Flowers six to nine in the truss, on glandular reddish pedicels. Corolla obliquely funnel-shaped, 234 to 3 in. wide (somewhat larger on plants grown in shade), scarlet, slightly speckled, nectaries dark red. Stamens with red filaments and black anthers. Leaves medium green, slightly rugose, oblong to oblong-obovate, obtuse, 212 to 312 in. long; petioles reddish. April. (Aberconway, 1933. A.M. 1939; F.C.C. 1943.)

This is perhaps the finest of the hybrids raised by F. C. Puddle at Bodnant and, if habit and foliage as well as flower are considered, the finest of all the smaller hybrids. Its only fault is its early flowering. As an example of its growth may be taken a plant growing on the north side of a beech hedge at the top of a dry wall, which in eighteen years has spread to 10 ft in both directions and is 3 ft high at the back, sloping to the top of the dry wall and beyond it at the front. Sister plants in woodland, put in at the same time, are much laxer in growth and 6 ft high. ‘Jenny’, a clone of this grex, has drooping, self-layering outer branchlets and is good for a bank where it can spread at will. The flowers are a trifle smaller.

‘Elsa Crisp’. – Flowers 14 to 18 in a conical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped from a broad base, 3 in. wide, delicate pink (pale Rose Bengal) at the edge, paling at the centre of each lobe and in the throat, with slight crimson speckling on the lower part of the centre lobe. Anthers pale brown, tinged with pink, filaments white. Style white, sharply upswept at the tip, with a dark red stigma. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.) Said to be a seedling of ‘Mrs E. C. Stirling’.

Elsae. – This is a hybrid of unknown origin and parentage, thought to be a cross between R. grande and either R. falconeri or, as Millais thought, R. hodgsonii. The flowers are ivory white with a crimson blotch in the throat, campanulate, borne in large trusses of about 20; leaves up to 1 ft long, dark green and reticulate above, with impressed laterals, clad beneath with a woolly brown tomentum which tends to wear away, exposing the felted under-layer. In the Notes of the Rhododendron Society, Vol. III, p. 115, the provenance is given as ‘Raised by the Hon. John Boscawen and given to G. Carlyon of Tregrehan’. The Hon. J. T. Boscawen was Rector of Lamorran, in the grounds of Tregothnan, the property of his brother the sixth Viscount Falmouth. It is perhaps of relevance that in 1877 Boscawen showed to the Scientific Committee of the R.H.S. a ‘splendid’ truss of campanulate waxy white flowers from a ‘fine tree’ at Tregothnan, which Dr Hooker, who was in the chair, pronounced to be R. argenteum [R. grande] crossed with R. lanatum. This may well have been the original ‘Elsae’, even though the parentage suggested by Hooker does not seem very likely.

Despite the uncertainty about the parentage of ‘Elsae’, the name is used in the International Register as the collective name for crosses between R. grande and R. hodgsonii. Hybrids of this parentage were raised at Clyne Castle, Swansea, with flowers in various shades of pink or mauve, and one of these received an Award of Merit when shown by Adm. Heneage-Vivian in 1940 (as “Elsae Clyne”).

‘Elspeth’. – Flowers eight to ten in the truss. Corolla campanulate, 234 in. wide, vivid red in the bud, the colour lightening as the flower opens and gradually turning to cream, but the edges often remaining red for some time, giving a picotee effect. (campylocarpum × hardy hybrid; Slocock. A.M. 1937.)

‘Emerald Isle’. – Flowers about nine in a loose truss. Corolla 4 in. across, widely campanulate, greenish yellow, deepening in the throat. May (Idealist × Naomi; R.H.S. Gardens, Wisley.) A.M. 1956. A product of the same cross is ‘New Comet’, which has light yellow flowers shaded with pink. A.M. 1957.

‘Essex Scarlet’. – Flowers 16 to 20 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, rich crimson-scarlet with a heavy black flare, lobes wavy. Leaves narrow-elliptic. Upright, vigorous growth. June. A.M. 1899 when shown by G. Paul’s nursery. Unusually late-flowering for a hardy hybrid of such an intense colour. It is a parent of the Elisabeth Hobbie grex.

Ethel (F. C. Puddle × forrestii). – Truss with about six flowers on stout reddish pedicels. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, about 2 in. long and wide, deep scarlet. Leaves oblanceolate, 312 by 114 in., dark green and glossy, lateral veins slightly impressed above. Dwarf, spreading habit. April. (Aberconway, 1934. F.C.C. 1940.) The F. C. Puddle grex is R. griersonianum × R. neriiflorum, but the influence of the former species, so potent in first-generation crosses, scarcely shows in this hybrid. It is one of the best low-growing reds, attaining 3 by 6 ft in 15 years or so.

‘Everestianum’. – Flowers about 20 in a dense truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, about 3 in. across, with broad-ovate, frilled lobes, rosy lilac, paler in the centre, with a flare of yellowish-green spots. Style mauve; ovary glandular-downy. Leaves oblong-elliptic to oblong-obovate, 414 by 2 in. Dense habit. End May or June. It is remarkable that this hybrid, raised at the Knap Hill nursery before 1843, is still widely available in commerce today. Yet even in 1853 it was referred to as ‘an old but very fine kind’, which suggests that it may have arisen very soon after the introduction of R. catawbiense in 1809. It is a hybrid between that species and either R. maximum or (R. maximum × R. ponticum).

Exminster (campylocarpum × thomsonii). – This uncommon hybrid was raised at Penjerrick and named by Messrs R. Veitch of Exeter, who put it into commerce and received an A.M. for it in 1923. The corollas are campanulate, cream-coloured heavily flushed with pink; inflorescence with five or six flowers. Foliage intermediate between those of the parents. The cross was made in other gardens.

Fabia (dichroanthum × griersonianum). – This cross has been made in many gardens, with differing results according to the form of R. dichroanthum used, but no two plants are exactly alike in colour even when raised from the same seed-pod. The inflorescence is lax, with seven to ten flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 212 to 3 in. wide, with a large coloured calyx, usually in blended shades of orange and pink. Leaves dark green or medium green, more or less elliptic, to 5 in. long, with a light coloured indumentum beneath. The height varies, some clones being 3 to 4 ft high, others taller, but all are compact. Flowering time late May or June. The plants are very hardy and will stand full sun, though slight shade is better.

In the form that received the A.M. when shown from Bodnant in 1934 the flowers were described as bright scarlet. In ‘Tangerine’, one of the best clones and also raised at Bodnant, they are soft vermilion shading to a pinker colour at the edge, and orange in the throat. ‘Roman Pottery’, raised by J. Crosfield at Embley Park, has flowers described as pale orange with coppery lobes. In ‘Fabia Tower Court’, a dwarf clone, they are ‘soft orange pink, with a deep rose flush at the tips’ (Rhododendrons at Sunningdale, p. 53).

Mohamet (dichroanthum × eriogynum) resembles the Fabia grex, but the corolla has a broader base. It is less hardy and not so good. Raised at Exbury.

‘Faggetter’s Favourite’. – Flowers slightly fragrant, 11 to 13 in a dome-shaped truss with an unusually long rachis. Corolla 6- or 7-lobed, funnel-shaped, 334 in. wide, deep pink in the bud, opening creamy white flushed with Phlox Pink, with two lines of brownish-green speckles in the throat. Style with large green stigma. Compact habit, medium size, fast-growing. A chance hybrid of R. fortunei. A.M.T. 1955. Mr Faggetter was rhododendron foreman at the Goldsworth Nurseries of Messrs Slocock, where this hybrid was raised.

Fairy Light (griersonianum × ‘Lady Mar’). – This Exbury hybrid has never received an award, but is useful for its moderate growth and late flowering (June). The corolla is clear rich pink, darker in the throat and with slight red speckling on the upper lobe, the outside of the tube bright red.

‘Fastuosum Flore Pleno’. – Flowers 15 to 17 in a broad truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 to 234 in. wide, most of its stamens converted into extra petals or staminodes, pale bluish mauve with a golden-brown or greenish flare. Leaves oblong obovate, 5 by 2 in., dull green. Late May or early June. A large, compact shrub, raised on the continent before 1846 and still one of the most valuable of all rhododendrons. The colour is nearly blue in some lights. Very near to R. catawbiense. A.G.M. 1928.

Fittra. – See under R. racemosum.

‘Floriade’. – Flowers 14 to 20 in a large truss. Corolla campanulate, 312 to 4 in. wide, deep crimson with a heavy brown flare and dark crimson nectaries. End-May. A hybrid of recent introduction, raised in Holland by Adrian van Nes.

Fortune (falconeri × sinogrande). – This hybrid, raised by Lionel de Rothschild at Exbury, received an F.C.C. when shown in 1938. The flowers are borne up to thirty together in a splendid truss 7 in. high and 9 in. wide. The corolla is clear yellow with a crimson mark at the base. The leaves resemble those of R. sinogrande in their glossy upper surface, but the indumentum is thicker and darker (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pls. 15 and 16).

‘Fragrantissimum’. – Flowers deliciously fragrant, three or four in each truss; pedicels scaly, glabrous except for a few scattered hairs. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 to 4 in. wide, pure white except for a yellowish tinge in the throat. Stamens hairy at the base only. Style scaly in the lower half, with a green stigma. Calyx variable in size, up to 14 in. long. Leaves varying from ovate-elliptic and acute to obovate and obtuse, up to 312 in. long, upper surface somewhat rugose, covered at first with brown crisped hairs, later more or less glabrous, dullish medium green, lower surface pale green, scaly, the scales spaced from almost contiguous to about three times their own diameter apart. A tender hybrid of lax habit, from R. edgeworthii crossed with R. formosum, grown outdoors in the milder parts. It is possible that there is more than one clone under the name ‘Fragrantissimum’, since the cross has certainly been made more than once, and the name may have been used in a collective sense. The original ‘Fragrantissimum’ received an F.C.C. when shown by the nurseryman Rollisson in 1868.

The same cross, made by Rinz of Frankfurt-am-Main, is named Sesterianum. This form received an F.C.C. when shown by Messrs Veitch in 1862.

‘Francis B. Hayes’. – Truss conical with about 16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 212 in. wide, mauve in the bud, pure white when fully open, with an intense, rather sharp-edged flare of black and maroon on the upper lobes. Medium size. June. (Waterer, Bagshot.) The blotch is very much darker than in ‘Sappho’. F. B. Hayes (d. 1884) was a native of Boston, USA. He had a large collection of rhododendrons on his estate at Lexington, Mass.

‘Frank Galsworthy’. – Truss compact, rounded, with 16 to 20 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 212 in. wide, deep reddish purple with a large yellowish flare. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1960.)

‘Furnivall’s Daughter’. – Flowers about 15 in a compact, rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, lobes broad and rounded at the apex, especially the centre lobe, which is about as wide as long, delicate pale pink with a large flare of dull crimson. Calyx-lobes pinkish, to 38 in. long, reflexed. Style white with a pink stigma. Leaves elliptic-obovate, up to 612 in. long, about half as wide. Late April or early May. (Knap Hill. F.C.C.T. 1961.) A seedling of ‘Mrs Furnivall’.

Fusilier (elliottii × griersonianum). – Flowers about 10 in the truss, on glandular pedicels to 1 in. long. Calyx dark brownish red, shallowly lobed, rather spreading. Corolla fleshy, tubular-funnel-shaped, about 3 in. wide, soft scarlet with darker nectaries. May. Tall and vigorous. Rather tender. (Rothschild. A.M. 1938; F.C.C. 1942.)

‘Galactic’. – Flowers up to 22 in a dense truss on stout pedicels up to 134 in. long. Corolla campanulate, 312 in. wide, pale primrose, darkening in the tube, with crimson pencilling at the base. Stigma greenish yellow. Leaves up to 9 by 312 in., oblanceolate, clad beneath with a plastered indumentum. Tall. March-April. A fine hybrid raised by Lionel de Rothschild at Exbury from Avalanche × R. lacteum. See Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 35. A.M. 1964, F.C.C. 1970.

‘G. A. Sims’. – Flowers 14 to 16 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 234 in. wide, blood-red with a flare of black spots. Rather spreading and straggling habit. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1972.) The flowers are darker than in ‘Doncaster’, also raised at Knap Hill.

Gaul (elliottii × Shilsonii). – Flowers about 20 in a compact truss. Corolla 2 in. wide, tubular-funnel-shaped, deep red, with a cup-shaped calyx of the same colour. (Rothschild. A.M. April 18, 1939.) A fine red, not suitable for cold gardens.

‘Gauntlettii’. – This hybrid was raised by V. N. Gauntlett and Co. of Redruth, Cornwall, at the end of the last century and continued to be sold by them under this name after they moved to Chiddingfold, Surrey, in 1905-6. In their catalogue 101, which appeared early in the 1930s, they give ‘White Pearl’ as a synonym of ‘Gauntlettii’, thus implying that Messrs Cutbush had renamed their hybrid and obtained an Award of Merit for it (see ‘White Pearl’). However, they probably obtained this misinformation directly or indirectly from Millais’ work on rhododendrons, in which he asserted that ‘Gauntlettii’ and ‘White Pearl’ were one and the same, when in fact there is little doubt that the latter was simply the trade-name given to ‘Halopeanum’, raised in France.

No authentic plant of ‘Gauntlettii’ has been seen, but judging from the photograph reproduced in Messrs Gauntlett’s catalogue the corollas appear to be nearer to funnel-shaped than to campanulate, thus differing from ‘White Pearl’.

‘Geoffroy Millais’. – Flowers 14 in a tall truss; rachis 412 in. long. Corolla wide campanulate, 4 in. wide, lobes broad, slightly wavy, pink in the bud, opening white, with a ray of brownish-red markings, flushed with crimson on the reverse. Style pinkish with a crimson stigma, glandular in the lower half. Leaves elliptic, 612 by 218 in. One of the Schulz hybrids, raised at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, around 1890, and distributed by van Nes. A fine white, in the same style as ‘Manglesii’ and ‘White Pearl’. A.M. 1922.

‘George Hardy’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a conical truss; rachis 234 to 334 in. long; pedicels to 2 in. long, glandular. Calyx large, reddish, very irregularly lobed, some lobes ovate, others oblate. Corolla short-campanulate, to 334 in. long, lobes longer than tube, rosy in the bud, opening white with crimson markings mainly confined to the centre lobe; nectaries not coloured. Style glandular at the base. Leaves dark green, oblong-lanceolate, to 6 in. long. Medium growth. Late May. A quite handsome hybrid, standing full sun, mentioned here because it is probably a parent of ‘Pink Pearl’. It is a hybrid of R. griffithianum crossed with some hardy white, and is believed to have been raised by J. H. Mangles at Valewood, Haslemere. According to Millais, it was put into commerce by Messrs Waterer of Bagshot.

There are many hybrids of similar character to ‘George Hardy’, difficult to distinguish one from another. ‘Manglesii’ was raised by Messrs Veitch at their Coombe Wood nursery. It received an A.M. when shown by them in 1885 and was named in memory of J. H. Mangles, who had died the previous year. It is from a cross between R. griffithianum and either ‘Album Elegans’ or ‘Album Grandiflorum’. It is a more demanding plant than ‘George Hardy’, needing shade and shelter; the flowers are similar, but the style is glandular to the tip. ‘Coombe Royal’ was probably raised by Luscombe of Coombe Royal, Kings-bridge, Devon, and received an Award of Merit when shown by Messrs R. Veitch of Exeter in 1900. Plants seen under the name are very like ‘George Hardy’, but with fewer, larger flowers on a shorter rachis. Another in this group is ‘Standishii’. This is not the same as the old hybrid of that name raised by Standish and Noble from Altaclerense crossed with a hybrid between R. ponticum and R. maximum, and named in 1850. But Standish may well have experimented with R. griffithianum in the later years of his life. A plant in the Knap Hill nursery under this name differs from ‘George Hardy’ in having corollas with coloured nectaries and two lines of speckles (in ‘George Hardy’ they are all in one group).

Gladys (campylocarpum × fortunei). – Flowers about 10 in a loose truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 6-lobed, 312 in. wide, pale cream with a few purple markings. Leaves oblong-ovate, 4 in. or slightly more long, 2 in. wide. Late April or early May. This description, from the ‘Ivens Manuscript’, is of the original ‘Gladys’, which received an A.M. when shown by Lord Swaythling of Townhill Park in 1926. It was raised, according to this source, by Brig.-Gen. Clarke of Chilworth Manor, near Southampton, not by Col. S. R. Clarke of Borde Hill, as stated in Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 52, p. lii, though this cross was made at Borde Hill also. Three years before ‘Gladys’ was exhibited by Lord Swaythling, the cross was made in his garden by F. J. Rose, using R. campylocarpum “var. elatum” and a selected form of R. fortunei. The plants first flowered in 1931, and a group of trusses from them was a feature of the Rhododendron Show of that year. The colours ranged from cream to deep pink. On the same occasion an Award of Merit was given to ‘Mary Swaythling’, presumably one of this set, in which the flowers are primrose-yellow with no markings.

‘Gladys Rose’ received an A.M. when shown by the Crown Estate Commissioners in 1950. This has flowers in a lax truss of about nine; corolla ivory-yellow, darker on the upper lobe, flushed pale pink and also pink in the bud. It was raised at Townhill (see above).

The cross using R. campylocarpum “var. elatum” was also made by Messrs W. C. Slocock and the results, varying in colour, were given the grex-name Letty Edwards, the individual plants being distinguished by numbers. But the clonal name ‘Letty Edwards’ is now attached to the clone which received an F.C.C. after trial at Wisley in 1948. This has flowers in trusses of ten to twelve, corolla widely funnel-shaped, pale primrose shaded deeper on the upper lobe and in the throat, unmarked except for faint greenish-yellow speckling in the throat.

Golden Horn (dichroanthum × elliottii). – Flowers about seven in the truss on glandular-downy pedicels. Calyx fleshy, enlarged, coloured like the corolla, which is campanulate, about 212 in. wide, orange in the bud, opening deep salmon-pink blending with orange and mottled with brown. Leaves oblanceolate, to 5 in. long, obtuse, dull green above, bright green on the underside beneath a thin brown indumentum. Low-growing and compact. Late May or early June. (Rothschild.) The description is of the clone ‘Golden Horn’ (A.M. 1945). In ‘Persimmon’ the corolla is deep, glowing red speckled with black dots, and the calyx is smaller (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 11).

Golden Oriole (moupinense × sulfureum). – Trusses mostly three-flowered; inner bud-scales crimson. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, about 2 in. wide, resembling that of R. sulfureum but of a beautiful shade of clear light yellow (Dresden Yellow). Leaves elliptic, obtuse, about 2 in. long. Stems cinnamon-brown, peeling. A small shrub of erect habit. March. (J. C. Williams.) This description is of the clone ‘Golden Oriole Talavera’ (F.C.C. 1963), for which a white-flowered R. moupinense was used (R.C.Y.B. 1964, pl. 3). ‘Golden Oriole Busaco’, from a pink-flowered form of that species, has the corollas primrose-yellow suffused with pale pink, with some crimson spots on the upper lobes. Both are lovely and probably hardy, but flower too early for most gardens.

‘Goldfort’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, 5- to 7-lobed, pink in the bud, opening pale primrose tinged with apricot, speckled with green in the throat. Style glandular in the lower half, with a greenish stigma. Late April or early May. (fortunei × ‘Goldsworth Yellow’; Slocock.)

‘Goldsworth Crimson’. – Flowers 12 to 16 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, lobes broadly rounded at the apex, bright red, fading towards the centre and darker on the reverse, upper lobe speckled with black. Medium size, of fairly compact, spreading habit. Early May. (‘Doncaster’ × griffithianum hybrid; Slocock. F.C.C.T. 1971.)

‘Goldsworth Orange’. – Flowers in a lax truss of up to ten; pedicels bright green. Corolla funnel-shaped with a broad base, 6- or 7-lobed, fleshy, yellow, lobes paler than tube and tinged with pink, upper part of throat with a broad band of greenish-brown speckles. Low, spreading habit. June (dichroanthum × discolor; Slocock. A.M. 1959.)

‘Goldsworth Yellow’. – Flowers up to 16 in the truss on ascending pedicels Corolla funnel-campanulate, 212 in. wide, undulated at the margin, lobes at first angled owing to infolding at the tips, buff-pink in the bud becoming pale creamy yellow but pink-tinged at first, especially on the ridges outside, speckled brown in the upper part of the throat. Leaves medium green, reticulate above, mostly oblong-obovate, to 5 in. long. Moderate height, spreading habit. End April or early May. A.M. 1925, when shown by Messrs W. C. Slocock. Millais published the name ‘Goldsworth Yellow’ in the first volume of his Rhododendrons (1917), p. 38, and gives the history of the plant in his second volume, p. 103. According to his version, the original was bought in the winding-up sale of Veitch’s Coombe Wood nursery (1913-14). But he also records that Messrs Slocock made the cross R. caucasicum stramineum × R. campylocarpum before 1917, and this is a likely parentage for ‘Goldsworth Yellow’.

Although many yellow-flowered hardy hybrids have been raised since, ‘Goldsworth Yellow’ remains one of the most useful, as it stands full sun and does not flower unduly early.

‘Gomer Waterer’. – Flowers about 20 in a handsome rounded truss. Corolla wide funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, mauve in the bud, opening white flushed with mauvish pink at the edges, with a flare of yellowish brown on the upper lobes. Leaves dark green, very leathery, elliptic or slightly obovate, to 5 in. long. Moderate, dense growth. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1906.) A tough, wind-resistant rhododendron, but with beautiful flowers.

‘Grand Arab’ (‘The Grand Arab’). – Flowers 15 in a compact, conical truss; rachis 1 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, magenta-crimson with slight black spotting at the base of the centre lobe. Style crimson, glabrous. Ovary densely white-felted. Calyx with shallowly triangular, glandular-ciliate lobes. Leaves narrowly elliptic, tapered at both ends, 4 by 134 in., clad beneath with a scarcely visible indumentum. It makes a well-shaped bush to 10 ft or slightly more high. Early May. An old hybrid of R. arboreum. Nothing is known of its origin, but it was listed by John Waterer in 1854. In the following year he put into commerce the much later flowering ‘John Waterer’ and ‘Mrs John Waterer’, but ‘Grand Arab’ has persisted in cultivation, especially in the North and Midlands.

Grenadier (elliottii × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). – Flowers about 12 in a globular truss; rachis about 112 in. long. Corolla funnel-campanulate, of waxy texture, 3 to 312 in. wide, deep red, with dark nectar-pouches and some dark speckling on the upper lobes. Leaves dark green, elliptic, with a loose tomentum beneath. Tall and vigorous. June. This is one of the finest hybrids raised by Lionel de Rothschild from R. elliottii, but in common with other late-flowering hybrids of the Parishii group it is slow to ripen its growths, which may be damaged by autumn frosts. It received a First Class Certificate in 1943.

Grosclaude (eriogynum × haematodes). – Flowers up to 10 in a lax truss on stellate-hairy pedicels. Calyx irregular, large, coloured like the corolla, which is campanulate, 212 in. wide, fleshy and glossy, deep scarlet-red, with some black speckling. Leaves to 412 in. long, rounded at the apex, dull green, coated beneath with a brown indumentum. Compact and fairly dwarf. June. (Rothschild. A.M. 1945.) It flowers later than the May Day grex, from which it differs in the shape of the corolla and other characters.

Halcyone (Lady Bessborough × souliei). – Flowers about seven in a lax truss. Corolla bowl-shaped, 312 in. wide, rosy pink in bud, opening white flushed with pink, heavily lined and speckled with darker pink. Leaves similar to those of R. souliei, from which it also derives the shape of its corolla. Medium growth. May. (Rothschild.) The description is from a commercial clone, which flowers well even where R. souliei never sets a flower-bud. In ‘Perdita’ (A.M. 1948) the corolla is less spotted and pinker (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pls. 51-2).

‘Handsworth Early White’. – Flowers about ten in the truss on erect pedicels. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, pink in the bud, opening white, almost unmarked. Leaves narrowly oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate, 5-7 in. long. Compact and low-growing. March or April. (Fisher, Son and Sibray.) A hybrid of R. caucasicum.

Harrisii (arboreum × thomsonii). – This cross was first made about 1880 in Lord Swansea’s garden at Singleton near Swansea by his head gardener Harris, who later set up his own nursery. The original plants were up to 25 ft high when Millais saw them in 1915. The cross was later made at Caerhays with better results and the plants from this cross are usually treated as a separate grex under the name Red Admiral. It was also made at Penjerrick, where it was named Tregedna. These hybrids are as early flowering as R. arboreum, and not common outside the milder parts. The flowers are fewer in the truss than in R. arboreum, with a more pronounced calyx, and vary in colour from crimson to blood-red. The leaves are usually (to the naked eye) glabrous beneath, relatively broader than in R. arboreum and usually obtuse at the apex.

Hawk (‘Lady Bessborough’ × wardii). – This well-known Exbury hybrid unites two yellow-flowered members of the Thomsonii series – R. campylocarpum and R. wardii – with the tall-growing, late-flowering R. discolor of the Fortunei subseries. Lionel de Rothschild made the cross twice. The first batch, which started to flower about 1940, had R. wardii KW 4170 as its parent, and its best known clone is ‘Jervis Bay’. This has about 10 flowers to the truss. The corolla is widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, primrose-yellow with a deep red eye. It received an A.M. in 1951. ‘Crest’, which received an F.C.C. in 1953, is from the repetition of the cross. The flowers are about twelve in the truss. The corolla is very widely funnel-campanulate, 4 in. across and 112 in. deep, with seven rounded lobes, a lovely clear primrose-yellow shading to deeper below the upper lobes, unmarked except for faint streaking at the very base of the throat (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 23).

‘Crest’ is so different in its flowers from those of the first batch that it has been suggested that some other form of R. wardii was used as the parent. Or it may be that mere chance decreed that the combination of characters seen in ‘Crest’ appeared in the second and not in the first batch. The seven lobes come from R. discolor, but KW 4170 (‘Lemon Bell’ as Kingdon Ward called it), with its unblotched corolla, has asserted itself over the other two parents – R. campylocarpum “var. elatum”, with its red eye, and R. discolor, which usually imparts a streaked throat to its offspring. ‘Crest’ is generally acknowledged to be the finest yellow-flowered hybrid yet raised, but may in time be supplanted by its offspring, of which a number have already received awards. See the note by T. H. Findlay in R.C.Y.B. 1967, pp. 73-4.

The clonal name ‘Hawk’ is linked in the International Register to the form that received an Award of Merit when shown from Windsor by the Crown Estate Commissioners in 1949. Whether the plants in commerce as ‘Hawk’ are of this clone it is impossible to say. The foliage in the Hawk grex is mostly oblong-elliptic and obtuse, truncate or slightly cordate at the base, up to about 7 in. long. The plants flower in late April or May and attain a height that varies somewhat with the clone.

Using ‘Crest’ as one parent, T. H. Findlay has raised a number of fine hybrids for the Crown Estate Commissioners, Windsor, which are not yet generally available (1975). The following have received awards and been described in the Rhododendron and Camellia Year Book (the second parent is given in brackets): ‘Arborfield’ ([x] ‘Loderi Julie’), A.M. April 30, 1963, R.C.Y.B. 1964, p. 134 and fig. 54; ‘Binfield’ ([x] ‘China A’), A.M. May 5, 1964, R.C.Y.B. 1965, p. 166 and fig. 41; ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ (× Idealist), A.M. May 2, 1967, R.C.Y.B. 1968, p. 133 and fig. 6, see also R.C.Y.B. 1969, p. 109; ‘Theale’ (× Penjerrick), A.M. May 3, 1966, R.C.Y.B. 1967, p. 166 and plate 6; ‘Warfield’ (× Jalisco), A.M. May 18, 1970, R.C.Y.B. 1971, p. 185 and fig. 66.

Another hybrid from ‘Crest’ is ‘Cara Mia’, raised by Edmund de Rothschild at Exbury from a cross with ‘Aurora’; A.M. May 3, 1966, R.C.Y.B. 1967, p. 163 and fig. 37.

‘Helene Schiffner’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a compact hemispherical truss 3 to 4 in. wide. Calyx almost nil. Corolla funnel-shaped, about 2 in. wide, mauve in the bud, becoming a singularly pure and hard white, unmarked or with very faint brown markings. Leaves dark green, glossy, lanceolate to oblanceolate, up to 5 in. long, about 134 in. wide. Dwarf spreading habit to not much more than 5 ft. Late May. F.C.C. 1893, when shown by the nurseryman Seidel of Stiesen near Dresden. A remarkable rhododendron, easily recognised by the glaring whiteness of its flowers and its comparatively dwarf habit. It seems to have the ‘blood’ of both R. ponticum and R. caucasicum in it. The name is usually incorrectly given as “Hélène Schiffner”.

‘Hollandia’ (‘G. T. Streseman’). – Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla slightly frilled, about 3 in. wide, carmine pink, shading to paler at the centre of the lobes, with brown speckling on the centre lobe. Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, dark sea-green. May. (‘Charles Dickens’ × ‘Pink Pearl’; L. J. Endtz and Co.) This is not the same as the hybrid which received an A.M. in 1925. The latter was raised by M. Koster and Sons, and had bluish-mauve flowers with a mustard-coloured flare.

‘Hugh Wormald’. – Flowers about 18 in a large, pyramidal truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, bright cerise pink with a dark brown flare on the upper lobe, the other lobes with a white stripe down the centre. (Koster.) Admired by Millais but now uncommon (Millais, Rhododendrons, 2nd series, pl. fac. p. 58).

Humming Bird (haematodes × williamsianum). – Inflorescence with four or five flowers. Calyx large, spreading, coloured like the corolla, which is open campanulate, 214 in. wide, carmine-pink, fleshy, unspotted. Leaves elliptic or roundish elliptic, rigid, about 112 in. long, rich green above, paler and thinly coated beneath; petioles brownish red, bristly-glandular. Compact habit. April or early May. (J. C. Williams.) A pretty rhododendron in flower, with good foliage. ‘Elizabeth Lockhart’ is a sport from this raised by Prof. R. D. Lockhart of Aberdeen, in which the young foliage is dark chocolate brown, and even the mature stems, leaf-blades and petioles are deeper than normal. The flowers too are darker than normal, near to Indian Lake.

‘Icecream’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. or slightly more wide, light pink with a white throat, spotted with olive on the upper lobe. Compact habit. Late May or early June (Slocock). A.M.T. June 2, 1960. It is the result of a complex cross involving three species – R. dichroanthum, R. decorum, and R. discolor – and a Hardy Hybrid.

Idealist (Naomi × wardii). – Flowers about 12 in the truss on purplish pedicels 2 in. long. Corolla saucer-shaped, 4 in. wide, 5- to 7-lobed even in the same truss, buff-pink in the bud, opening pale primrose, with a pinkish flush at first, and with two bands of light red streaking below the upper lobes. Leaves oblong elliptic, to about 5 in. long, half as wide, broadly obtuse at the apex; petioles stained purple. Medium size. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1945.) The description is made from a commercial clone. A lovely hybrid, related to the Carita grex, but with a shape of flower inherited from R. wardii.

The cross was later repeated at Exbury and some of the seedlings were sent to the Knap Hill nursery, from which ‘Vienna’ was selected and registered in 1962.

Impeanum (hanceanum × impeditum (fastigiatum?)). Flowers about five in each inflorescence. Corolla rotate, about 114 in. wide, ‘beautiful deep lilac’ in the F.C.C. plant, but paler in some plants. Leaves dark green, glaucous beneath, elliptic or oblong-ovate, to 34 in. long. A densely branched, low-growing shrub. May. (Kew; introduced 1932. F.C.C. 1934.) Useful for its late flowering. It is almost certain that R. fastigiatum was used, not R. impeditum.

Impi (sanguineum subsp. didymum × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). – Flowers 10 to 12 in small trusses; pedicels dark red, white-hairy. Corolla funnel-shaped, 214 in. wide, deep vinous red (brilliant red in transmitted light). Anthers dark red. Medium growth, erect habit. June. (Rothschild. A.M. 1945.)

Inamorata (discolor × wardii). – Flowers about eight in a lax truss on plum-coloured pedicels. Corolla suphur-yellow, bowl-shaped, about 3 in. wide, with a red mark at the base. A vigorous hybrid taking after R. discolor in its foliage and late-flowering (June) and after R. wardii in its flowers. It was raised by Lionel de Rothschild at Exbury and received an Award of Merit on June 27, 1950, but its normal flowering time is early in the month.

Intrifast (fastigiatum × intricatum). – This hybrid is really so near to R. fastigiatum that for garden purposes it could be regarded as a good form of it, with exceptionally blue young foliage. It is of dense mounded habit, to about 2 ft. (Lowinsky.)

Another hybrid of R. fastigiatum is Prostigiatum, raised by E. J. P. Magor, of which the other parent is R. prostratum, a member of the Saluenense series. It is a dwarf, twiggy shrub with deep violet-blue flowers 1 in. across, produced in twos or threes, and sea-green leaves about 34 in. long, densely scaly beneath. A.M. April 8, 1924.

‘Isabella Mangles’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss on pedicels to 214 in. long. Corolla campanulate, with a short, broad tube and spreading limb, about 4 in. wide, slightly wavy at the edge, rosy pink, paling towards the centre of the lobes and deeper outside, becoming creamy white before it falls. Leaves oblong-elliptic, to 612 by 234 in. Early May. This is one of the finest creations of J. H. Mangles and doubtless the result of crossing R. griffithianum with some hardy hybrid. It grows and flowers well at Kew, where there are plants 10-12 ft high, but is uncommon outside collections.

‘Ivery’s Scarlet’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a dense truss. Calyx very small, glandular. Corolla campanulate, 212 in. wide, deep vivid red, speckled on the three upper lobes. Leaves narrowly oblong-elliptic, tapered at both ends, rich green above, underside paler, dull green, with a prominent midrib. Slender habit, to about 15 ft. May. A very handsome hybrid from blood-red R. arboreum, gaining its late flowering and hardiness from, probably, R. ponticum. It was raised at the middle of the last century by the nurseryman Ivery of Dorking. Millais, who much admired it, gives its subsequent history in his Rhododendrons, p. 120. It needs a sheltered place, but is quite hardy and flowers over a long period. Most large collections have it, but it is scarce in commerce.

‘Jacksonii’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a dense truss; bud-scales persistent. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, frilled and undulated, 214 in. or slightly more wide, bright pink, red on the ridges outside, speckled with crimson in the upper part of the throat, the speckles most numerous below the centre lobe. Style and stamen-filaments white. Calyx very small. Leaves oblong-oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, with 16 to 18 pairs of veins, about 4 by 134 in., dull medium green above, covered beneath with a close brown indumentum. Low, spreading habit. Flowering time normally April, starting in March in a mild season and sometimes delayed until late April or early May.

A hybrid deriving mainly from R. arboreum and R. caucasicum. It was distributed by Smith’s Darley Dale nursery in Derbyshire towards the end of the last century, but was probably raised by William Jackson and Co. of Bedale, Yorks, who in 1845 were asking 10/6 to 63/- per plant for ‘R. Jacksonii’, without description. The name apparently came to be used by them in a collective sense, since in 1861 they were offering ‘R. Nobleanum, Jacksonii and varieties, including scarlet, crimson, blush and shaded salmon …’ The price was then £5 a hundred. Probably Smith’s ‘Jacksonii’, i.e., the plant now commonly cultivated under this name, was perpetuated because of its unusually bright colouring, and the ease with which it can be propagated by layers. There is another hybrid in cultivation as ‘Jacksonii’ which is quite different from the one here described and more like a form of Nobleanum. And to add to the confusion, the true ‘Jacksonii’, as it is now reasonable to call it, was also distributed as R. ‘Venustum’, and is described under that name by Millais in the first volume of his Rhododendrons (1917), p. 119. According to him, plants on their own roots could be obtained from the Derbyshire nurserymen at sixpence to a shilling each, according to size.

Jalisco (‘Dido’ × ‘Lady Bessborough’). – This cross, made by Lionel de Rothschild and registered in 1942, involves four species: R. decorum, R. dichroanthum, R. discolor and R. campylocarpum. Some of the seedlings from this cross were given by Rothschild to King George VI for the Windsor collection, which explains why the three best-known clones received their awards when exhibited by the Crown Estate Commissioners, Windsor Great Park. These are:

‘Jalisco Eclipse’. – Flowers up to ten in a lax truss, on red-tinged pedicels. Corolla 7-lobed, tubular-funnel-shaped, about 312 in. wide, pale yellow, darker in the tube, with several lines of deep crimson speckles in the tube merging into a blotch at the base. Calyx thick and fleshy, pale yellow, irregular, to 14 in. long. A.M. 1948. In ‘Jalisco Elect’, which received an A.M. on the same occasion, the corolla has less heavy markings in the throat, and the calyx is spreading, about 112 in. wide. The most admired clone is ‘Jalisco Goshawk’, in which the influence of R. dichroanthum is less apparent. The calyx is small and not fleshy. The corolla is funnel-campanulate, about 434 in. wide, clear yellow (Mimosa Yellow), with crimson markings in the throat. (R.C.Y.B. 1955, fig. 41). The only clone from a plant retained at Exbury that has so far received an award is ‘Jalisco Jubilant’, with up to 14 flowers in the truss, corolla red in the bud, opening buttercup yellow, deeper in the throat; calyx irregular, up to 1 in. long (A.M. 1966; R.C.Y.B. 1967, p. 7). ‘Exbury Jalisco’ has not yet received an award, but is said to be at least as fine as ‘Jalisco Goshawk’.

The Jalisco clones flower towards the end of May or in June and are of moderate size.

Clones of Jalisco have been crossed at Windsor with Fusilier and two of the resulting hybrids have received awards: ‘Grilse’, A.M. May 20, 1957, R.C.Y.B. 1958, p. 109; and ‘Winkfield’, A.M. May 19, 1958, R.C.Y.B. 1959, p. 138.

‘James Burchett’. – Flowers 15 to 18 in a dense truss. Corolla 5- to 7-lobed, funnel-shaped, 3 to 312 in. wide, white flushed with pale mauvish pink at the edge, with a brownish-green flare extending from the throat to the base of the upper lobes. Anthers off-white, mauve-tinged. Stigma small, brownish green. Leaves dark green, elliptic, 8 by 212 in. Dense habit, moderate size. Late June. (Slocock. A.M.T. 1960.) A valuable, free-flowering hybrid of R. discolor.

‘J. G. Millais’. – Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, deep glowing red (near Turkey Red), speckled with dark crimson, mainly on the upper lobes but slightly marked on the lower lobes also. Ovary glabrous. Leaves dark green, 5 by 2 in. Late April or early May. (Waterer, Bagshot.) One of the finest of the early flowering reds, vigorous, hardy, making a shapely specimen to about 15 ft high, sometimes even taller. Named after the well-known gardener, artist and naturalist (d. 1931), author of one of the major works on rhododendrons, of which he had a large collection in his garden at Compton’s Brow, Horsham, Sussex. Messrs Waterer let him have a plant in 1914 ‘and when it flowered in 1915 many of my friends considered it to be the finest early-flowering hybrid they had ever seen’. The parentage is said to be ‘Ascot Brilliant’ crossed with ‘Pink Pearl’.

‘J. H. van Nes’. – This hybrid, with R. griffithianum in its ancestry, has beautiful flowers, the corolla being almost bowl-shaped and of firm texture, soft red, paling at the centre. But it is said to be bud-tender.

‘John Barr Stevenson’. – Truss up to 7 in. across, with 14 to 16 flowers on pedicels up to 134 in. long. Corolla 314 in. wide, broad-campanulate, lemon-yellow with a reddish-purple mark in the throat. Leaves broad-elliptic, 6 by 212 in. April (lacteum × ‘Logan Damaris’). Raised by J. B. Stevenson at Tower Court and distributed by Maj.-Gen. Harrison, Tremeer, Cornwall.

‘John Marchand’. – Flowers three or four in the truss. Corolla campanulate, 2 in. wide, deep rosy pink. Calyx rim-like, edged with stalked glands, which are also present on the stems and pedicels. Leaves elliptic, rigid, apiculate, 112 in. long, 1 in. wide, glabrous above, with scattered branched hairs beneath. Dwarf habit. March (moupinense × sperabile). This interesting lepidote-elepidote cross was made by John Marchand for Messrs Wallace of Tunbridge Wells. All the seedlings were bought by Collingwood Ingram of The Grange, Benenden, Kent. ‘It proved a very good buy for, without exception, every one of those tiny seedlings has grown into a charming bushy shrub, always abundantly floriferous and equally happy in either sun or shade’ (C. Ingram, R.C.Y.B. 1967, pp. 12-13 and plate 1). ‘John Marchand’ received an Award of Merit on March 22, 1966.

‘John Walter’. – Flowers about 20 in a dense truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 214 in. wide, bright crimson with some brown markings, margins slightly frilled. Ovary glabrous or almost so. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 4 in. long, almost half as wide, rounded at the base, rather concave above, with traces of brown tomentum on the petiole and midrib. Dense habit. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.) An old hybrid, put into commerce before 1860 and related to ‘John Waterer’.

‘John Waterer’. – Flowers about 16 in the truss on short glandular pedicels. Corolla funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, crimson, speckled with brown, crimped at the edges. Ovary and style glabrous. Leaves lanceolate, 5 by 114 in., clad beneath with a thin indumentum. Moderate size. Mid- to late June. This old hybrid, still quite common, is of interest as one of the first really late-flowering hybrids deriving from R. arboreum. It was put into commerce, together with ‘Mrs John Waterer’ (q.v.), in 1855. It is interesting that in both these hybrids the ovary is glabrous or almost so, which suggests that R. ponticum enters into their parentage. In the International Register ‘John Waterer’ is said to be R. arboreum crossed with R. catawbiense. This statement is certainly erroneous (see Russellianum), but R. catawbiense may have played its part.

‘Joseph Whitworth’. – Flowers about 16 in a dense truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. across, dark purple-lake, heavily speckled with black on all lobes. Calyx well developed, with triangular or strap-shaped lobes. Leaves elliptic to slightly obovate, dark green with a greyish tinge, 6 to 7 in. long, about half as wide. Dense habit. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1864.) The colour is too dark to be pleasing, but the foliage and habit are good. Named after the Midlands industrialist and philanthropist, later knighted, who lived at Stancliffe, Darley Dale (d. 1897).

Karkov (griersonianum × Red Admiral). – Truss compact, globular, with about 16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, crimped and wavy at the edge, carmine-rose. Leaves narrow-elliptic, 6 in. long. Medium size. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1947.)

‘Kate Waterer’. – Flowers about 17 in a hemispherical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 238 in. wide, with broad, overlapping lobes, rosy crimson passing to clear rose, with a flare of bright green markings on a white ground. Compact, symmetrical habit. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1876.) One of the best of the old hardy hybrids, very free-flowering.

Kiev (elliottii × Barclayi). – Truss flat-topped, lax, with eight to ten flowers; pedicels glandular. Corolla tubular-campanulate, very thick and fleshy, 212 to 3 in. long, width variable (2 in. in the sample seen, 4 in. according to the A.M. description), deep blood red, speckled all over inside except at the very base. Stamens with red filaments and black anthers. Leaves elliptic, 612 by 3 in.; petioles tinged bronzy purple. Tall-growing. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1950.) The colour is striking but the truss is poorly formed. Rather tender and suitable only for woodland.

Another Exbury hybrid from R. elliottii is the Kilimanjaro grex, the other parent of which is a plant of the Dusky Maid grex (R. discolor × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). This has a rounded truss of about 18 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, deep red (Currant Red), speckled, 312 in. wide. Medium size. Late May or early June. F.C.C. 1947 (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 33).

‘Kluis Sensation’. – Flowers 14 to 18 in a rounded truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, slightly frilled, crimson-scarlet, shading to a lighter colour in the centre, spotted dark red on the upper lobe. Leaves dark green above, much paler beneath, tending to be concave above, 7 in. long. Early June. (A. Kluis 1946.) A fine red, free-flowering hybrid.

‘Kluis Triumph’. – Flowers 12 to 16 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb, 212 in. wide, coppery red, spotted dark red on the central lobe. Leaves dull green, narrow-oblong, slightly concave above, with pinkish petioles. Late May, i.e., slightly earlier than ‘Kluis Sensation’. (A. Kluis, 1946. F.C.C.T. 1971.) An unusual and pleasing colour.

‘Lady Alice Fitzwilliam’. – Flowers very fragrant, in twos or threes. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4 in. wide, white, faintly stained with yellow in the throat and pinkish on the reverse along the ridges. Style scaly in lower half. Calyx-lobes ovate, 18 to 14 in. long, fringed with silky hairs. Leaves oblong-elliptic or slightly obovate, acuminate, about 212 in. long, dark green and rugose, pale beneath. When this rhododendron received an F.C.C. in 1881 it was said to be one of the numerous hybrids between R. ciliatum and R. edgeworthii, which appears to be the correct parentage. It is almost hardy on a wall, and that is the best place for it, the habit being very lanky. It flowers in May and makes the most glorious displays even in gardens near London.

Lady Berry (‘Rosy Bell’ × Royal Flush). – Flowers pendent, about five in the truss. Corolla fleshy, tubular-campanulate, 3 in. long, 212 in. wide, Rose Opal inside, the outside Jasper Red, paling on the lobes. Calyx rim-like. Leaves sea-green, oblanceolate, 4 by 112 in. Medium size. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1937, F.C.C. 1949.) A beautiful but tender hybrid, showing the influence of R. cinnabarinum very strongly. The F.C.C. clone is described (R.Y.B. 1949, fig. 1). The cross is a surprising one, considering that the parents of ‘Rosy Bell’ are both diploid and give no obvious sign of their presence. Were it not that this hybrid is given as the seed-parent one would have supposed that the cross was made the other way about, and that the pollen of ‘Rosy Bell’ had caused Royal Flush to set seed apomictically. The latter is a hybrid between two highly polyploid species.

Lady Bessborough (campylocarpum “var. elatum” × discolor). – Flowers about 10 in a loose truss. Corolla 7-lobed, funnel-campanulate, 312 in. wide, pale buff-pink in the bud, opening ivory-white, throat speckled with crimson below the upper lobes and somewhat darker in tone than the limb. Style glandular almost to the tip. Leaves oblong-elliptic, dull green, to 6 in. long. Tall. Late May or early June. (Rothschild. F.C.C. 1933.) One of the best known Exbury hybrids, deriving its colouring from R. campylocarpum and its large size, seven-lobed corolla, foliage and late-flowering from R. discolor. The plant described here is probably of the F.C.C. clone. In ‘Roberte’ the flowers are delicate salmon-pink, fading to yellowish at the centre of each lobe (F.C.C. 1936).

The A. Gilbert grex, raised by T. H. Lowinsky, is of the same parentage as Lady Bessborough, though a different form of R. campylocarpum was probably used. A.M. 1925.

Lady Chamberlain (cinnabarinum var. roylei × Royal Flush, orange form). – The influence of R. cinnabarinum predominates in this group of hybrids, which is the result of a back-cross between it and R. cinnabarinum × R. maddenii, the parentage of Royal Flush. They could almost be regarded as superior forms of R. cinnabarinum, but no doubt derive their larger flowers from the R. maddenii element. In ‘Exbury Lady Chamberlain’ (F.C.C. 1931) the flowers are four or five to the truss, with a ground colour of orange-red, shading to paler on the lobes and tinged with rose on the outside. Other clones have been named, in various shades of orange blended with pink, most of which are available in the trade. The cross was also made at Bodnant (‘Bodnant Yellow’, F.C.C. 1944), but in this case a different form of R. cinnabarinum was used.

The hybrids of the Lady Chamberlain grex flower in May. They are perhaps rather less hardy than R. cinnabarinum and need a sheltered but only slightly shaded position. They are of slender, upright habit, to 8 ft or so.

The Lady Rosebery cross is the same as that which produced the Lady Chamberlain grex, except that the pink-flowered form of Royal Flush was used. The resulting plants are usually regarded as forming a separate grex. In the typical clone the corollas are 212 in. long, 134 in. wide, rather deeply lobed, crimson outside on the tube, pinker on the lobes, pink within. F.C.C. 1932. There are other clones in this sub-grex, differing slightly in colour. All are beautiful.

‘Lady Clementine Mitford’. – Flowers 16 to 18 in a compact truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, peach-pink, paling to blush along the centre of each lobe, with a flare of brownish or greenish markings, which become redder at the edge of the flare. Style and stamen-filaments white, anthers pinkish. Ovary glabrous. Leaves mostly narrow-obovate, dark green, to 512 in. long, finely tomentose when young. A large, dense shrub. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.) An old hybrid that still holds it own. It received an Award of Merit (after trial) in 1971, about a century after it was first introduced.

‘Lady de Rothschild’. – Flowers about 16 in a large truss; rachis 3 in. long; pedicels up to 2 in. long, glandular. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. across, white, with a flare of blackish crimson. Rather leggy habit. June. (griffithianum × ‘Sappho’; Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M. 1925.)

‘Lady Decies’. – Flowers up to 20 in a dense truss. Corolla widely spreading, almost flat, nearly 4 in. across, lilac-mauve shading to white in the centre, with a flare of bright yellow. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1922.)

‘Lady Eleanor Cathcart’. – Flowers 12 to 15 in a rounded truss, on purplish-red, glandular pedicels. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 214 in. wide, light rose with a narrow, dark maroon flare, often likened to that of a pelargonium. Stamens white with yellow anthers. Style glabrous, pale green with a red stigma. Leaves felted when young, oblanceolate, to 412 in. long, 134 in. wide, dull dark green above, rusty beneath. A very large shrub. June. This famous hybrid was put into commerce by John Waterer of Bagshot in 1854 or possibly a year or so earlier, at 21/- a plant – a high price for those days. In 1853 the plant in the nursery was heavily cut to supply graft-wood, but three years later it starred in the Regent’s Park Exhibition, when a plant was shown 12 ft high, which suggests an origin not much later than 1836. At Highclere, hybrids which appear to have been similar to ‘Lady Eleanor Cathcart’ were raised by fertilising R. maximum with the pollen of Altaclerense (which had first flowered there in 1831). Some of the Highclere seedlings were flowering by 1843, the best ‘pale vermilion and splendidly spotted’. But the same cross may well have been made by John Waterer. ‘Lady Annette de Trafford’, from Knap Hill, resembles ‘Lady Eleanor Cathcart’, but the flowers are paler pink and the leaves relatively broader. ‘Lady Longman’ is a hybrid between ‘Lady E. Cathcart’ and ‘Cynthia’, raised at the Sunningdale Nurseries by Harry White, their manager, before 1930. The flowers are bright rosy crimson, much more intensely coloured than in ‘Lady E. Cathcart’, and with a darker flare.

‘Lady Grey Egerton’. – Truss dense with about 20 flowers. Corolla 234 in. across, funnel-shaped, pale lilac, paling towards the centre, with a ray of light brown speckles situated towards the base of the centre lobe and running into the throat. Stamens and style coloured more or less like the corolla; stigma pale brownish pink. Leaves obovate, rounded at both ends. Mid-June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.) A lovely hybrid, but the colour of the flowers seems to vary slightly with the weather or perhaps with soil conditions. Sometimes it is spoilt by an excessive infusion of pink. It is named after the wife of Sir Philip Grey Egerton, a member of the Council of the R.H.S. around the middle of the last century and a friend of R. S. Holford of Westonbirt.

‘Lady Primrose’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a fairly compact truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, with spreading lobes, about 2 in. wide, greenish yellow in the bud, opening clear sulphur yellow, speckled with red in the throat below the centre lobe. Leaves similar to those of R. campylocarpum. Dense habit, medium size. Late April or early May. (Slocock. A.M. 1933.) Although not highly rated, this is an attractive rhododendron.

Ladybird (‘Corona’ × discolor). – Flowers in dense trusses. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, 312 in. across, wavy at the margin, coral-pink with a darker mark in the throat. Leaves dark green and glossy, 7 by 3 in. Tall and vigorous. Late May or early June. (Rothschild. A.M. 1933.)

Lamellen (campanulatum × griffithianum). – Flowers about eight in a racemose truss; rachis 4 in. long. Corolla open-campanulate, 312 in. wide, with broad lobes, lilac in the bud, opening pure white, with slight speckling. Style glabrous with a large green stigma. Ovary slightly glandular. Leaves 612 by 234 in., elliptic, veins impressed above, obtuse to subacute at the apex, truncate to cordate at the base. April. An interesting hybrid raised by E. J. P. Magor of Lamellen, uncommon in gardens. The description is from a plant growing at Grayswood Hill, Haslemere.

‘Langley Park’. – Flowers 10 to 14 in the truss on erect, pale green pedicels. Corolla campanulate, of firm texture, not much spreading at the mouth, 2 in. long and 234 in. wide, deep glowing red, slightly speckled, nectaries darker red. Stamens with white filaments and red anthers. Style white, stout. Leaves narrow-elliptic, 6 by 134 in., up-folded along the midrib. Compact, medium size, mid-May. It is interesting that this fine red hybrid is a sister-seedling of ‘Britannia’, both having been raised by C. B. van Nes from ‘Queen Wilhelmina’ crossed with ‘Stanley Davies’.

‘Langworth’. – Flowers about 16 in a conical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4 in. wide, margins slightly waved, white, streaked with brown in the throat, with green spotting on the upper lobe. Vigorous, spreading habit. Late May. (fortunei × ‘Sappho’; Slocock. A.M.T. 1962.)

‘Lascaux’. – Flowers about eight (sometimes more numerous) in a flat-topped truss. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, 134 in. long, 212 in. wide, Barium Yellow, faintly speckled on the upper lobes and with red marks inside at the base. Calyx petaloid, irregular, its lobes up to 1 in. long. Medium size. June. (‘Fabia’ × litiense; R.H.S. Garden, Wisley. A.M. 1954.)

Laura Aberconway (Barclayi × griersonianum). – Flowers about nine in a loose truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, margins slightly frilled, Geranium Lake. Leaves lanceolate, thick and leathery, dark green above, yellowish green beneath. Medium size. May. (Aberconway. F.C.C. 1944.) An uncommon, beautifully coloured rhododendron, uniting the Chinese R. griersonianum with three Himalayan species (R. arboreum, R. griffithianum and R. thomsonii).

‘Lava Flow’. – Flowers four or five in the truss; outer bud-scales dark red. Corolla rich scarlet, trumpet shaped, 234 in. wide, speckled, especially on the upper lobes, glandular hairy on the outside. Anthers black. Leaves elliptic, subacute and apiculate, about 3 in. long, dull above, clad beneath with a buff powdery indumentum. Mid- to late June. Bushy habit. An interesting and finely coloured hybrid raised at the Sunningdale nurseries from R. griersonianum crossed with KW 13225. The second parent is an unidentified member of the Neriiflorum series, said to resemble R. sanguineum subsp. didymum except in having brilliant scarlet flowers (Rhododendrons at Sunningdale, p. 31). ‘Glowing Ember’ is of the same parentage and from the same raiser.

‘Lavender Girl’. – Flowers fragrant, 12 to 18 in the truss, on brownish-red pedicels. Corolla funnel-shaped, seven-lobed, 314 in. wide, pale pinkish mauve (Roseine Purple) on a chalky white ground, paling to almost white in the centre, with two bands of brownish streaks in the upper half of the throat. Style greenish white. Leaves oblanceolate, 712 by 278 in. Vigorous, spreading but dense habit. May. (fortunei × ‘Lady Grey Egerton’; Slocock. F.C.C.T. 1967.) A handsome and very useful rhododendron, associating well with the deciduous azaleas.

‘Lee’s Scarlet’. – Flowers about ten in the truss on upright, glandular pedicels. Corolla campanulate, frilled, deep crimson-pink with a bright red blotch at the base and speckled in the lower half. Style very stout, with a dark red stigma. Very early flowering, often starting before Christmas. A curious hybrid of unknown origin.

‘Leonard Messel’. – Flowers three to five in the truss, on pedicels up to 1 in. long. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 78 in. long, 1 in. wide, with ovate lobes, pale yellow, lightly spotted with brown. Calyx about 316 in. long, deeply lobed, scaly. Leaves 238 by almost 1 in., oblong-elliptic, bright green and glossy above, dull pale green beneath. A natural hybrid of R. brachyanthum, raised at Nymans from seeds collected by Kingdon Ward in the wild, probably in the Seinghku valley, N.W. Burma. A pretty shrub, taller than R. brachyanthum, flowering in May. A.M. 1966.

‘Leonardslee Giles’. – Flowers 12 in a large, dome-shaped truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 434 in. wide, pink in the bud, opening pink, fading to white, with slight brown speckling on the upper lobes. Anthers greyish brown, filaments white. Style white with a crimson stigma. Leaves elliptic, 9 by 312 in. Late April or early May. A hybrid between R. griffithianum and ‘Standishii’ raised at Leonardslee. A.M. 1948, when shown by the Misses Godman of South Lodge.

‘Lionel’s Triumph’. – Flowers about 18 in the truss on long, red-tinged pedicels. Corolla campanulate, 4 in. across, clear soft yellow, flushed with pink at the edges and blotched and speckled with crimson in the throat. April. A magnificent hybrid raised by Lionel de Rothschild at Exbury which first flowered in 1954, twelve years after his death, and received an A.M. when exhibited in that year. The parentage is R. lacteum × ‘Naomi’. It is still scarce in commerce. In 1967 the same award was given to the clone ‘Halton’; see R.C.Y.B. 1968, p. 232.

‘Little Ben’. – Flowers up to eight in the truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 112 to 2 in. wide, glowing blood-red. Calyx petaloid, variable in size, coloured more or less like the corolla. Leaves ovate to elliptic, rounded at both ends, up to 312 in. long, half as wide. Dwarf, to about 212 ft in height, spreading. Late March or April. A very free-flowering hybrid, raised by C. Scrase-Dickins of Coolhurst, Horsham, from R. neriiflorum pollinated by R. forrestii. F.C.C. 1937. He also raised ‘Little Bert’, with R. forrestii as the seed-parent, the pollen-parent in this case being the form of R. neriiflorum known as R. euchaites. A.M. 1939. Lower-growing than ‘Little Ben’, with darker, relatively narrower leaves, and red bud-scales.

Lodauric (auriculatum × Loderi). – Flowers fragrant, about seven in the truss, on stout, glandular pedicels; rachis almost 2 in. long. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 5 in. wide, 6- or 7-lobed, white, with two lines of brownish-crimson markings in the tube. Style red-glandular to the tip, with a large, pale green, discoid stigma. Leaves intermediate between those of the parents. Tall. Late June or early July. (Crosfield, 1939.) ‘Iceberg’, of the same parentage, was raised by Messrs W. C. Slocock and received an A.M. in 1958. This has more numerous flowers per truss. A merit of this cross is that the flowers do not burn in the sun – a fault that mars the Polar Bear grex.

Loderi (fortunei × griffithianum). – This magnificent hybrid, of which there are many forms, was raised by Sir Edmund Loder, Bt, of Leonardslee, Sussex, at the beginning of this century. The seed-parent was a good form of R. fortunei in his own collection. The pollen came from a particularly fine plant of R. griffithianum in the greenhouse of his neighbour F. D. Godman of South Lodge. He made this cross twice and a high proportion of the offspring had large flowers and leaves, the rest being too near to R. fortunei. He also made the reverse cross, but with less success, since the pollen-parent (R. fortunei) predominated in the offspring, only a few plants showing Loderi-characters (Millais, Rhododendrons (1917), p. 178). The first seedlings flowered in 1907 and several had been named by 1910, when William Watson of Kew visited Leonardslee and saw them in flower. In the following year he gave the botanical name R. Loderi to the results of the cross (Gard. Chron., Vol. 50 (1911), p. 31). Altogether some 100 seedlings were planted out, some of which did not flower until after Sir Edmund’s death in 1920.

The flowers of Loderi are fragrant and borne nine to twelve together in a tall, rather open truss, on a rachis 2 to 312 in. long. Corolla six- or seven-lobed, up to 6 in. or even slightly more wide, funnel-shaped with a broad tube, varying slightly according to the clone from white to blush or light pink, but always pink in the bud, with or without slight brownish or greenish markings in the throat. Style glandular, with a green knob-like stigma. Calyx well developed, irregularly lobed. Leaves elliptic, 8 to 12 in. long, glabrous, medium green, with a tendency in some clones to become chlorotic between the main lateral veins; petioles usually stained with plum-purple on the upper side. Many clones have been named, of which the following have received awards, but all those in commerce are worthy of cultivation, and really the differences between them are not great.

‘Diamond’. – White, with slight markings in the throat. F.C.C. 1914. This and ‘Pink Diamond’ were the first of the group to be exhibited.

‘Julie’. – White suffused with sulphur. Raised at Townhill Park from a cross between two forms of Loderi. A.M. 1944.

‘King George’. – Blush-tinted at first, becoming pure white, 6 in. wide, unmarked in the throat apart from two faint bands of green. F.C.C. 1970.

‘Pink Diamond’. – Light pink, holding its colour well. F.C.C. 1914.

‘Princess Marina’. – Flowers of good substance, 12 in the truss, pale pink fading to white. The result of a cross between ‘King George’ and ‘Sir Edmund’, raised at Leonardslee by Sir Giles Loder, Bt. A.M. 1948.

‘Sir Edmund’. – Blush, veined with pink when first open, mostly six-lobed. The original plant flowered some years after Sir Edmund Loder’s death in 1920. A.M. 1930.

‘Sir Joseph Hooker’. – White with a slight blush tinge and very faint greenish or greyish markings in the throat, about 12 in the truss. A.M. May 21, 1973. Quite as fine as ‘King George’.

‘Venus’. – At first deep pink, fading to lighter pink, with faint green markings in the throat. The original plant is at Exbury but was raised at Leonardslee. One of the finest clones, recommended for an Award of Garden Merit.

An article by Sir Giles Loder on the clones of Loderi and its hybrids will be found in the Rhododendron Year Book for 1950, pp. 16-19.

The Loderi group are exceptionally vigorous and free-flowering rhododendrons, needing shelter and slight shade if they are to be seen at their best. In time they will attain a height of about 25 ft. The normal flowering time is about mid-May.

Sir Edmund Loder was not the first to raise hybrids between R. fortunei and R. griffithianum. The cross was made at Kew in 1875, and from the single pod obtained several plants were raised, to which William Watson gave the collective name R. Kewense in 1888. He stated the parentage to be R. griffithianum × R. hookeri, but there seems to be really no doubt that the second parent was R. fortunei. When describing R. Loderi twenty-three years later Watson remarked that Sir Edmund Loder was convinced that this was the case and had made his cross with the purpose of proving that he was right.

The Kew plants all had blush-white flowers except for one, which had pink flowers and was named R. Kewense roseum. In 1907 the nurseryman George Paul showed a form of R. Kewense with blush-tinted flowers, which, according to Millais, he had himself raised, and the cross was apparently made by other nurserymen before Loderi came on the scene. How many clones there are under the name Kewense, and whether or not they descend from the Kew plants, it is impossible to say. A common commercial clone seems to be rather less demanding than the Loderi clones, perhaps because the leaves are smaller. The flowers are white with a slight flush of pink, with two lines of green or brown markings in the throat, mostly five-lobed, and the calyx is larger than in the Loderi clones.

‘Loder’s White’. – Flowers about 12 in a large conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 4 in. wide, wavy at the margin, mauvish pink in the bud, opening pure white (but retaining for some time a suggestion of pink when the plant is grown in shade), very lightly speckled. Anthers pale brown; filaments white. Stigma reddish brown. Leaves elliptic to slightly obovate, 734 by 3 in., dark medium green above, light green beneath. A vigorous shrub attaining 10 to 15 ft in height and more in width. Mid- to late May. It is perfectly hardy and can be grown in full sun, as at Kew, where there is a clump on the Broad Walk. But it is happier perhaps in slight shade and the flowers are more delicately coloured when not fully exposed to the sun.

Millais wrote of this hybrid: ‘No one who loves beautiful shrubs can pass a plant of Loder’s White in flower without halting to admire it, for there is a quality about the exquisite flowers, set off so superbly by the dark foliage, that places it quite in the first rank of good things… . Cornish gardeners, who enjoy a galaxy of fine things, and are not superabundant in their praises, consider Loder’s White the best hybrid Rhododendron ever raised, not even excepting Loderi, and no doubt many agree with them.’

Millais’ account of the history of this hybrid is as follows: J. H. Mangles of Valewood, Haslemere (who died in 1884), sent a number of hybrid rhododendron seedlings to his friend F. D. Godman of South Lodge. One proved to be so outstanding when it flowered that he gave scions to his neighbour Sir Edmund Loder of Leonardslee for grafting. Many plants were raised, and some were sent by Sir Edmund to gardens in Cornwall, where the hybrid became known as Loder’s White. Mangles himself is usually supposed to have raised it, but according to Millais the consignment he sent to South Lodge also contained some hybrid seedlings raised by Mr Luscombe of Coombe Royal. It is a hybrid of R. griffithianum, though possibly not of the first generation. The other parent is not known. It was once said to be R. arboreum album, but that is only a guess and a bad one at that. It received an Award of Merit in 1911 when shown by Messrs Reuthe and an Award of Garden Merit twenty years later.

‘Lord Roberts’. – Flowers about 20 in a dense truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 134 to 214 in. wide, dark crimson on a bluish base which shows up as the flowers fade, with a flare of dark spots on the upper lobe. Stamens with conspicuously hairy filaments and bluish anthers. Style reddish with a dark crimson stigma. Medium size, July. It is believed to have been raised by Messrs Fromow of Chiswick, who exhibited it as a new rhododendron in 1900. The older ‘The Warrior’, raised by John Waterer before 1867, is similar but the corollas are spotted on the lower lobes also.

‘Lord Swaythling’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, with stout ridges, bright red in the bud, opening pink inside but with the brighter colour of the bud persisting for some time on the reverse, speckled inside in two lines below the central lobe. Style red at the top, with a large green stigma. Vigorous, narrow habit. Late April or early May. This is one of the hybrids of R. griffithianum raised by Schulz at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, at the end of the last century, and was put into commerce by C. B. van Nes (see further in introductory note). A.M.T. 1954. It is hardy but flowers early and needs a sheltered place.

Luscombei (fortunei × thomsonii). – Flowers up to 12 in a loose truss; rachis variable in length even on the same plant, to about 112 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped with a broad tube, 3 to 4 in. wide, usually 6- or 7-lobed, rosy pink, nectaries darker, usually with some lines of speckles in the throat. Calyx well developed, irregularly lobed, usually pale green, but coloured like the corolla in one clone. Leaves up to 612 in. long, about half as wide, broad-elliptic or obovate, rounded at the apex, usually slightly cordate at the base; petioles usually plum-coloured.

The cross between R. fortunei and R. thomsonii was first made by Thomas Luscombe of Coombe Royal, Kingsbridge, Devon, who was among the first gardeners to flower both these species. Some twelve or fourteen plants from the cross had flowered by 1881, only three of them good, and there were then some hundreds still to flower (H. J. Mangles in Gard. Chron., Vol. 15 (1881), p. 363). The name R. Luscombei was given by William Watson in 1892 to a plant at Kew, almost certainly one of the original seedlings. Luscombe also gave a plant to Veitch’s Coombe Wood Nursery, which was apparently propagated and distributed under the name R. Devoniense. The finest forms of Luscombei are those raised by Sir E. Loder at Leonardslee, of which ‘Pride of Leonardslee’ is a named clone. Another superior form is ‘Luscombei Splendens’, with flowers 4 in. wide, deep rose. The original plant was given by H. J. Mangles to Frederick Godman of South Lodge, Sussex, and is thought to have been raised by Luscombe, though Mangles himself is known to have repeated the cross in his garden at Valewood.

As usually seen in gardens, Luscombei is a large and vigorous shrub of dense habit, attaining 15 ft in height and twice that in width. Although represented in all the older collections it is no longer common in the trade and has never received an award in any of its forms, possibly because it is better as a garden plant than it is in the truss.

‘Madame Albert Moser’. – Flowers 14 to 20 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 to 312 in. wide, slightly wavy at the margin, mauve, with a large flare of orange-yellow. Style with a pale red stigma. Leaves oblong-elliptic, 7 by 2 in. Late May. A.M.T. 1954. A most handsome and unusual rhododendron, of which there is an old specimen in the Knap Hill nursery. ‘Madame Jules Porges’ is similar, but the flare is greenish brown, heavily embossed, the stigma is pale brown and the leaves are relatively broader and sometimes obovate, about 5 by 212 in.

‘Madame Carvalho’. – Flowers 16 in a conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, white flushed with mauve and with a flare of yellowish-green markings. Filaments of stamens white, anthers grey. Style dull white. Leaves oblong-obovate, 4 by 134 in. Dense habit, medium size. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, 1867.)

‘Madame de Bruin’. – Flowers about 20 in a dense, conical truss. Corolla 234 to 3 in. wide, funnel-shaped with a rather angular limb, brilliant cerise-red, paler towards the centre, slightly speckled. Leaves light green, oblong-obovate, 4 to 5 in. long, acute. Medium size. Late May or early June. (M. Koster, 1904.) A remarkably bright and clear colour for a hardy hybrid.

‘Madame Fr. J. Chauvin’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a lax truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, deep pink paling to soft pink, with a dark red blotch in the throat. Late May-early June. (Koster, 1916.) A hybrid of R. fortunei. A.M.T. 1933.

‘Manderley’. – Flowers up to 10 in the truss. Corolla about 212 in. wide, dark red, spotted darker on the centre lobe. Leaves reddish when young. Low, spreading habit. May. A recent introduction, raised in Holland from ‘Scandinavia’ × Fabia (Dendroflora, No. 3 (1966), p. 74).

‘Marchioness of Lansdowne’. – Flowers about 14 in a compact truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, pale magenta-pink with a very dense almost black flare on the central lobe, appearing to have been burnt on with a poker, and with some speckling on the adjacent lobes. Leaves rather small, about 3 in. long. Compact habit. July. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1879.)

‘Marcia’. – This hybrid is a back-cross of R. campylocarpum onto ‘Mary Swaythling’ (R. campylocarpum × fortunei) and therefore bears a quite strong resemblance to that species. The flowers number about ten in each truss; corolla soft yellow, about 3 in. wide, five-lobed, with slight crimson streaking at the base. Stigma dark red. Leaves ovate, 312 by 2 in., whitish beneath. Late April or early May. Only one plant was raised – by F. J. Rose for Lord Swaythling, at Townhill Park. F.C.C. 1944.

Mariloo (‘Dr Stocker’ × lacteum). – Truss with 15-20 flowers, on red pedicels. Corolla broad-campanulate, 4 in. wide, slightly frilled, pale cream, sometimes tinged with crimson on the reverse along the three upper lobes and with markings of the same colour within. Leaves broad elliptic, mat green, 812 by 314 in., lateral veins impressed above. (Rothschild.) The description is of the clone ‘Mariloo Eugenie’ (A.M. 1950). In ‘Mariloo Gilbury’ (A.M. 1943) the corollas are creamy pink, striped with crimson on the reverse down the centre of the lobes. In the original clone – ‘Mariloo’ – the flowers are soft yellow, green-tinged at first (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 29). The Mariloo clones flower in April and need a sheltered position.

‘Mars’. – Flowers 12-14 in a dense truss. Corolla between funnel-shaped and saucer-shaped, with relatively broad, rounded lobes, pure deep red without shading or spots. Calyx rim-like. Stamen-filaments hairy almost throughout, with off-white anthers. Leaves elliptic, obtuse, 6 by 214 in. Compact, spreading. May. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1928, F.C.C. 1935.) A fine red, with unusually shaped flowers, said to be a hybrid of ‘Corona’. The statement in the International Register that it was raised before 1875 is the result of confusion between this and an early hybrid of R. arboreum, raised by Lee of Hammersmith before 1843 and also called ‘Mars’. The hybrid here described was a novelty in 1928.

Matador (griersonianum × strigillosum). – Truss with 9 to 12 flowers; pedicels and calyx densely covered with long, erect, glandular hairs. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 212 in. wide, scarlet with darker nectaries, speckled on the upper lobes. Style bright red. Anthers black. Leaves thinly woolly beneath, oblong-elliptic, acute, 6 by 134 in.; petioles with erect, glandular hairs. Medium size. Late April or early May. (Aberconway. F.C.C. 1946.) A fine red, with distinctive foliage. The cross was also made at Exbury and it may be that the plant described is of that provenance and slightly different from the F.C.C. clone.

‘Maximum Triumphans’. – Flowers about 14 in a dense hemispherical truss; rachis 78 in. long. Corolla campanulate, slightly over 2 in. wide, crimson, slightly brown-spotted in the tube, nectaries brown-red. Style glabrous. Ovary white-felted and somewhat glandular. An old hybrid, deriving mainly from R. arboreum and R. maximum, which probably originated in the 1840s, and was still in commerce until recently. According to A. J. Ivens, to whose manuscript notes we are indebted for the above description, there are (or were) fine specimens at Townhill Park and Embley Park in Hampshire. ‘They are not tall, but exceedingly dense, forming banks of hoary foliage which is an ideal foil for-the richly coloured flower-trusses.’

May Day (griersonianum × haematodes). – Flowers about eight in a lax truss; pedicels with erect, crisped hairs, not glandular. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, scarlet, speckled within, mainly on the central lobe. Anthers black. Style and stigma red. Leaves mat-green, oblanceolate, 6 by 112 in., clad beneath with a light brown indumentum. Usually not more than 5 ft high. Late April or early May. (A. M. Williams. A.M. 1932.) A thoroughly good garden plant, hardy, flowering freely and not too early. The cross was also made at Bodnant, Exbury and Borde Hill, so the plant described above, from a commercial clone, may not represent the original cross. Some plants have a petaloid calyx, and there is some variation in size of leaf and size and colour of flower.

Ibex (griersonianum × pocophorum) is similar to May Day and no better. It possibly grows taller, however.

‘Michael Waterer’. – Truss compact, with about 15 flowers, on glandular pedicels. Corolla funnel-shaped, 214 in. wide, crimson-red with a black flare. Stamen-filaments rosy crimson. Style brighter red. Leaves narrowish elliptic, acute. It has attained 15 ft in the Rhododendron Dell at Kew but is normally of moderate size and fairly compact. End May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1969.) There is a clump of this hybrid on the Broad Walk at Kew.

‘Midsummer’. – Flowers about 13 in a compact truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, bright rosy pink with a V-shaped flare of ochre-yellow spots. Anthers mauve, filaments white. (Waterer, Bagshot.) One of the latest to flower of the old hardy hybrids, sometimes even at the beginning of July.

‘Moerheim’. – Truss few flowered. Corolla 118 in. wide, widely funnel-shaped, lavender-mauve tube about 14 in. long, Calyx deeply lobed, about 316 in. long. Leaves medium green, glossy, elliptic, sometimes broadly so, to about 78 in. long, scaly on both sides. Dwarf and compact, vigorous. March or early April. Raised in Germany and originally distributed as “R. impeditum ‘Moerheimii’”.

‘Moerheim Pink’. – Flowers five to eight in a compact truss, on green pedicels. Corolla 3 in. wide, between cup-shaped and funnel-shaped, 5- or 6-lobed, slightly frilled, Neyron Rose, deeper outside along the ridges. Leaves elliptic, subacute to acute, to 234 in. long, dull green. May. An attractive, fairly dwarf hybrid of R. williamsianum raised by Dietrich Hobbie in Germany. A.M.T. 1972.

Moonshine (‘Adriaan Koster’ × litiense). – This cross was made in the R.H.S. Garden at Wisley by Francis Hanger, in an effort to produce a hardy yellow of compact habit with a full, upstanding truss. It was made in 1946, and the first of the batch to flower, named ‘Moonshine’, received an A.M. in 1952. This, however, was surpassed by ‘Moonshine Supreme’, which received the same award in the following year. This has the flowers in a fine conical truss, on ascending pedicels. Corolla campanulate, 312 in. wide, primrose-yellow. Leaves elliptic, 4 in. long, lateral veins slightly impressed. Compact habit. Late April or early May. Another named clone in this grex is ‘Moonshine Glow’. For the history of this cross, see: Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 81 (1956), p. 486.

Moonstone (campylocarpum × williamsianum). – Flowers about six in a lax truss; pedicels glandular. Corolla broad-campanulate with more or less erect lobes, 212 in. wide, ivory coloured with a slight red mark at the base inside. Style glandular to the tip. Compact and fairly dwarf. April. (J. C.Williams.) There are also forms with pink flowers.

‘Morning Cloud’. – Flowers 15 to 18 in a compact, rounded truss. Corolla 214 in. wide, white flushed with pink, with greenish-yellow markings in the throat. Leaves narrow-elliptic, dark green above, covered beneath with a brown woolly tomentum. Low-growing and compact. May. A hybrid between R. yakushimanum and ‘Springbok’ (griersonianum × ponticum); raised at the Hydon Nurseries, Godalming, A.M. May 24, 1971. Other clones from this cross have been named ‘Hydon Ball’, ‘Hydon Dawn’, and ‘Hydon Glow’.

‘Moser’s Maroon’. – Flowers about 16 in the truss, on dark crimson pedicels. Corolla funnel-shaped, 238 in. wide, dark maroon crimson, with black spots on the centre lobe, hairy in the throat. Style red, glandular. Young leaves brownish, as if varnished above, coated beneath with cobwebby hairs; mature leaves dull green above, brownish green beneath, 6 by 258 in.; stems purplish. Lanky habit. Early June. A remarkable rhododendron, evidently the result of hybridisation combined with a mutation similar to that which produced ‘Elizabeth Lockhart’ (q.v. under Humming Bird). It was raised by Moser of Versailles, but named by Lionel de Rothschild, and received an Award of Merit when shown by him in 1932. According to information given by the raisers to Messrs Hillier in that year, it is the same as the hybrid they called ‘Marcel Moser’, though it is not the same as what is grown in Holland under that name. It is a parent of some of the best-known Exbury hybrids.

‘Mount Everest’. – Flowers slightly fragrant, 10 to 12 in a well-formed truss; rachis 212 to 3 in. long. Corolla 234 in. wide, funnel-shaped, purest white, with slight brownish or maroon pencilling in the throat. Style glabrous, with a green or yellow stigma. Calyx small, scarcely lobed. Leaves elliptic, 512 by 214 in. A vigorous shrub of medium size. May. (Slocock, 1930. F.C.C.T. 1958.) One of the finest white-flowered rhododendrons.

‘Mrs A. C. Kenrick’. – Truss conical, with 12 to 16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, slightly wavy at the edge, rosy pink, fading to paler at the centre, with slight crimson speckling on the upper lobes. Medium size. Early June. (M. Koster and Sons (?) A.M. 1925.)

‘Mrs A. M. Williams’. – Flowers about 10 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, wavy at the margin, bright crimson-scarlet (near Cardinal Red), spotted dark brown on the upper lobe. Low-growing and compact (the plant in the Wisley Trials was 6 ft high and 15 ft wide in 1954). Early May. Raised by Otto Schulz at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, at the end of the last century, from R. griffithianum crossed with some hardy hybrid and put into commerce by C. B. van Nes and Sons in the 1920s. F.C.C.T. 1954. It is said to be quite hardy.

‘Mrs Anthony Waterer’. – Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, lobes broadly rounded at the apex, overlapping, white, slightly flushed with pink or mauve and with a large flare of yellow to brown markings on the central lobe. Calyx variable, some lobes to 38 in. long. Style white with a small red stigma. Leaves elliptic, light green. Medium size. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1915.)

‘Mrs A. T. de la Mare’. – Flowers slightly fragrant, 12 to 14 in a lax truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, five-lobed, 4 in. wide, pale pink in bud, opening pure white with a dense flare of green speckles in the throat that become sparser and greenish brown towards its edge. Compact, spreading habit. May. (‘Sir Charles Butler’ × ‘White Pearl’. A.M.T. 1958.) A beautiful white, with a pronounced green eye. The first-named parent is a form of R. fortunei or near to that species. The other, probably the same as ‘Halopeanum’, is a hybrid of R. griffithianum.

‘Admiral Piet Hein’ is of the same parentage but has mauvish flowers without any pronounced marking in the throat, though the central lobe is lightly speckled. A.M.T. 1957.

‘Mrs C. B. van Nes’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. across, bright crimson in the bud, opening rich pink, darker on the reverse, with inconspicuous markings. Compact habit. Mid-May. A hybrid of ‘Princess Juliana’ raised by C. B. van Nes.

‘Mrs Charles E. Pearson’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a compact, domeshaped truss; rachis 112 in. long. Corolla 4 in. wide, broadly funnel-shaped, mauve in the bud, opening very pale lavender, sometimes with a deeper flush at the edge, becoming pure white for a time before falling, spotted with chestnut on the upper lobes. Anthers pale purplish pink. Style white with a red stigma, glandular at the base. Leaves medium green, glossy, elliptic, 512 by 214 in. Moderate size. Late May or early June. (‘Catawbiense Grandiflorum’ × ‘Coombe Royal’; Koster, cross made 1909. F.C.C.T. 1955.) A beautiful rhododendron, resembling ‘George Hardy’, ‘Beauty of Littleworth’, etc., in general aspect, but with icy mauve flowers. It is named after the wife of C. E. Pearson, v.m.h. (d. 1929), a partner in the firm of J. R. Pearson and Sons of Lowdham, Notts, founder of the Horticultural Trades Association and a member of the R.H.S. Floral Committee for forty years.

‘Mrs Davies Evans’. – Flowers 16 to 20 in a dense globular truss. Corolla almost flat when fully open, 3 in. wide, frilled, deep mauve with a white, speckled patch on the central lobe. Stamens with large white anthers. Medium size. Late May. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1915. A.M.T. 1958.) A hybrid of great charm and character.

‘Mrs Furnivall’. – Flowers 10 to 14 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate with a short tube, 3 in. wide, light rosy pink, with a heavy flare of dark brown and crimson markings. Leaves drooping, elliptic to oblong-obovate, 4 by 134 in., rounded at the apex. Medium size. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, around 1920. F.C.C.T. 1948.) One of the finest and most popular of hardy hybrids, though now rivalled by its offspring ‘Furnivall’s Daughter’. It is sometimes confused with ‘Mrs G. W. Leak’, but that flowers a fortnight earlier, has different leaves, the corollas have coloured nectaries, and the ovary is densely glandular (sparsely hairy in ‘Mrs Furnivall’).

‘Mrs G. W. Leak’. – Flowers about 12 in a conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. across, light pink, shading to deeper on the three upper lobes, and with a heavy flare of brown and crimson markings; nectaries deep crimson. Leaves dull green, elliptic, 714 × 258 in. Medium size, fairly compact, erect habit. Mid-May. (‘Chevalier Felix de Sauvage’ × ‘Coombe Royal’; Koster 1916. F.C.C.T. 1934.) It is named after the wife of G. W. Leak, who was manager of R. H. Bath Ltd, Wisbech, early this century. This handsome rhododendron derives its markings from the first-named parent, which is a hybrid o R. caucasicum, and its large flowers and truss from the second, a hybrid of R. griffithianum.

‘Mrs J. C. Williams’. – Flowers 16 to 20 in a globular, compact truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, lobes much overlapped, white, slightly tinged with pink at the margins, with a rather small reddish-brown flare. Stigma red. Anthers pale brown. Compact, rather spreading habit. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1960.)

‘Mrs J. G. Millais’. – Truss with about 14 flowers. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, almost flat, upper lateral lobes not much overlapped by the central, white, with a flare of solid yellow. Style greenish white, stigma red. Anthers pale mauve. Ovary glabrous. June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.)

‘Mrs John Clutton’. – Truss conical, with 15 to 18 flowers. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 234 in. wide, pinkish mauve in the bud, opening pure white, with a small flare of greenish or reddish-brown marking. Dense habit, medium size. (Waterer, Knap Hill. F.C.C. 1865.) In the last century this was ranked as one of the best whites.

‘Mrs John Kelk’. – Flowers 14 in a compact rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, lobes much rounded at the apex, rose-pink, paler at the centre, with a small flare of brownish-crimson spots. Leaves oblong-obovate, lined and puckered longitudinally, with traces of brown indumentum beneath. Compact, rather low-growing. Mid- to late June. (Waterer, Bagshot.)

‘Mrs John Waterer’. – Flowers about 18 in a well-formed truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, slightly over 2 in. wide, deep rose, with a flare of dark crimson markings. Stamen-filaments densely hairy, purplish red. Ovary glabrous. Leaves stiffly leathery, oblong-elliptic, more or less acute, slightly convex on each side of the midrib. Very tall and vigorous. Mid- to late June. This, with ‘John Waterer’, is one of the first of the really late-flowering hybrids from R. arboreum and was put into commerce in the same year – 1855 – by the Bagshot firm. It is still of value for screening, owing to its large size and toughness.

‘Mrs Lindsay Smith’. – Flowers about ten per truss. Corolla 5- or 6-lobed, funnel-shaped with a rather broad tube, 334 to 434 in. long, lobes overlapping, mauve in the bud, opening white with a slight mauvish tinge, and with a flare of brown, crimson or greenish speckles. Leaves elliptic, lateral veins impressed above. Lank habit, vigorous. Late May. (‘Duchess of Edinburgh’ × ‘George Hardy’; Koster 1910. A.M.T. 1930.) A beautiful flower, but ugly habit.

‘Mrs Lionel de Rothschild’. – Truss fairly compact, with about 16 flowers. Corolla 3 to 312 in. wide, funnel-shaped, white edged with apple-blossom pink and with dark crimson spotting on the upper lobe. Medium height. June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M. 1931.) A free-flowering rhododendron, with R. griffithianum in its ancestry.

‘Mrs Mary Ashley’. – Truss lax, with about eight flowers. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, Phlox Pink at the edges, creamy pink in the centre, with a red mark in the throat and slight speckling. Leaves elliptic, 5 by 218 in. Medium height. Early May. (Slocock.) A pleasing but uncommon hybrid.

‘Mrs P. D. Williams’. – Flowers 15 to 17 in the truss; pedicels with spreading, curled hairs. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, about 312 in. across, ivory white with a flare of brown spots on a yellow ground. Leaves dark green, oblanceolate, 5 to 6 in. long, 112 to 134 in. wide. Medium height. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1936.)

‘Mrs Philip Martineau’. – Flowers about 14 in a rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, with overlapping lobes, rose-pink with a flare of yellow brown on a light pink ground. Anthers mauve. Style red. Leaves oblong-obovate, dark green, rounded at the apex. Tall-growing. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, F.C.C.T. 1936.)

‘Mrs R. S. Holford’. – Flowers 15 to 20 in a conical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 to 312 in. wide, salmon-pink, with darker spotting on the upper lobe. Medium size. June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1866.) A hybrid of R. catawbiense, with beautifully coloured flowers. Named after the wife of the founder of the Westonbirt Arboretum.

‘Mrs T. H. Lowinsky’. – Flowers about 14 in a dense truss. Corolla 3 in. across, widely funnel-shaped, upper lobes much overlapped, mauve in the bud, tinged with that colour at first, fading to white, but in some seasons retaining a pinkish-mauve flush until they fall, central lobe with a very large and conspicuous brown-orange flare. Leaves dark green, broad-elliptic to slightly obovate, to 414 in. long, half as wide. Medium size. Late June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1917.) A delightful, very free-flowering and distinct rhododendron, whose flowers are usually described as ‘orchid-like’. It has R. ponticum, R. maximum and R. catawbiense in its make-up, and seems to be related to ‘Mrs P. D. Williams’. It has been confused with ‘Mrs Tom Lowinsky’, which was raised by T. H. Lowinsky and received an A.M. in 1919. This is a very tender rhododendron, three-quarters R. griffithianum, being a hybrid between that species and ‘White Pearl’. The hybrid described here has never received an award, nor much publicity, though it has become in recent years one of the most popular rhododendrons.

‘Mrs Tom Agnew’. – Flowers about 16 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 234 in. across, upper lateral lobes not overlapped by the central, mauve-pink in the bud, opening pure white, with a conspicuous flare of yellow-brown on the central lobe, which becomes redder towards the base and sometimes extends onto the adjoining lobes. Calyx with long, narrow lobes. Leaves small, oblanceolate. Tall. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1877.) There is a clump of this hybrid at Kew on the Broad Walk. In some seasons it flowers late in June with the young growths.

‘Mrs William Agnew’. – Flowers 16 to 18 in a compact truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 314 in. across, pale magenta pink, paling to blush at the centre of each lobe, slightly speckled with yellow at the base of the central lobe. Anthers fawn. Style pale pink with a brownish stigma. Tall. Early June. (Waterer, Bagshot.)

Multiflorum (ciliatum × virgatum). – Flowers produced from terminal and upper axillary buds, mostly in pairs from each bud. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 112 to 2 in. wide, with overlapping lobes, hairy and slightly scaly on the outside, rosy pink in the bud, opening light mauvish pink. Leaves elliptic, oblong-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, medium green, reticulate and glossy above, to 212 in. long. Low spreading habit. Stems brown, peeling. April. This cross was made and named before 1868 by Isaac Davies of Ormskirk, Lancs, who also raised Praecox. F.C.C. 1870. The Davies plants were said to be white-flowered, but they seem to have been used for forcing under glass, which is apt to bleach the colour. Or the cross may have been repeated later, with different results. Multiflorum is hardy but bud-tender and may lose branches after a hard spring frost. It is prettiest in the early stages of flowering, when the pink buds and mauve open flowers make a delightful combination.

‘Mum’. – Flowers about 18 in a dense truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, with broad lobes, the centre lobe overlapping the upper laterals and often reduplicated, mauve-pink in the bud, opening white with a yellow flare, and with two dark crimson spots at the base of the two upper sinuses. Anthers mauvish. Style white, glabrous, green at the apex, stigma dark, scarcely expanded. Ovary glandular. June. It is very near to R. maximum and it has even been suggested that it is the same as the old hybrid known as ‘Maximum Album’. It was distributed by Messrs Waterer of Bagshot at the end of the last century.

Naomi (Aurora × fortunei). – This famous Exbury hybrid is the result of mating R. fortunei with a hybrid which is itself one-quarter R. fortunei, and shows the influence of that species in the form of the corolla, which is basically funnel-shaped but usually with a pronounced tube; in the delicate pink colouring of some of the clones and also the yellowish ground-colour of many of them, which shows up in the tube especially; in the fragrance of the flowers; and in hardiness of the plants. R. griffithianum, working in its usual unobtrusive way, has enlarged the corolla and, with R. fortunei, raised the number of lobes to six or seven. The form of the truss is also the contribution of these two species. R. thomsonii is responsible for the deeper pink colouring of some of the clones, such as ‘Naomi Glow’ and, with R. griffithianum, for the usually pronounced calyx; some clones also show its influence in their relatively broad leaves. The following are the best known clones:

‘Naomi’. – Flowers 10 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped with a narrow tube, 334 in. wide, 7-lobed, soft lilac mauve shading to greenish yellow in the tube, where there are faint brownish crimson markings. Style glandular at the base. Leaves elliptic to oblong-obovate, 614 by 234 in., obtuse. A.M. 1933.

‘Exbury Naomi’. – Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla 4 in. wide, with a ground-colour of biscuit-yellow, tinged with pink, especially on the edges, and deep pink in the bud. Style glandular to the tip, with a large dark green stigma. Leaves oblanceolate, 812 by 234 in.

‘Naomi Glow’. – Flowers 10 in the truss. Corolla 314 in. wide, 6- or 7-lobed, vivid pink with crimson markings in the throat. Style stout, glandular to the tip. Leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 612 by 234 in.

‘Naomi Nautilus’. – Corolla widely spreading, frilled, 4 in. wide, rose passing to cream in the centre. Leaves obovate, obtuse, 512 by 212 in. A.M. 1938.

‘Naomi Stella Maris’. – This is apparently rather similar to ‘Naomi Nautilus’, but was not properly described when it received an F.C.C. in 1939.

‘Naomi Pink Beauty’. – Corolla of a beautiful shade of pink, shading slightly to creamy pink at the centre, with some crimson markings in the tube.

The Naomi clones are hardy, and flower at the end of April or in May. The original plants at Exbury are now 15 to 18 ft high and almost as much in spread, furnished to the ground. Many are depicted in Rothschild Rhododendrons, pls. 12, 14, 64.

‘New Moon’. – Flowers 11-12 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped from a broad base, 6-lobed, pale pink in the bud, flushed with pink when first open, becoming white, tinged with yellow in the upper part of the throat and with slight streaking there. Style almost straight, with a small green stigma. May. (fortunei × campylocarpum hybrid; Slocock. A.M.T. 1953.)

‘Nimbus’. – Flowers fragrant, about eight in the truss; rachis 212 in. long. Corolla 7-lobed, funnel-shaped from a broad base, 4 in. wide, pure white when fully expanded. Leaves elliptic, leathery, 712 by 3 in. Vigorous, upright habit. Late May or early June. (‘Snow Queen’ × Cornish Loderi; Waterer, Knap Hill. F.C.C.T. 1967.) Cornish Loderi is the same cross as Angelo, i.e., R. discolor × R. griffithianum.

Nobleanum (arboreum × caucasicum). – This well-known cross unites the great Himalayan tree rhododendron with the dwarf R. caucasicum from the Caucasus and bordering parts of Turkey. The cross was made many times, with differing results, according to what forms of the species were used. Since the original ‘Nobleanum’ is known only from the portrayal of a single corolla it is best to give a generalised description. Flowers twelve to twenty in a compact truss, opening during winter or early spring, sometimes as early as December; rachis up to 1 in. or slightly more long; bud-scales more or less persistent at flowering time; pedicels up to 1 in. or slightly more long, usually glandular and downy. Corolla funnel-shaped or funnel-campanulate, about 2 in. wide, sometimes larger, variable in colour from deep crimson to light pink, or bicoloured pink or white (or wholly white in the forms deriving from white-flowered R. arboreum). The corolla is always in some degree speckled – either on the lobes (mainly on the upper lobes), or in other forms below the sinuses. Ovary white-felted; style glabrous with a crimson or brownish-crimson stigma. Leaves elliptic, oblong or oblanceolate, 5 to 7 in. long, variable in width, dull medium or dark green above, underside clad with a thin brown tomentum or, in at least one clone, burnished silver. The habit is as variable as the flowers and foliage, some forms being low and dense, others tall-growing.

The first recorded cross between R. arboreum and R. caucasicum was made in 1829 by William Smith of Norbiton, using the latter species as the seed-parent. One plant flowered in 1835 when 8 in. high, and was described and figured by Sweet under the name R. venustum (Brit. Fl. Gard., 2nd series, t. 285). The flowers were rich pink, paler at the edge, marked all over with red spots, with ‘wavy and crumpled’ lobes. In the same year two forms from the same cross, made at the Knap Hill Nursery, were figured in Bot. Reg., t. 1820. The plate is mainly devoted to a form named by Lindley R. pulcherrimum, with pink corollas fading to paler at the centre, and pink spotting on the upper lobes. The plant named R. Nobleanum is represented on the same plate by a single corolla, described as ‘deep and brilliant rose’. The history of this famous name, as given by Gerald Loder, is as follows: ‘The older Anthony Waterer used to tell the story of how one day when he was a boy J. C. Loudon and a Mr Noble were paying his uncle Michael Waterer a visit, [and] he was sent from the lunch table for a truss of a hybrid rhododendron just then in flower for the first time. It was there and then named R. Nobleanum, but whether the gentleman was connected with then firm of Standish and Noble is not known.’ (Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. II, p. 252.) It may be added that the firm of Standish and Noble did not exist at that time; the visitor is hardly likely to have been Standish’s future partner Charles Noble, who did not retire until 1898.

There can be no doubt that the cross was made by other nurserymen. The best forms have been propagated vegetatively, but seedlings were also sent out. According to a letter preserved at Kew, the firm of Cunningham and Fraser used to repeat the cross whenever they needed a new stock of plants for sale, using the red-flowered or white-flowered R. arboreum according to which form of Nobleanum was required. Whether the original clone of Nobleanum is still in commerce it is impossible to say, as the name soon came to be used in a collective sense. As for R. venustum, Sweet said that Smith had a good stock of it, which can only have meant that he had plenty of seedlings from the cross. Another of the Smith seedlings, then 1-2 ft high and grown by the nurseryman Rollisson, was named R. caucasico-arboreum by Maund and Henslow in 1840 (Maund’s Botanist, Vol. IV, t. 157). It was similar to the type, but clearly not the same. The hybrid commonly grown as ‘Nobleanum Venustum’ at the present time has corollas with inconspicuous spotting, pink paling to white at the centre. It makes a low spreading shrub up to 6 ft high and often starts to flower in December. A hybrid grown in Cornish gardens as ‘Nobleanum Venustum’ is again different. It is discussed by Millais in Rhododendrons (1917), p. 119. Two plants at Kew received originally as R. venustum agree with the type in having the corollas distinctly speckled but represent two different clones. However, there is really no reason why all these different forms should not descend from one or other of the Smith seedlings.

The common white-flowered form of Nobleanum has narrow leaves and rather small flowers with greenish-yellow spotting. ‘Heatherside Beauty’, of uncertain parentage, is to be preferred as an early-flowering hardy white.

A rhododendron whose flowers are produced in the dead of winter and are destroyed by frost more often than not might seem to have little claim to a place in gardens. Yet Nobleanum received an Award of Garden Merit in 1926 and few rhododendrons are better known to the public at large. Unlike many other early-flowering rhododendrons it is perfectly hardy and growths are produced late enough for them to escape damage by frost in most seasons. Also, the flowers open over a long period, so even if most of the trusses are spoilt, some will usually escape. If the weather be exceptionally favourable, no tree gives such a brilliant display in the first two months of the year, and for this reason a few examples are worth growing. If possible, a spot sheltered by trees from the north and east should be given them.

See also ‘Jacksonii’ and ‘Christmas Cheer’.

Note. Nobleanum is used here as the name for the R. arboreum × R. caucasicum hybrids since it is the established name and is accepted by the International Register. The correct botanical name, however, is R. × pulcherrimum Lindl. (syns. R. venustum Sw. (1835), not Salisb. (1796); R. caucasico-arboreum Maund and Henslow). Rehder adopts R. caucasico-arboreum, on the grounds that the name R. pulcherrimum, though published earlier, is not supported by a botanical description.

Norman Shaw (‘B. de Bruin’ × discolor). – Flowers 14 in a fairly dense truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 5- to 7-lobed, slightly frilled, Bengal Rose, paling when fully open and gradually shading to paler at the centre of each lobe, with two lines of speckles in the throat. Anthers white, tinged with pink. Style pale pink or white, stigma brown. Tall-growing. Mid- to late June. (Rothschild. A.M. 1926.) A useful late-flowering rhododendron. The cross was re-made by A. J. Ivens for Messrs Hillier.

‘Old Port’. – Flowers about 15 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, about 212 in. across, dull wine-red with blackish crimson markings. Style and stamen-filaments crimson. Calyx very small. Leaves glossy, shaped more or less as in R. catawbiense, of which it is a hybrid. Medium size, dense habit. Mid-June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1865.)

Oreocinn (cinnabarinum × oreotrephes). – Flowers about seven in a loose truss. Corolla tubular-campanulate 112 to 2 in. wide, lilac pink with two lines of brown markings. An attractive hybrid raised by E. J. P. Magor before 1919, the year it first flowered. It flowers freely in May and grows to about 10 ft.

Magor also crossed R. cinnabarinum with R. yunnanense (Yunncinn grex). He judged the result to be inferior to Oreocinn, but the Yunncinn cross was repeated at Bodnant and produced the clone ‘Youthful Sin’, which received an Award of Merit in 1960.

‘Oudijk’s Sensation’. – Flowers five to seven in the truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, undulated at the margin, Rose Bengal, darker in the bud and on the reverse, speckled with crimson on the lower part of the upper lobe. Leaves oblong-elliptic, to about 4 in. long and half as wide, with a pronounced cusp at the apex; petiole dark red. An attractive hybrid of recent introduction, flowering in May. It belongs to the Nordeney grex (‘Essex Scarlet’ × williamsianum), raised by Dietrich Hobbie, and was put into commerce by Le Feber and Co.

‘Pauline’. – Flowers 15 to 17 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, vivid crimson-pink (near Delft Rose), with black markings mainly confined to the centre lobe, merging into a black blotch in the throat. Style pink, with a small dark red stigma. Leaves dark green, 6 by 2 in. Vigorous, compact habit. Late April or early May. (T. H. Lowinsky, distributed by L. de Rothschild. A.M.T. 1957.)

‘Peace’. – Flowers seven or eight in the truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 134 in. wide, greenish yellow in the bud, opening creamy white, but more yellow on the reverse and on the central lobe. Late April. (concatenans × rigidum (caeruleum album); Aberconway. A.M.T. 1946.) The description is made from a plant at Kew growing in full sun by King William’s Temple. In the A.M. description the flowers are said to be flushed with rose externally, so it may be that the Kew plant represents an earlier form of the cross, called ‘Lemon Bill’, also raised at Bodnant. At any rate, the Kew plant is very beautiful.

Penjerrick (campylocarpum × griffithianum). – Flowers slightly fragrant, six to nine in a lax truss on usually red-tinged pedicels 114 to 2 in. long. Corolla pendent, campanulate, up to 4 in. wide, with broad lobes, varying in colour according to the clone: ivory-white, pale yellow, sometimes flushed with pink, or pure pale pink, nectaries often coloured crimson. Leaves glossy, dark or medium green above, grey-green beneath, obtuse at the apex, slightly cordate at the base, 5 to 6 in. long, half as wide. Tall, rather sparsely branched shrubs, flowering in April.

This hybrid, considered by some to be the most beautiful of all, has been raised in many gardens, but the best known are the ‘Penjerricks of Penjerrick’, which were bred by Samuel Smith, the head gardener there for many years. The second Lord Aberconway greatly admired the Smith plants and procured some of the surplus for Bodnant, where they still grow (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 76 (1951), pp. 259-61; Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. III, pp. 253-4). Penjerrick is available from nurserymen in various shades, but none of this set has received a clonal name.

The first gardener to make the cross between R. campylocarpum and R. griffithianum was H. J. Mangles of Valewood, Haslemere. After his death the seedlings were taken to the garden of his brother and sister at Littleworth Cross, and one of these, named ‘Mrs Kingsmill’, received an A.M. in 1911, when shown by Miss Mangles. This was said in the original description to have creamy white flowers, though what is sometimes seen under the name at the present time has light yellow flowers with green pedicels. Apparently another of the Mangles seedlings was known as ‘Mrs Randall Davidson’, but whether this was ever propagated it is impossible to say, nor has any authentic description of it been traced.

Perseverance (cinnabarinum var. roylei × ‘Lady Chamberlain’). – ‘Lady Chamberlain’ being itself three-quarters R. cinnabarinum, this hybrid comes even nearer to that species. There is apparently only one clone from the original cross, which was made by Murray Adams-Acton and registered in 1942. The corollas are bright apricot inside and on the lobes, the tube coral-pink on the outside. It is very hardy and free-flowering. The same cross was made at Exbury, the result being ‘Revlon’, with flowers carmine on the outside, said to be very fine but still scarce in commerce. A.M. 1957. Both flower somewhat later than ‘Lady Chamberlain’.

‘Phalarope’. – This is a clonal selection from hybrids between R. davidsonianum and R. pemakoense, raised by Peter Cox and distributed by Glendoick Gardens Ltd. In the plant seen, which may not be the clone ‘Phalarope’, the flowers are produced from both the terminal and upper axillary buds, making a cluster of about ten. Corolla mauvish pink, unspeckled, 112 to 134 in. wide. Leaves narrow-obovate or narrow-elliptic, 1 to 114 in. long. A small, neat bush, very free-flowering in late April or early May.

‘Philip Waterer’. – Flowers 12 to 15 in a conical truss; rachis 3 in. long. Corolla almost flat, about 412 in. wide, wavy at the margins, soft rose with darker veins, unspeckled. Stamens pale rose with greyish anthers. Style stout, rose-coloured, with a pale yellow stigma. End-May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1924.) A striking hybrid, which has ‘Mrs E. C. Stirling’ as one parent.

‘Picotee’. – Flowers in a dense globular truss of about 14. Corolla 2 in. wide, white, with a narrow edge of lilac-pink, with slight speckling near the lower edges of the central lobe. Anthers white, flushed with pink. Moderate size. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.) Pretty and unusual.

‘Pink Cherub’. – Flowers 15 to 20 in a dense, rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, wavy at the margin, lilac-pink (67d), paling to white in the centre, with greenish-yellow speckling on the upper lobe. Leaves dark dull green, 5 by 112 in. Dwarf, compact habit. Late May. (R. yakushimanum × ‘Doncaster’. A.M.T. 1968.) This is one of the hybrids of the Yakushima rhododendron raised by Messrs Waterer Sons and Crisp and recently put into commerce.

‘Pink Drift’. – Flowers about three per truss, each truss at the end of a short twig. Corolla 1 in. wide, rotate, pale mauvish pink. Leaves dull olive-green, mostly acute, to about 78 in. long; terminal buds brown. Dwarf, dense and twiggy. May. (calostrotum × scintillans; H. White, Sunningdale Nurseries.) The flowers could be better coloured, but they are borne in great profusion, and the foliage and habit is excellent.

‘Pink Pearl’. – Flowers about 18 in a large conical truss; rachis 3 in. long; pedicels 1 to 134 in. long, glandular. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 334 to 4 in. wide, slightly waved at the edge, soft pink passing to a bluer shade as the flowers age and becoming almost white before they fall, speckled with brown on the upper lobes. Stamen-filaments and style pinkish. Anthers mauve. Calyx-lobes short, roundish. Vigorous; reasonably compact when grown in sun. A.M. 1897; F.C.C. 1900; A.G.M. 1952.

This famous hybrid was raised by John Waterer and Sons of Bagshot and first exhibited by them at the Temple Show in 1896. Of its parentage, F. G. Waterer wrote in 1903: ‘There has been a great deal of discussion as to its parentage, and although I do not in the present article intend to give its immediate parents, we can say that it was raised from the results of crossing two hardy hybrids, and is not, as has been said, a direct Aucklandii seedling; yet it throws back to that strain’ (Fl. and Sylva, Vol. 1, p. 272). It is now generally accepted that the hybrid of R. griffithianum used was ‘George Hardy’ (q.v.) and that the other parent was ‘Cynthia’ or ‘Broughtonii’, probably the former.

More than three-quarters of a century after it made its appearance ‘Pink Pearl’ is still one of the most popular of rhododendrons. The fashion now is to disparage it, but discriminating judges of an earlier generation admired it very much. Despite its sumptuous truss it is a very tough and hardy rhododendron, and free-flowering almost to excess, even when young. Its greatest fault is that the flowers, beautifully coloured when they first expand, fade to an impure shade of pink. For all that, it is best grown in almost full sun, since in the degree of shade that might suit more demanding hybrids the pink tends to ‘blue’ and the habit of the plant becomes ungainly.

Less well-known than ‘Pink Pearl’ is its branch-sport ‘Mother of Pearl’, in which the flowers are pale mauvish pink in the bud when first open, becoming pure white. It received an Award of Merit in 1930. Another branch-sport from ‘Pink Pearl’ is ‘Topsvoort Pearl’, raised in Holland.

For an interesting article on ‘Pink Pearl’ and its progeny by Frederick Street, see R.Y.B. 1950, pp. 61-71 (reprinted in his Hardy Rhododendrons (1953), Chap. 5).

‘Pink Pebble’. – Flowers four or five in the truss on reddish, glandular pedicels. Corolla between bell- and bowl-shaped, 2 in. wide, vivid crimson in the bud, opening rosy pink inside, darker on the reverse. Anthers dark brown. Style glandular to the tip with a small green stigma. Compact habit. Mid-May (callimorphum × williamsianum; Lt-Gen. Harrison, Tremeer, Cornwall, 1954). Unlike many species-hybrids from R. williamsianum, this is very free-flowering when young, and also has the merit of making its young growth late. A.M. May 20, 1975.

Polar Bear (auriculatum × diaprepes). – Flowers fragrant, eight to ten in a lax truss. Corolla tubular at the base, widely expanded at the mouth where it is about 412 in. across, seven-lobed, pure white, with green speckling in the throat merging into a green blotch at the very base. Leaves soft green, whitish beneath, mostly oblong-elliptic or elliptic, slightly cordate at the base, up to 1 ft long and 4 in. wide on strong shoots, excluding the petiole. Very vigorous and eventually a tree. Late July or August. (Stevenson 1926. F.C.C. 1946.) Apart from being too large for most gardens, this hybrid has two faults: the corollas are of rather flimsy texture and tend to brown badly in hot weather; and the foliage is too light in colour to serve as a foil to the flowers. Although hardy, it needs a sheltered position, where it will make growths 112 ft long in a damp summer (but such growths come from sterile shoots, not from below flower-trusses).

The Argosy grex is the result of crossing R. auriculatum with R. discolor, which, like R. diaprepes, is a member of the Fortunei subseries flowering late, but earlier than that species. ‘Argosy Snow White’ received an A.M. in 1938 when shown by Messrs Waterer of Bagshot. It flowers in July and has shorter leaves than Polar Bear. The cross was originally made and named at Exbury.

Praecox (ciliatum × dauricum). – Flowers in twos and threes from buds clustered at the ends of the shoots. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 112 to 134 in. across, of a beautiful rosy purple. Leaves more or less persistent through the winter, dark glossy green and sparsely bristly above, lower surface paler, scaly. A shrub of compact habit, to 4 or 5 ft. February or March. (Isaac Davies, Larkfield Nursery, Wavertree, nr Liverpool, cross made 1853.)

The history of this lovely hybrid is that in 1853 Isaac Davies, who later moved his nursery to Ormskirk, put the pollen of R. ciliatum onto R. dauricum (not the other way about, as wrongly stated in the International Register). This is the first recorded use in hybridising of R. ciliatum, which had been introduced by Hooker in 1850 and first flowered in 1851 or 1852. The hybrids were flowering by 1858 and exhibited in the following year.

Flowering so early in the spring, R. Praecox can be a sad disappointment in low-lying gardens, where its flowers or buds are cut almost every year by frost. Yet there are many gardens south of London with good air-drainage where it is almost as reliable in its display as the snowdrop or winter aconite.

Two of the seedlings raised by Isaac Davies were distinct enough to be named separately. One was ‘Praecox Superbum’, of which nothing is known except that it eventually turned out to be almost deciduous. The other was ‘Praecox Rubrum’. This was mentioned in the original description of Praecox and was later figured in Garden, Vol. 38 (1890), t. 761. The flowers are darker than in the typical form.

It is recorded that in 1874 Messrs Veitch had a plant in their Coombe Wood Nursery known as ‘Praecox Grandiflorum’. It is possibly the same as ‘Early Gem’, which received a First Class Certificate in the same year. This was said to be useful for forcing and was described four years later in Gard. Chron., 1878, p. 336. It was said to be a backcross of R. Praecox onto R. dauricum, though from the characters given it would seem to be nearer to R. ciliatum.

Probably of the same parentage as Praecox is ‘Emasculum’. This has the flowers solitary or in pairs at the end of the shoot. Corolla 112 to 2 in. wide, pale lilac-purple, unspotted. Calyx scarcely lobed, scaly. Stamens none or aborted. Style glabrous. It grows to about 6 ft high and flowers some two or three weeks later than Praecox – in March or early April. Nothing is known of its origin, but according to William Watson it was grown by Messrs Veitch in their Coombe Wood nursery as “R. amoenum”.

‘Princess Alice’. – Flowers deliciously fragrant, mostly in threes on stout white-hairy pedicels about 34 in. long, almost 18 in. thick. Corolla funnel-campanulate with a spreading slightly wavy limb, about 3 in. wide, white, tinted pale rose at first, barred with pink on the reverse along the ridges. Calyx green, lobes obtuse, to about 12 in. long. Leaves dark green, slightly rugose, elliptic-obovate, narrowed to an acuminate apex, up to 4 in. long (on plants grown under glass). Dwarf, lax habit. May. A hybrid between R. ciliatum and R. edgeworthii, raised by Messrs Veitch, and awarded a First Class Certificate in 1862. Since then the cross has been repeated in other gardens, e.g., by Mangles at Valewood, and at Leonardslee. As might be expected from the parentage, it is only slightly tender and should survive most winters near London on a sheltered wall, though usually grown as a conservatory plant.

This hybrid is named after the Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria, who died in 1878.

‘Princess Anne’. – Flowers up to ten in the truss; rachis about 1 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped, 114 in. wide, pale clear yellow, greenish outside and with green markings near the base of the upper lobes. Stamens exserted, with brown anthers. Style longer than the stamens, with a small green stigma. Leaves light green, reticulate, up to 134 in. long. Late April or early May. Dwarf. compact habit (hanceanum × keiskei; Messrs Reuthe, Keston, Kent). A beautiful hybrid, flowering at a season when a dwarf yellow is needed to set off the later Lapponicums.

‘Princess Juliana’. Flowers eight to ten in the truss, slightly fragrant. Corolla campanulate, with a short, broad tube and spreading much-frilled limb, 334 in. or slightly more wide, pale rose, fading at the centre, not speckled. Leaves dull green, acute, to 7 in. long. Low, spreading habit. May. One of the Schulz hybrids, raised at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, around 1890 and distributed by C. B. van Nes. A.M. 1910.

‘Prof. Hugo de Vries’. – Similar to ‘Pink Pearl’, of which it is a hybrid, but its corollas hold their colour better and are darker in the bud; and the leaves are relatively broader, obovate, to 512 in. long and 238 in. wide. Botanical differences are that the stamens are stouter with anthers about 316 wide, against 18 in. in ‘Pink Pearl’, and the ovary is more sparsely glandular. It flowers towards the end of May. It was raised by L. J. Endtz and Co. of Boskoop, and received an A.M. in 1921. The parentage was given by the raisers as ‘Pink Pearl’ × ‘Doncaster’, which is surprising, since there is scarcely any difference, even botanical, between ‘Prof. Hugo de Vries’ and ‘Countess of Derby’, which is ‘Pink Pearl’ × ‘Cynthia’. But ‘Countess of Derby’ is a more compact grower than ‘Prof. Hugo de Vries’ and flowers later, in early June.

‘Prometheus’. – Truss compact with 18 flowers on brownish-crimson pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped with a short broad tube, 238 in. wide, rosy crimson, brighter on the reverse, speckled with black on the central lobe. Tall, rather lax. Early June. (C. Noble.)

‘Ptarmigan’. – Flowers in twos or threes. Corolla with a short tube and spreading limb, 118 in. wide, white. Anthers dark brown. Style scaly at the base. Calyx scaly and ciliate. Leaves more or less elliptic, to 118 in. long, densely scaly on both sides. Dwarf, spreading. April. (leucaspis × microleucum; P. Cox, Glendoick. F.C.C. 1965.) Very free-flowering.

‘Purity’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 2 in. across, lobes rounded at the apex and overlapping, milk-white with a small greenish-brown flare. Leaves narrow-elliptic about 312 in. long, 1 in. wide, dull green. Medium size. Early June. Probably raised at Knap Hill in the last century. There is an example in the Rhododendron Dell at Kew.

‘Purple Emperor’. – Flowers 17 to 20 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, wavy at the margins, deep purple, paling towards the centre, with black speckling on the centre lobe. Anthers off-white. Leaves elliptic, acute. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1953.)

‘Purple Splendour’. – Flowers about 15 in a fine, full truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, strongly ribbed, wavy-edged, deep purple with a flare of black markings, Anthers yellow, filaments pinkish. Leaves blackish green and reticulate above, oblong-elliptic to about 6 in. long, varying in width from 2 to 212 in., acute to obtuse at the apex; flower-buds often surrounded by reduced leaves or leafy bud-scales. Compact, medium size, vigorous. Late May to mid-June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1900. A.M. 1931.) A splendid rhododendron of the most sumptuous colouring. R. ponticum, R. maximum and R. catawbiense all enter into its ancestry.

‘Purpureum Grandiflorum’. – Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, undulated at the margin, violet-purple, with rather inconspicuous green speckling low on the centre lobe. ‘Purpureum Elegans’ is similar, but the flowers are darker purple, with a ray of brown markings on a lighter ground. They are both old hybrids of R. catawbiense crossed probably with a dark form of R. ponticum, raised at Knap Hill before 1850. Both show the influence of the former in their foliage, and of the latter in their colouring and glabrous ovaries. Another very old dark purple rhododendron is ‘Lee’s Dark Purple’, which has royal purple corollas with a flare of greenish brown or ochre speckles. Unlike the previous two hybrids, this has a well-developed calyx, which suggests that R. maximum enters into its ancestry. It is possible that this is the same as ‘Lee’s Late Purple’, which was used at Highclere as a parent before 1844.

‘Pygmalion’. – Flowers about 16 in the truss on reddish-brown pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, crimson-scarlet with a black flare and some crimson markings on the lower lobes. Anthers dark chocolate, on crimson filaments. End-May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M.T. 1933.) It bears a slight resemblance to ‘Doncaster’ but is much taller and more vigorous.

Quaver (leucaspis × sulfureum). – Flowers four to six in a loose truss. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, 1 in. wide, pale greenish yellow. Calyx 38 in. long, deeply lobed. Leaves elliptic, 234 in. long, 138 in. wide, glossy above, glaucous and scaly beneath. Dwarf. Late March or early April. (Rothschild. A.M. 1968.)

Queen of Hearts (meddianum × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). – Truss with about 16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped 3 in. wide, deep crimson-scarlet with a flare of black spots. Calyx red, deeply lobed. Leaves broad-elliptic to slightly obovate, showing the influence of R. meddianum. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1949.)

‘Queen Souriya’. – Flowers fragrant, ten in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 312 in. wide, wavy at the margin, pink in the bud, opening cream flushed with lilac-pink and with a pale amber-yellow flush in the throat. Vigorous and fairly tall. May. (fortunei hybrid; Slocock. A.M.T. 1957.)

‘Queen Wilhelmina’. – Flowers about eight in the truss. Corolla campanulate, 312 in. wide, deep red in the bud, opening a beautiful rosy scarlet, fading to rosy pink, almost devoid of markings. Moderate size. Flowering time variable, sometimes quite early in April, usually late April or early May. Medium size. A superbly coloured hybrid, raised by Schulz at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, around 1890 from R. griffithianum crossed with a hardy hybrid, and distributed by C. B. van Nes. It is rather tender and flowers too early for most gardens, but grows well in several gardens in the south of England.

Racil (ciliatum × racemosum). – Flowers arranged as in R. racemosum, i.e., from upper axillary as well as terminal buds, one to three from each bud and forming a cluster of up to 20 flowers in all. Corolla pale pink, funnel-campanulate, about 1 in. wide. Calyx with long hairs at the edge, scaly. Leaves obovate, obtuse, coloured more or less as in R. ciliatum, 212 by 138 in. Erect, to about 5 ft. April. There appear to be several clones of this rather dull hybrid; the description is of one in commerce. The Award of Merit was given in 1957 to clone ‘Halbury’.

Red Cap (eriogynum × sanguineum subsp. didymum). – Flowers six to eight in the truss; pedicels glandular and floccose. Corolla campanulate, 112 to 2 in. wide, dark red. Style red at the apex, with a dark stigma. Leaves narrowly oblong-obovate to almost elliptic, 314 by 114 in., medium green and fairly glossy above, coated beneath with a pale woolly tomentum. Of semi-dwarf, rather open habit. Late June or early July. This cross was made by J. B. Stevenson at Tower Court, also at Borde Hill, Exbury, and Townhill Park. The A.M. was given in 1945 to ‘Townhill Red Cap’, when shown by Lord Swaythling, but the description given above is from a plant at Borde Hill. There is probably little variation in this grex, which is inferior to the Arthur Osborn grex, from which it differs in the campanulate corolla.

Remo (lutescens × valentinianum). – Flowers from terminal and uppermost axillary buds, one or two from each bud. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, 134 in. wide, clear light yellow, with two lines of deeper speckles in the upper part. Calyx-lobes scaly and ciliate, lanceolate. Leaves elliptic, 214 in. long, acute to acuminate at the apex, edged with scattered hairs, sparsely scaly on both sides. Low growing. April. (Stevenson.) It is rather tender.

‘Robert Keir’. – Flowers 14 in a full, rounded truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate with a spreading limb, mostly seven-lobed, 314 in. wide, at first creamy white overlaid with pink, at length ivory-white with a yellow flush in the throat. Leaves broad-elliptic, rounded and apiculate at the apex, about 8 in. long, half as wide. April. (lacteum × ‘Luscombei’.) This fine hybrid was raised at Tower Court, and is named after Robert Keir, who was for many years head gardener there, first to J. B. Stevenson and later to Mrs Stevenson. A. M. 1957.

Romany Chal (eriogynum × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). – Flowers about 12 in a lax truss; pedicels downy and sparsely stellate-hairy. Corolla campanulate, 238 in. wide, deep glowing red with markings on the upper lobes. Anthers black. Style red with a black stigma. Calyx crimson, with ovate, reflexed lobes. Leaves oblong-elliptic, 5 in. long, dull green, thinly brown-tomentose beneath. Vigorous, eventually making a tall pyramid. Late June. (Rothschild. F.C.C. 1937.) A splendidly coloured hybrid, at its best in light woodland. There is a fine group in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park.

Romany Chai (griersonianum × ‘Moser’s Maroon’) is similar to Romany Chal, but the colour of the flowers is not quite so good, and the corolla is funnel-shaped at the base. It is perhaps rather more hardy.

‘Roseum Elegans’. – Flowers about twenty in a rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 258 in. wide, rosy lilac, with a small brown flare. Ovary purplish brown, almost glabrous. Early June. An old hybrid of R. ponticum, raised at Knap Hill and still in commerce.

‘Rosy Bell’. – Flowers about five per truss. Corolla campanulate, about 134 in. wide, appleblossom-pink, unmarked. Calyx lobed to the base, with spreading, ovate segments about 38 in. long. Leaves elliptic, acuminate, tapered at the base, up to 2 in. long and 34 to 1 in. wide. Dwarf, rather spreading habit. Late April or early May. (ciliatum × glaucophyllum; Isaac Davies, 1882. A.M. 1894, when exhibited by Kew.) A delightful hybrid, whose display is sometimes spoilt by frost.

The hybrid between R. ciliatum and R. glaucophyllum was also raised by Thomas Nuttall before 1859 and is figured in Bot. Mag., t. 5116, under the name R. wilsonii. which Nuttall chose to commemorate his friend W. Wilson the cryptogamist.

A back-cross of R. glaucophyllum onto Rosy Bell was raised by T. C. Thacker of Knowle, Warwickshire, and has been named ‘Arden Belle’. It resembles the former closely, differing in its greener more glossy foliage.

The hybrid Grievei is usually supposed to be of the same parentage as ‘Rosy Bell’, but the International Register gives it as ciliatum × virgatum, i.e., the same as Multiflorum. It was raised by James Grieve (d. 1924), who also bred the well-known apple named after him. He set up his own nursery at Pilrig in 1896, but apparently raised this hybrid earlier, while working for Messrs Dickson and Sons of Edinburgh.

Royal Flush (cinnabarinum × maddenii). – This hybrid, raised by J. C. Williams at Caerhays shortly before 1917, is best known as a parent of Lady Chamberlain and Lady Rosebery. The seed-parent was R. cinnabarinum var. roylei and the pollen-parent an early-flowering form of R. maddenii grown at Heligan and known as ‘Heljackii’. The seedlings bore lapageria-like flowers in shades of orange-yellow or pink and are decidedly bud-tender. What is usually called the ‘orange form’ of Royal Flush is a lovely plant with fleshy, tubular-campanulate flowers buff-yellow inside with an orange throat, orange-pink outside. The cross had previously been made at Littleworth Cross, near Farnham, by Henry A. Mangles (d. 1908) and the plants were grown in the greenhouse there by his sister Miss Clara Mangles (d. 1931); several were named, but apparently only ‘Rose Mangles’, with pink flowers, went into commerce.

‘Royal Purple’. – Flowers about 12 in a compact truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 212 in. wide, violet-purple with a slight orange flare on a paler ground. Stamen-filaments coloured like the corolla, with purplish anthers. Style crimson, with a dark red stigma. Ovary glabrous, dark chocolate-brown. Leaves dark green, acute. June. A handsome hybrid raised at the Sunningdale Nurseries in Charles Noble’s time. See Rhododendrons at Sunningdale, p. 46.

‘Roza Stevenson’ (‘Roza Harrison’). – Flowers 10 to 12 in the truss. Corolla saucer-shaped, mostly seven-lobed, 412 in. wide, pale lemon-yellow, deeper at the centre. Leaves oblong-elliptic, obtuse, about 5 in. long and half as wide. Late April or early May. A lovely hybrid raised by Mr and Mrs Stevenson at Tower Court from Loderi ‘Sir Edmund’ × wardii KW 5736. It received an F.C.C. in 1968, when exhibited by Kew under the name ‘Roza Harrison’. The name commemorates one of the most knowledgeable of rhododendron enthusiasts (d. 1967), who with her husband J. B. Stevenson, built up the famous Tower Court collection of species, much of which was later moved to the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park. Eleven years after Mr Stevenson’s death she married Major-General Harrison, but the name given by Kew was altered later to the one she bore when the plant was raised.

Russautinii (augustinii × russatum). – Flowers in terminal trusses of four or five, sometimes supplemented by trusses from the upper leaf-axils. Corolla 2 in. across, rich near-blue, fading to almost white in the centre, downy in the tube. Stamen-filaments coloured like the corolla, style paler. Calyx well developed, variable in size and form, up to 14 in. long. Leaves elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 114 to 2 in. long, obtuse. Late April. This cross was made by Sir John Ramsden before 1936, possibly also in other gardens. The description is made from a particularly fine clone grown at Grayswood Hill, which won a first prize in the Rhododendron Show of 1972 when exhibited from Nymans. In other forms the corollas are speckled and smaller. Russautinii is of erect habit, to about 5 ft.

‘Ilam Violet’ is the only clone so far named. It has flowers of a deep violet-purple and was raised by Edgar Stead of New Zealand, using a hybrid he himself raised between R. augustinii and its var. chasmanthum as one parent, and a good form of R. russatum as the other. All the seedlings had pale blue flowers except the one he named ‘Ilam Violet’ (R.Y.B. 1947, p. 47).

The cross between R. augustinii and R. russatum was also made by J. B. Stevenson at Tower Court and named Azamia. For this the good form of R. russatum once known as R. cantabile was used.

Russellianum (arboreum × catawbiense). – Flowers numerous in a dense truss, on downy pedicels about 1 in. long. Corolla campanulate, bright rosy red, unspotted, with darker nectaries. Calyx very small. Leaves thick and leathery, oblong, abruptly acute at the apex, rounded at the base, somewhat convex above from the recurving of the margins, felted beneath, 4 to 9 in. long; petioles 1 in. long, woolly at first, becoming glabrous. This foundation-cross was made by the nurseryman Russell of Battersea and was described and figured by Sweet in 1831 (Brit. Fl. Gard., Vol. I (2nd series), t. 91). It is therefore contemporaneous with Altaclerense (q.v.). The cross was no doubt made in other places, just as the Smithii cross was repeated many times. A clone of Russellianum still in commerce is ‘Southamptonia’, distributed by Rodgers’ Red Lodge Nursery and probably raised there. This agrees well with the original Russellianum except that the flowers are Tyrian Rose with a lighter centre, slightly speckled. The flowers are in trusses of about seventeen and open in April or early May.

The same cross, using a white-flowered form of R. arboreum, was made by Iveson for the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland at Syon House, London, and one form is figured in Bot. Mag., t. 4478 (1849) under the name R. Clivianum. This had white pink-flushed flowers spotted on all the lobes but most densely on the centre lobe.

‘Saint Breward’. – Flowers from terminal and upper axillary buds, forming a compact, globular truss. Corolla about 2 in. wide, rotate-funnel-shaped, deep violet-blue. Stamen-filaments pale blue. Stigma pale pink. Leaves softly downy on both sides, mostly elliptic, acute, about 2 in. long. Late April or early May. A dense bush attaining eventually a height of 6 to 8 ft. A hybrid of R. augustinii raised by E. J. P. Magor of Lamellen, Cornwall, and distributed by Maj.-Gen. Harrison. F.C.C. 1962. ‘Saint Tudy’, also raised at Lamellen, is similar.

‘Saint Merryn’. – Flowers in trusses of two to four. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 1 in. wide, deep violet-blue. Stamens coloured like the corolla, with black anthers. Style and stigma crimson. Leaves glossy, about 34 in. long, obtuse. Late April or early May. A charming hybrid raised by Maj.-Gen. Harrison from ‘Saint Tudy’ × R. impeditum A.M. 1970. ‘Blue Star’ is from the same raiser and of the same parentage.

‘Sapphire’. – Flowers about four in the truss. Corolla about 138 in. wide, pale purplish blue shading to paler at the centre. Calyx-lobes narrowly triangular, acute. Leaves elliptic, obtuse, about 12 in. long. Of rounded but not very dense habit. April. A hybrid of R. impeditum raised by Frank Knight when he was at the Knap Hill nursery. The pollen came from a sprig of ‘Blue Tit’, given to him as a button-hole when it was first exhibited by Caerhays in 1931 (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 94, p. 122). ‘Mayfair’, another seedling from the cross, flowers two weeks later, has darker, bluish foliage, and is denser in habit.

‘Sappho’. – Flowers about 15 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, about 3 in. across, centre lobe of lower flowers often duplicated, mauve in the bud, opening white, with a heavy flare of purple overlaid with black. Stamens ten to twelve, with white filaments. Style variable in length, sometimes shorter than the longest stamens, sometimes slightly longer. Medium size, of rather leggy habit. June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1867, but the same name had been used earlier for a hybrid with rosy crimson flowers.) One of the best-known and most likeable of the older hardy hybrids. When the centre lobe is duplicated, as it often is on the lower flowers of the truss, the extra lobe also carries a flare (see W. Watson, Rhododendrons and Azaleas, pl. III).

‘Hyperion’, also raised at Knap Hill and still grown there, is rather like ‘Sappho’, but the corollas are flatter, 312 in. wide, flushed with mauve, and the flare extends onto the two upper laterals, whereas in ‘Sappho’, in the normal five-lobed corolla, it is confined to the centre lobe.

Sarita Loder (griersonianum × Loderi). – Flowers about eight in the truss (9 to 11 in the A.M. clone); rachis 3 in. long, brownish; pedicels 134 in. long, dark brownish red, sticky from stalked white glands. Corolla seven-lobed, widely trumpet-shaped, soft pink shaded paler. Stamen-filaments red. Style glandular, red; stigma dark reddish brown. A tall shrub. Early June or late May. A fine hybrid raised by Lt.-Col. Giles Loder, The High Beeches, Handcross. There are still many plants there, up to 20 ft high, varying greatly in colour. Some have paler flowers than on the plant described here, which grows at Wisley and appears to be similar to the A.M. clone of 1934.

Sarled (sargentianum × trichostomum). – Flowers about seven in the truss. Corolla tubular with a spreading limb, 12 in. wide at the mouth, tube about 716 in. long, slightly scaly on the outside of the lobes, shell-pink in the bud, opening almost pure white, but with a slight flush of pale brownish pink in the tube. Leaves 58 to 34 in. long, glossy and reticulate. Dwarf, to about 2 ft high, much more in width. Late May. A very free-flowering and vigorous hybrid raised by Collingwood Ingram, The Grange, Benenden, Kent, only now becoming widely available in commerce. The description is based on a plant from the late Miss Davenport-Jones, who distributed this hybrid from the mid-1950s onward. In order to mate the two species ‘I was obliged to go down on all fours and employ a watchmaker’s glass to see what I was doing. I cannot honestly say that the seedlings from this effort have proved any more beautiful than either of their parents, but I can say they are very definitely more vigorous and consequently easier to grow and to propagate’ (C. Ingram, R.C.Y.B. 1967, p. 14).

The form of R. trichostomum used in this cross was previously known as R. ledoides, whence the grex-name Sarled.

‘Scandinavia’. – Flowers 14 to 18 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla open-funnel-shaped, Cardinal Red (near 53b) on a ground of rose-red (58b), with black speckling on the upper lobe. Bushy. Late May or early June. (‘Hugh Koster’ × ‘Betty Wormald’; M. Koster and Sons. A.M.T. 1950.)

Seta (moupinense × spinuliferum). – Flowers from terminal and upper axillary buds, about seven in all on the plant seen. Corolla tubular-funnel-shaped, 114 to 112 in. long, about 1 in. across, white or pinkish at the base, shading to bright crimson on the lobes. Anthers chocolate-coloured. Style greenish white with a crimson stigma. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, up to 2 in. long, margins recurved, obtuse to subacute at the apex, rather stiff, midrib beneath pale, yellowish. A small erect shrub to about 5 ft. March or April. (Aberconway. A.M. 1933. F.C.C. 1970.) Quite a pretty hybrid, of unusual appearance, which has been recommended for an Award of Garden Merit.

‘Seven Stars’. – Flowers 12 to 14 in a lax truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, light magenta pink in the bud, opening white, flushed with light pink along the centre of the lobes. Leaves oblanceolate or narrow-obovate, 4 in. or slightly more long. Compact habit, ultimate size unknown. Late April or early May. (R. yakushimanum × Loderi ‘Sir Joseph Hooker’; Crown Estate Commissioners. A.M. 1967.)

Shilsonii (barbatum × thomsonii). – Flowers about 14 in a loose truss. Corolla campanulate, 212 in. wide, of waxy texture, blood-red, with darker coloured nectaries. Stamens white, glabrous or almost so. Style rather thick, glabrous. Calyx petaloid, irregular, up to 38 in. long. Leaves dark green, 412 by 234 in., apiculate at the apex, cordate at the base. A tall shrub to 15 ft or so. April. The cross was first made by Richard Gill while he was head gardener to Henry Shilson of Tremough, Cornwall, and received an Award of Merit when shown from there in 1900. The Gill cross had the reputation of being hard to grow well, but the cross was remade by Sir Edmund Loder at Leonardslee in Sussex, with better results, and probably in other gardens too. At any rate, what is now grown as ‘Shilsonii’ is a good grower, quite hardy, taking after R. thomsonii in its foliage and the form of its flowers, but the latter are of a purer red than in R. thomsonii. The description is from a plant in Mr Hillier’s collection at Jermyns House near Romsey.

‘Sigismund Rucker’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 214 in. wide, coloured a strange shade of magenta-crimson (71b), with heavy black spotting. Style purplish red, with a small dark red stigma. Ovary dark brownish green, glabrous. Leaves elliptic. Medium size. (Waterer, Knap Hill.) An old hybrid now rarely seen. It is named after a well-known amateur gardener of the last century (d. 1875), who had a collection of orchids and ferns in his garden at Wandsworth.

‘Sir Charles Lemon’. – Flowers about ten per truss; rachis 34 in. long; pedicels 12 in. long, clad with short hairs. Corolla campanulate, 212 in. wide, white, with purplish spotting on the upper lobes, extending into the throat. Stamens sparsely hairy at the base, with brown anthers. Style glabrous. Ovary oblong-conoid, with a few crisped hairs. Calyx obsolete. Leaves oblong-elliptic, to 6 in. long, main veins deeply impressed above, undersurface clad with a vividly coloured rusty-red tomentum, not extending to the midrib, which is prominent, pale green. A large shrub or small tree. April. Although sometimes placed under R. arboreum the almost glabrous ovary shows that it cannot belong to that species. Lionel de Rothschild, who pointed this out, suggested that it is a hybrid between R. arboreum var. cinnamomeum and R. campanulatum, which seems very likely (Y.B. Rhod. Ass. 1934, pp. 108-9). The original plant grew at Carclew in Cornwall, where it was planted in the time of Sir Charles Lemon (d. 1868). Millais, in his first volume (1917), gives the size of the original specimen as 30 ft in height and 27 yds round. Assuming that the same plant is referred to, which seems almost certain, it was 10 ft high in 1874, and grown under the name R. cinnamomeum (Journ. Hort., Vol. 27, n.s., p. 403). It is reputed to have been raised from seeds collected in the Himalaya by Hooker, but even so, that would be no argument agains its hybrid origin, since such hybrids may well occur in the wild.

‘Sir Charles Lemon’, both in foliage and flower, is one of the finest of rhododendrons, though its full beauty is revealed only after it attains a fairly large size,

Siren (Choremia × griersonianum). – Flowers about ten in a lax truss. Corolla funnel-shaped from a broad base, 212 in. wide, scarlet, with slight speckling, especially on the three upper lobes. Anthers black. Stigmas red. Calyx coloured like the corolla, irregularly lobed, up to 112 in. long. Leaves dark green, narrow-oblong, to 612 in. long, clad beneath with a pale tomentum. Medium size, to about 8 ft. Late April or May. (Aberconway. A.M. 1942.) A fine scarlet rhododendron, with a strikingly large calyx, derived from R. haematodes, one of the parents of Choremia.

Sir Frederick Moore (discolor × St Keverne). – Flowers slightly fragrant, about 15 in a large compact truss. Corolla funnel-shaped from a broad base, seven-lobed, 3 to 4 in. wide, slightly frilled at the margin, light pink, with conspicuous speckling of brown or crimson in the upper part of the throat. Style pale green with a large pale red stigma. Leaves up to 7 in. long and 2 in. wide. A large vigorous shrub. Late April or early May. (Rothschild, 1935. A.M. 1937, F.C.C.T. 1972.) A beautiful hybrid with flowers of a clear pink. It is remarkably hardy considering that St. Keverne is a hybrid between R. griffithianum and R. zeylanicum (R. kingianum Hort.). It is named after a former Director of the Glasnevin Botanic Garden.

‘Charlotte de Rothschild’, which belongs to this grex, was named recently and received an A.M. in 1958.

Sir John Ramsden (‘Corona’ × thomsonii). – Flowers about ten in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, red in the bud and stained with that colour on the reverse, inside flushed and veined pink on a creamy white ground. A vigorous, free-flowering shrub to 12 ft or more. May. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1926. F.C.C.T. 1955.) Named after Sir John Ramsden, Bt, of Bulstrode Park, Bucks. An attractive hybrid, similar to Cornish Cross.

Smithii (arboreum × ponticum) syn. ‘Cornish Early Red’. – Flowers about 20 in a dense truss, on glandular pedicels. Corolla campanulate, slightly undulated at the edge, rosy purple, almost crimson, heavily speckled, mostly on the upper lobes. Stamens hairy in the lower half. Style glabrous; ovary ‘rusty’. Leaves oblong or elongate, acute, viscid and hairy beneath when young, becoming glabrous.

The above is based on Sweet’s original description, made from a plant that flowered in 1831. The cross had been made both ways by William Smith, who at that time was still gardener to the Earl of Liverpool at Coombe Wood House, Kingston-on-Thames, but later set up his own nursery at Norbiton nearby. Since Altaclerense also first flowered in 1831 it is likely that the two crosses were made at the same time, i.e., in 1826. The Smithii cross was later made in other places, e.g., by Rogers’ Red Lodge Nursery, Southampton; by Rendall of St Austell, Cornwall; by Davis of Hillsborough, Co. Down (who around the middle of the last century was offering layers 12 to 15 in. high at £3 10s a hundred); and no doubt in other gardens.

Smithii is not much planted at the present time and may not even be in commerce. But it has the distinction of growing to a greater size than any other rhododendron in this country. The examples given by Millais in his first volume (1917) were: Leonardslee, Sussex, 80 years planted, 25 ft high and 312 ft in girth at 5 ft; Tregothnan, Cornwall, 30 ft high, 8 ft in girth at ground level, dividing into three stout branches at 3 ft; Carclew, Cornwall, a tree 35 ft high, 5 ft in girth at 4 ft; also a very large specimen at Saltwood in Kent.

Smithii is perfectly hardy and flowers in late April or early May. Having been raised so many times it is variable, according to the forms of the two parents used. And it may be that the ponticum used was not pure, but one of its early hybrids with R. maximum. A. J. Ivens, in his manuscript notes, provided two descriptions, both agreeing very well with Sweet’s except that in one plant (at Embley Park) the ovary is glandular-downy (as it may have been in the type), while in the other (from Rogers’ nursery) it is almost glabrous.

‘Snowflake’. – Flowers in a conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, with rounded lobes, white with a flare of brownish-green speckles, and with a red mark at either side at the base of the two upper sinuses. Anthers large, pale pink. Style white, expanded into a large stigma. Leaves elliptic, acute, 512 by 2 in. Medium size. June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1875.)

Snow Queen (‘White Pearl’ (‘Halopeanum’) × Loderi). – Flowers fragrant, 12 to 15 in a conical truss; rachis and pedicels reddish. Corolla funnel-shaped, 334 to 4 in. wide, five-lobed, flushed with pink in the bud, opening pure white with a small red mark and a few speckles in the throat. Leaves dark dull green, 8 by 212 in. Tall and vigorous. May. This fine hybrid was raised at Leonardslee in Sir Edmund Loder’s time and put into commerce by the Knap Hill Nursery, who got their stock from J. G. Millais. It is very much in the style of Loderi, but easier to grow successfully. Millais gave the name ‘Snow Queen’ to one particular plant, which he thought to be distinct from other plants from the cross, so the name is strictly clonal only, not a grex-name as stated in the International Register. Millais, incidentally, gives the parentage as ‘Gauntlettii’ × Loderi. See ‘White Pearl’ and ‘Gauntlettii’.

‘Soleil d’Austerlitz’ (‘Sun of Austerlitz’). – Flowers up to 30 in a dense truss; pedicels only 12 in. long, gladular. Corolla broad-campanulate, 214 in. wide, crimson shading to paler in the tube, slightly spotted at the base of the centre lobe. Style stout, glabrous. Ovary white felted. Leaves silvery beneath, recalling those of R. arboreum. A dense, compact shrub, broader than high. April or early May. This hybrid is usually called ‘Sun of Austerlitz’, but John Waterer had it in 1852 under its French name; also ‘Charles Truffaut’, which is known to have been raised by Bertin at Versailles, before 1851. It is a hybrid of R. arboreum.

‘Songbird’. – Inflorescences from terminal and axillary buds, forming bunches of as many as 20 flowers at the ends of the shoots. Corolla rotate, 118 in. wide, hairy in the throat, deep violet-blue. Stamen-filaments densely hairy at the base. Calyx well developed, with lobes up to 14 in. long, densely ciliate. Leaves glossy, elliptic, obtuse, about 34 in. long. April. An excellent dwarf shrub, raised by the late Sir James Horlick, Bt, from ‘Blue Tit’ crossed with R. russatum, whose influence shows in the deep colouring of the flowers, the large calyx, and the hairy middle of the corollas, to which both the stamens and the corolla itself contribute. A.M. 1957.

‘Southern Cross’. – Flowers fragrant, about ten in a compact truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 412 in. across, wavy at the margin, white with a pink flush deepest on the upper lobes, and with throat-markings of yellowish brown. Leaves dull dark green, 8 by 212 in. Strong-growing. June. A hybrid between R. discolor and ‘Lodauric Iceberg’, raised by A. F. George and distributed by Hydon Nurseries. It was highly commended after trial at Wisley. Other clones of the same parentage are ‘Gipsy Moth’, ‘Northern Star’, ‘Star-cross’, and ‘Veldstar’.

‘Souvenir de Dr S. Endtz’. – Flowers about 16 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, up to almost 4 in. across, deep rosy pink in the bud, opening pink, shading to paler in the centre, speckled with crimson and brownish crimson on the upper lobes, nectaries crimson. May. (‘John Walter’ × ‘Pink Pearl’; L. J. Endtz and Co. A.M. 1924. F.C.C.T. 1970.) One of the best of the derivatives of ‘Pink Pearl’, with flowers of a purer and richer pink and differing also in the dome-shaped truss and the presence of coloured nectaries in the corolla. It is also of more compact habit.

‘Souvenir of Anthony Waterer’. – This hybrid, raised at Knap Hill, is in commerce and described as having salmon-pink flowers with an orange flare.

‘Souvenir of W. C. Slocock’. – Flowers about 12 in a compact truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 3 in. wide, buff-pink in the tight bud, expanding bud and corolla when first open cream-coloured flushed with pink, becoming ivory with a pink flush, with crimson speckling on a paler ground. Compact habit. May (campylocarpum hybrid; Slocock, before 1928.)

Spinulosum (racemosum × spinuliferum). – This hybrid was first made at Kew, later at Bodnant and twice at Exbury, the second time using Forrest’s dwarf form of R. racemosum. The flowers are borne in terminal and axillary inflorescences, as in R. racemosum, but the corollas are more tubular, with protruding stamens, and the leaves are larger than in that species. The dwarf Exbury form is considered to be the best. In this the corollas come near to R. spinuliferum in their colouring and the leaves are up to 3 in. long, dark green above. A.M. 1948. In the form that received the same award when shown from Wisley in 1944 the flowers are white shading to pink at the tips of the lobes. This probably represents the Kew cross.

Stanleyanum (arboreum album × campanulatum). – R. stanleyanum appears to be the first name of specific form given to a known hybrid between R. arboreum and R. campanulatum. This was raised by the nurseryman Whalley, of Fairfield Nurseries, Liverpool, and is described in Gard. Chron. (1851), p. 197. The description is sufficient to show how different this hybrid was from ‘Boddaertianum’, which is supposed, almost certainly wrongly, to be R. arboreum × R. campanulatum. Another known hybrid between these two species is ‘Comtesse Ferdinand Visart’, raised by Van Houtte from R. arboreum var. cinnamomeum, and figured in Fl. des Serres, Vol. 9, t. 935. See also ‘Sir Charles Lemon’.

‘Stanley Davies’. – Flowers about 16 in a compact truss, on whitish-green pedicels. Corolla wide-campanulate, 212 in. wide, dark glowing red but with a slight blue tinge when seen in diffused light, paling to almost white at the base of the throat and with black markings mostly confined to the centre lobe. Stamens densely hairy towards the base, with bluish-purple anthers. Leaves lanceolate to oblong-obovate, 5 by 2 in. Medium size, bushy. Late May or early June. This hybrid was distributed by Messrs Clibrans of Altrincham, who exhibited it at an R.H.S. Show in 1912, but was probably raised by Isaac Davies of Ormskirk, who certainly bred hardy hybrids, though he is best known for his lepidote hybrids, such as Praecox. It is still available in commerce, and was used by the Dutch breeders, its most famous offspring being ‘Britannia’.

‘Starfish’. – Flowers about nine in a conical truss. Corolla flat, almost 4 in. across, edges of lobes undulated and recurved, soft pink shading to white at the centre, with markings of crimson and brown. Late May. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1922.) A curious rhododendron with star-shaped flowers, said to be a seedling of ‘Mrs E. C. Stirling’.

‘Strategist’. – Flowers about 15 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 to 238 in. wide, with broad lobes, rosy pink, paling at the centre, with light speckling of crimson and olive-green on the centre lobe. Anthers mauve, filaments white. Style dull crimson. Leaves broadly oblong-elliptic, 5 by 178 in., rounded at the base. Tall-growing. June. (Waterer, Bagshot.)

‘Streatley’. – Flowers about nine in a lax truss. Corolla widely campanulate, 2 in. wide, deep rosy pink in the bud, opening white flushed with pink, lightly speckled with red. Leaves dark green, elliptic, somewhat convex above, with an impressed midrib. Dwarf habit (aberconwayi × yakushimanum; Crown Estate Commissioners). A. M. May 5, 1964. An interesting hybrid, not unlike R. yakushimanum in foliage, but with differently shaped flowers. Another seedling from this cross, so far unnamed, is taller, with broader leaves.

‘Susan’. – Flowers about 12 in the truss; pedicels almost glabrous. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 to 312 in. wide, five-lobed, Amethyst Violet (81d), the three upper lobes somewhat darker than the two lower, heavily speckled with maroon. Leaves dark green, elliptic, thinly felted beneath when young, later greenish brown there, 512 by 212 in. A large shrub of compact habit, vigorous. May. This hybrid is as fine in foliage as it is in its flowers, which are near to blue in some lights. It is a pity that there are not six hybrids as good, flowering at fortnightly intervals from the beginning of May. It is perfectly hardy, but needs slight shade. Unfortunately, its history is not fully known. It was raised by P. D. Williams of Lanarth, Cornwall, and originally known as ‘Williams’ Campanulatum Hybrid’, but later named ‘Susan’ and put into commerce by Messrs W. C. Slocock. It received an Award of Merit in 1948 and an F.C.C. in 1954, both after trial (the A.M. of 1930 belongs to a quite different hybrid, raised at Nymans and also called ‘Susan’). It is near to R. campanulatum, but it is difficult to believe that it is a hybrid between that species and R. fortunei, as stated by Lionel de Rothschild, and later in the International Register.

Sussex Bonfire (Cornish Cross × haematodes). – Truss six- to eight-flowered. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb, 212 in. wide, dark blood-red, with dark nectaries. Calyx petaloid, to 34 in. long, coloured like the corolla. Leaves dark green, more or less elliptic, glabrous, to 4 by 2 in. Medium size. Late April or early May. (Loder. A.M. 1934.) The description is made from a commercial plant, of little merit, as the flowers are too dark and rather lustreless. In the Borde Hill form of the cross, the flowers are a lighter and brighter red, and the leaves lighter green. But such variation is only to be expected when such a variable hybrid as Cornish Cross is used as a parent.

‘Sweet Simplicity’. – Truss rounded, with 18 to 20 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 212 to 234 in. wide, white edged with delicate pink, with olive-green markings on the upper lobes. Anthers pale yellow. Ovary reddish green, glandular and downy. Leaves 612 by 212 in., dark green and fairly glossy. Medium size. Compact habit. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1922. A.M.T. 1970.) A charming hybrid, not unlike ‘Lady Clementine Mitford’, but whiter in the centre, and with less conspicuous markings.

Tally Ho (eriogynum × griersonianum). – Flowers 9 to 14 in a fairly compact truss, on glandular pedicels. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 12 in. wide at the base, 234 to 312 in. wide across the limb, vermilion or scarlet, with darker spotting, especially on the three upper lobes. Anthers dark brown, filaments coloured like the corolla. Style tomentose and glandular almost to the tip. Calyx variable, even in the same truss, up to 38 in. long. Leaves dull medium green above, under-surface lighter and glossy, coated with a pale brown floccose tomentum still partly persisting on the year-old leaves, oblong-elliptic, mostly 4 to 6 in. long, 112 to 134 in. wide, but sometimes up to 912 in. long and 278 in. wide, or even longer (in the Leonardslee form). It is a moderately compact shrub, to about 10 ft, more in width. Late May or June.

This fine hybrid was raised at Embley Park (seed-parent griersonianum) and at Leonardslee (seed-parent R. eriogynum), and received an F.C.C. when shown simultaneously from these two gardens on May 27, 1933. The cross was also made at Exbury. The above description is made from several plants, all very much alike; even the variation is size of leaf may be due to position. Lionel de Rothschild, who also made the cross, said he could see no difference between the three forms. As neither parent shows much variation, this is not surprising. Tally Ho is well represented in the woodland gardens of Sussex, but might not be satisfactory in cold gardens, as it is rather bud tender and subject to bark-split.

A back-cross of Tally-Ho with R. eriogynum, raised in the R.H.S. Garden at Wisley, received an A.M. in 1959 under the name ‘Rosenkavalier’ The back-cross with R. griersonianum has also been made.

‘Ted Waterer’. – Truss with about 12 flowers. Corolla almost flat, about 314 in. wide, rosy mauve at the edge, paling at the centre, with a flare of yellowish to brownish-green markings. Anthers purple, filaments white. June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1925.)

Temple Belle (orbiculare × williamsianum). – Truss about five-flowered. Corolla campanulate, about 2 in. wide, usually six-lobed, soft pink. Style glabrous. Leaves roundish, about 212 in. long and almost as wide, cordate at the base. A dwarf dense bush. April. This hybrid was raised at Kew around 1916 and later by F. Rose for Lord Swaythling at Townhill Park. In the Townhill cross, about one-fifth of the plants proved to be even taller and more vigorous than R. orbiculare. The rest were typical Temple Belle (R.Y.B. 1949, p. 95).

Tessa (moupinense × Praecox). – Flowers about three per truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, purplish pink, spotted with crimson on the upper lobes. Leaves up to 2 in. long and half as wide, elliptic, somewhat concave beneath. Of comparatively dwarf, rather open habit. Early spring, usually in March. (Stevenson. A.M. 1935.) In ‘Tessa Roza’ (A.M. 1953) the flowers are deeper, more rosy pink. This hybrid is really very different from Praecox, with which it is usually compared, and shows the influence of R. moupinense strongly in its foliage and in its larger flowers. Being less twiggy, it does not smother itself in flowers as Praecox does.

‘The Bride’. – Flowers in a compact truss of 14 to 16; inflorescence bud-scales persistent. Corolla funnel-shaped, about 212 in. wide, pure white, with greenish spotting on the upper lobe. Stamen-filaments white. Style white; ovary dark green, glandular. Leaves light green, oblong-elliptic, to 4 in. long, 138 in. wide, tapered at the base. Medium size, compact habit. Late May. This hybrid is believed to be the same as one raised by Standish and Noble in their Bagshot nursery, before 1850, by selfing a hybrid between R. caucasicum and a white-flowered form of R. ponticum. In point of fact, they called this plant ‘Bride’, not ‘The Bride’, and said it had variegated foliage, but the two may well be the same. At any rate, the plant here described is clearly a hybrid of R. caucasicum. According to Frederick Street, it is very subject to attack by rhododendron bug.

‘The Hon. Jean Marie Montagu’. – Flowers about ten in the truss. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 234 in. wide, deep scarlet-crimson (near Cardinal Red), with some black speckling. Leaves oblanceolate to elliptic, 712 by 212 in. Medium size. May. (C. B. van Nes.)

‘The Master’. – Flowers about 12 in a large truss, on glandular pedicels. Corolla seven-lobed, funnel-shaped from a broad base, 4 in. wide, with undulated lobes, delicate pink on a creamy ground, with crimson and brown speckling in the throat merging into a prominent blotch at the very base. Style glandular in the lower half or almost to the tip, with a green stigma. Leaves oblong-obovate elliptic, obtuse, medium-green, with pinkish petioles. Tall-growing. May. (Slocock, A.M.T. 1966.) In a lecture given in 1964, the raiser himself said of this hybrid: ‘When King George came round the Chelsea Show and saw this thing, as big as a quart pot, he said “Well, Mr Slocock, I will wait; let me know when you have got the Headmaster.” So large I think it is almost vulgar; how it arrived, I do not know. It came from “China” × “Letty Edwards” officially. Neither of these have huge trusses… . All I can say is, the bees must have got there first, but I would love to know what flower they visited on the way.’ (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 89 (1964), p. 413). He later suggested it might be a tetraploid (R.C.Y.B. 1970, p. 23).

‘The Queen’. – Flowers 10 to 12 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, with broad, rounded lobes, mauve in the bud, opening pale mauve shading to white at the centre, with a small orange flare on the centre lobe. Anthers mauve, filaments white. Style sharply upswept at the apex, with a crimson stigma. Leaves dull, dark green, tapered to an acute apex, cuneate at the base. Large, bushy. June. This hybrid was shown by Charles Noble in 1864 and put into commerce three years later, but was probably raised before the dissolution of his partnership with Standish (1856). The parentage was said to be ‘Album Elegans’ crossed with some other light-coloured hybrid.

‘The Queen Mother’. – Flowers in trusses of nine or ten; pedicels 78 in. long, clad with red glandular hairs. Corolla wide-campanulate, 2 in. broad, deep rosy pink in the bud, opening white flushed with pink, darker on the reverse. Style white, covered with red glands. Leaves elliptic, up to 312 in. long. Late April (aberconwayi × Halcyone; Crown Estate Commissioners). A.M. April 30, 1968.

Thomwilliams (thomsonii × williamsianum). – Flowers about six in an open truss. Corolla wide-campanulate, clear rosy magenta. Leaves up to 212 in. long, almost as wide, cordate at the base. Dense, fairly dwarf habit. April or early May. This cross was made by E. J. P. Magor at Lamellen, also at Bodnant, and received an Award of Merit when shown from the latter garden in 1935. It makes a neat specimen, but takes after R. williamsianum in refusing to flower freely unless grown in a sunny place.

‘Thunderstorm’. – Flowers 18 in a compact, dome-shaped truss. Corolla 214 to 234 in. wide, dark red, speckled on the centre lobe. Anthers and filaments white. Leaves dark green, glossy, elliptic to narrow-obovate, cuneate at the base, 7 by 212 in. Medium size. Late May or early June. (Slocock. A.M.T. 1955.) It is not unlike ‘David’ in its flowers, but the foliage is quite different.

‘Torch’. – Flowers six to ten in the truss on brownish pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped from a broad base, five- or six-lobed, 412 in. wide, bright crimson shading to orange-scarlet on the upper lobes and in the throat, where there is a heavy blotch of dark brown-crimson, nectaries dark crimson. Style pink, with a red stigma. Leaves oblong-oblanceolate, to 812 by 3 in. Medium size. May. (‘Britannia’ × Sarita Loder; Messrs Slocock.)

Tortoiseshell (‘Goldsworth Orange’ × griersonianum). – There are several clones in this grex, raised by Messrs Slocock, of which the following have received awards:

‘Champagne’. – Flowers 11 to 14 in the truss; pedicels covered with simple and stellate hairs. Corolla funnel-shaped, 314 in. wide, pale yellow at the edge, where there is a slight pink tinge, deepening to richer yellow in the throat and along the centres of the three upper lobes, which are very faintly speckled. Anthers dark crimson. Calyx cup-shaped, irregularly lobed. A.M.T. 1967. In ‘Tortoiseshell Wonder’ (A.M. 1947) the corollas are uniform salmon-pink. The flowering time of this grex is June and the plants are medium sized to tall.

‘Treasure’. – Flowers solitary, in twos or threes. Corolla campanulate, about 2 in. wide, crimson-pink (51A). Leaves 1 to 112 in. long, roundish, slightly cordate at the base, bright green, not glossy; petioles purplish. Late April or early May. Dwarf, congested habit. This hybrid was raised by J. J. Crosfield of Embley Park, Hants, in the 1930s but has only recently become widely available.

‘Trewithen Orange’. – Flowers about five in the truss. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb, lobes rounded, extending about one-third or slightly more towards the base, soft orange with a slight suffusion of pink. A beautiful hybrid raised by George Johnstone of Trewithen from R. concatenans crossed with (R. cinnabarinum var. blandfordiiflorum × R. maddenii). The second parent, named Full House and also raised at Trewithen, is really the same cross as Royal Flush, except that different forms of R. cinnabarinum and R. maddenii were used. ‘Trewithen Orange’ flowers in April and received an F.C.C. in 1950. In 1967 the A.M. was given to the clone ‘George Johnstone’, raised at Trewithen and exhibited by Collingwood Ingram, Benenden, Kent.

‘Unique’. – Flowers up to 14 in a dense truss, on short, glandular pedicels. Corolla funnel-campanulate, 212 in. wide, pink in the bud, opening ivory flushed with pink, yellower in the throat. Anthers pale brown. Stigma red. Leaves broad-elliptic or sometimes slightly obovate, 334 by 134 in., obtuse, darkish medium green above, paler beneath. Late April or early May. A hybrid of dense, almost dwarf habit, making a shapely specimen when young, and remaining compact even when old, if grown in a sunny position. It is a hybrid of R. campylocarpum, raised by Messrs W. C. Slocock. A.M.T. 1934. F.C.C. 1955.

A hybrid of the same name was raised by Messrs Wallace, but is uncommon and probably not in commerce.

Valaspis (leucaspis × valentinianum). – Flowers about four in the truss, on stout pedicels. Corolla widely spreading, 2 in. wide, scaly outside, pale creamy yellow. Calyx almost 12 in. long, lobed almost to the base. Leaves broad-elliptic, to 2 in. long, glossy above, glaucous beneath, ciliate. Dwarf, open habit. April. (Aberconway. A.M. 1935.)

Vanessa (griersonianum × Soulbut). – Flowers in a lax truss, on glandular pedicels. Corolla trumpet-shaped, 3 in. wide, clear soft pink, with dark crimson nectaries, throat deeper coloured than the limb, with two lines of speckles. Style glandular to the tip. Leaves oblong-oblanceolate, to 7 in. long, dark green and glossy. May. (Aberconway, cross made 1924. F.C.C. 1929.) There appear to be three clones at least of Vanessa in commerce. The one described above is ‘Vanessa B’. In ‘Vanessa A’, which is probably the F.C.C. clone, the corolla is more heavily speckled. ‘Vanessa Pastel’ is rather more distinct; the corolla has a cream ground-colour, but is flushed with pink at the edge and the throat is red. F.C.C. 1971.

Vanessa is of interest as the first hybrid of R. griersonianum to be exhibited at an R.H.S. Show, but many followed in the next few years. The Vanessa clones flower in May, are of moderate growth, and quite hardy.

‘Viscount Powerscourt’. – Flowers 14 in a dense truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 258 in. wide, margins wavy, deep rosy pink, with a conspicuous flare of black markings on the centre lobe. Anthers pale brown, filaments rosy mauve. Style pale rose; ovary glabrous. Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, acute, to 4 in. long. Moderate growth. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1888. A.M. 1906.) One of the old dark-eyed hybrids that are now again becoming popular.

‘Vulcan’. – Flowers about ten in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 258 in. wide, wavy at the margin, bright red (near 45d). Medium size, compact habit. May. (‘Mars’ × griersonianum; Waterer, Bagshot, 1938. A.M.T. 1957.) This is an example of the use of R. griersonianum to produce hardy hybrids in brighter and cleaner shades of red than any of the older sorts, which derived their colouring from R. arboreum. An earlier example, from the same raisers, is ‘Bonfire’, which is R. griersonianum crossed with a hybrid between R. discolor and ‘Mrs R. G. Shaw’. This received an A.M. as early as 1933, when the original seedling was exhibited in a pot, bearing one truss, and 18 in. high. The cross had been made in 1928. The flowers in ‘Bonfire’ are geranium-red, speckled on the centre lobe, borne in conical trusses. It grows taller than ‘Vulcan’, and flowers in May.

White Glory (irroratum × Loderi). – Flowers about 15 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, five- or six-lobed, pure white except for faint crimson speckling in the throat Leaves elliptic, rather rigid. A very beautiful white, but flowering too early for most gardens (March or early April). It was raised at Leonardslee and received an A.M. when shown from there by the Dowager Lady Loder in 1937.

‘White Pearl’ (‘Halopeanum’). – Flowers 9 to 12 in a tall truss; rachis 212 to 312 in. long; pedicels 112 to 2 in. long. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb, about 312 in. wide, rosy pink in the bud, opening pure white, except for some crimson speckling on the centre lobe and the five crimson nectaries at the base. Style glabrous; ovary sparsely glandular-downy. Calyx up to 14 in. long, with broad, obtuse lobes, concave on the outside. Leaves dark green, glossy, oblanceolate to elliptic, cuneate at the base, 812 by 2 in. Tall. May.

‘White Pearl’ received an A.M. when shown by Messrs Cutbush of Barnet in 1906. According to the International Register it is the same as ‘Halopeanum’, and there seems to be little doubt that this is the case. ‘Halopeanum’ was the result of a spontaneous cross between R. griffithianum and some hybrid of R. arboreum (probably with R. maximum). It occurred in the garden of Mons. Halopé of Cherbourg, and planted outside survived the hard winter of 1894-5. It was described and figured in Revue Horticole the following year and put into commerce in 1897. Messrs Cutbush appear to have been the agents of M. Koster and Sons of Holland, and may well have obtained the plants from them, renaming the hybrid to increase its appeal and gain for it some reflected glory from ‘Pink Pearl’. The description given above is from a plant on Battleston Hill in the R.H.S. Garden at Wisley. See further under ‘Gauntlettii’.

‘White Pearl’ is a quite handsome, hardy white, with striking deep green, glossy foliage, but there are others of the same character which are superior.

‘White Swan’. – Flowers 16 to 18 in a conical truss. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, 4 in. or slightly more wide, wavy at the margin, pale pink at first, becoming pure white except for green markings in the throat below the centre lobe. Style with a large green stigma. Tall. May. (decorum × ‘Pink Pearl’; Waterer, Bagshot. A.M.T. 1937. F.C.C.T. 1957.)

‘Willbrit’. – Flowers five to eight in the truss. Corolla campanulate, deep pink, 3 in. wide. Leaves ovate, cordate at the base, 134 to 314 in. long, reddish when young. Compact rounded habit. Late May. A member of the Ammer-landense group (‘Britannia’ × williamsianum), raised by Dietrich Hobbie and put into commerce by Le Feber and Co., Holland, in 1964. The cross has also been made at the Boskoop Experimental Station, Holland, and three clones named, of which ‘Karin’ is said to be the best (Dendroflora, No. 3, p. 52).

‘Windlesham Scarlet’. – Flowers 12 to 15 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla 3 in. across, wide-campanulate, wavy and frilled at the margin, dark crimson (53b/c), speckled with black on the upper lobe. Late May. (‘Britannia’ × ‘Doncaster’; Messrs Fromow, Windlesham, raised c. 1930. F.C.C.T. 1971.)

‘Windsor Lad’. – Flowers 16 in the truss, on stout, bright green pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, lilac-coloured (81b or c), with a large green-yellow flare on a lighter ground. Leaves oblanceolate. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.)

Winsome (griersonianum × Humming Bird). – Flowers four to six in lax trusses. Corolla funnel-shaped from a broad base, about 214 in. wide, pure soft pink (Neyron Rose), slightly speckled on the centre lobe, nectaries scarlet. Anthers black. Style pink, darkening at the apex, with a small stigma. Leaves bronze-coloured when young, more or less elliptic, 312 in. long, clad beneath with thin, pale wool. Dwarf. May. (Aberconway. A.M. 1950.)

Yellow Hammer (flavidum × sulfureum). – Flowers from terminal and upper axillary buds, mostly in pairs from each bud. Corolla tubular-campanulate, about 78 in. long and 34 in. wide, downy on the outside, soft yellow. Leaves about 112 by 12 in., darkish green, scaly beneath. Moderately dwarf, to 5 or 6 ft, taller in woodland. March or April, but a fair proportion of the flower-buds opening in autumn. A very popular hybrid, raised by J. C. Williams of Caerhays Castle, Cornwall, before 1931.

Yvonne (‘Aurora’ × griffithianum). – Flowers about 11 in the truss; rachis 212 in. long. Corolla widely funnel-campanulate, about 4 in. across, pink in the bud, opening ivory-white with a pink flush. Style with a large green stigma. Calyx green, shallowly and obscurely lobed. Leaves 6 in. long, half as wide. (Rothschild.) The description is of ‘Yvonne Opaline’, which was the first to be exhibited, and received an A.M. in 1931. In ‘Yvonne Pride’ the flowers are creamy white with a red eye (A.M. 1948). The Yvonne cross is related to Loderi, but with an infusion of R. thomsonii through ‘Aurora’. The only other species involved is R.fortunei. The plants need a sheltered position and flower in late April or early May.

‘Zuiderzee’. – Flowers about 16 in a compact truss; pedicels less than 1 in. long. Corolla wide-campanulate, 3 in. across, creamy yellow, spotted with red on the upper lobes and with some streaking in the throat. Leaves elliptic, obtuse, lateral veins impressed above, 5 by 212 in. Bushy and slow-growing. May. (campylocarpum hybrid × ‘Mrs Lindsay Smith’; M. Koster and Sons. A.M.T. 1936.)

Similar hybrids, of the same parentage and from the same raiser, are: ‘Adriaan Koster’, ‘Diane’ (A.M.T. 1948), and ‘Harvest Moon’ (A.M.T. 1948). Similar too is ‘Jersey Cream’, raised by J. J. Crosfield, Embley Park, but for this R. campylocarpum itself was used.

M. Koster and Sons also crossed a hybrid of R. campylocarpum with R. caucasicum, the result being ‘Canary’ (1920). According to H. J. Grootendorst, the flowers are clear yellow but the habit poor and the foliage yellowish green (Rhod. en Azal., p. 63). More recently, the same firm has put into commerce ‘Alice Street’, the result of a cross between ‘Diane’ and R. wardii. It is a fine hardy yellow, with large, bowl-shaped flowers, but is scarce in commerce.

Species articles

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