Rhododendron

Description and varieties. This is one of the highly decorative woody plants, which can compete with roses for elegance, shape, richness of coloring and flowering blossom. Rhododendron is an ornamental evergreen, semi-evergreen south deciduous shrub with an average height of 2 m. Rarely, the low tree of the family of heather genus has about 1,300 wild species, of which more than 600 and 8000 varieties are used in horticulture. More than 100 varieties are widely used in gardening. Rhododendrons are the most numerous genus in the family of heather. Rhododendrons are extremely effective during flowering. The flowers of rhododendrons are funnel-shaped or bell-shaped, collected in multi-flowered umbellate or shield inflorescences, located singly or pairwise at the tips of branches. In one lush

inflorescence can be up to 20-30 flowers, and then the branch of the plant looks like a bouquet. Against the background of glossy leathery leaves, densely covering branches, the flowers look admirable. We used to regard the rhododendrons as exotic heat-loving plants, not intended for cultivation in our gardens. However, this is not entirely true. Many types of rhododendrons can successfully grow in the middle zone of Russia, and many will be surprised to learn that one of the first brightly flowering shrubs in your garden can be it.

Types of rhododendrons. Professional gardeners and breeders recommend the following 26 kinds of rhododendrons for cultivation in the central strip of Russia.

Evergreen:

Ketevbinsky - lilac-purple flowers up to 6 cm in diameter;Smirnova - purplish pink;attractive - purple-violet - Pontic - violet, up to 6 cm in diameter;

stiff-haired - pink;Caucasian - white or cream, sometimes pink, 5-6 cm in diameter;the largest - light pink or purple-pink, 4 cm in diameter;rusty - pink-red or pink-purple;

. .. Fori - white or yellowish with a pinkish tinge.

In our country, the following types of evergreen rhododendrons are grown in culture: Rhododendron Ketevbinsky comes from North America, where it grows in the mountains. This is a shrub up to 3 m high with long leathery leaves;Flowers are collected on 15-20 pieces in beautiful inflorescences. Blooms from the second half of May to the middle of June. The view is frost-hardy, it tolerates the climate of the middle belt, but it freezes in severe winters. The Caucasian wildly grows in the Caucasus Mountains, rising to 3000 m above sea level. Forms shrubs about 1 m in height and more;flowers are collected in numerous spherical inflorescences. Frosty, but in severe winters it freezes. The largest comes from the mountainous regions of North America. A bush or a small tree with large( about 30 cm) thick leaves;flowers are collected in inflorescences of 15-30 pieces. Blooms from the beginning of June. There is enough wintering, but in some years the shoots and branches freeze.

Rhododendron Pontian grows in the Caucasus from coastal areas to subalpine meadows.

A bush height of 3-5 m with long leathery leaves. The flowers are collected 10-15 in dense inflorescences. It is heat-loving and needs protection in winter. In the southern regions it blooms in April-May.

Semi-evergreen species:

Sikhote-Alin( pink-purple flowers) is the most early-bearing species of rhododendrons with beautiful colors of elegant form. The stamens are given special decorativeity by the stamens on very long thin filaments of stamens;

Ledebora( pink-purple flowers) is a semi-evergreen thick-bush shrub up to 2 m high with thin shoots, which appears from under the snow already with leaves. In the autumn they almost do not fall off, keep on the bush for 1-2 years and fall off gradually only in the spring during the appearance of new shoots and young leaves.

Against the backdrop of leathery shiny olive-green leaves 2-3 cm long, the large flowers up to 4-5 cm in diameter are very beautiful, collected in lush inflorescences. Flowering occurs when the plant reaches the age of 3-5 years. Its duration is 2 weeks - the end of April - the beginning of May, depending on the weather conditions.

Deciduous species:

Daurian - pink-lilac, up to 4 cm in diameter;

yellow and Canadian - pinkish purple or purple-violet, up to 5 cm in diameter;Japanese - orange, salmon, and purple-red, up to 7 cm in diameter;Vasema and holotvetkovy - light pink or white;

is dendritic, glutinous and western - white or pink;

pinkish - bright pink;Schlippenbach - pale pink;i-Kamchatka - purple;soft - golden yellow;marigold - yellow, yellow-orange;pointed - light, lilac-pink.

Rhododendron Daurian grows wild in Siberia and the Far East. This is a shrub 2 m high with short leaves. Blooms in May. One of the frost-resistant species. Yellow occurs in the southwest of the European part and in the Caucasus. The bush is up to 2 m high with fairly long leaves, which in the autumn acquire a bright color. Flowers fragrant, collected on 7-12 in loose capitate inflorescences. Blooms in May. Fairly frost resistant.

Japanese, as it can be seen by name, comes from Japan. This is a low bush. Blooms in May-June. Winters. There are many varieties of this species that reproduce well by cuttings.

Canadian is a native of North America. Low bushes with small leaves. This is another of the winter hardy species. Extremely decorative and often used in decorative gardening as soloists against the background of a lawn or in the center of mixed floral compositions. They can also serve as a good backdrop for any flower plantings.

Rhododendrons are best planted in the light shade of trees, although they also grow well in the light. Very well neighbors rhododendrons next to coniferous plants, which create a favorable habitat for them. Very impressive look group plantings of rhododendrons, which can be monophonic or composed of plants with different colors of flowers. The combination of tones creates a wonderful decorative effect. They perfectly combine with lilac, veygel, barberry, henomelis( Japanese quince).Good compositions from different species or varieties of the same species, having a different appearance( habitus) of the bush and coloring of flowers.

Varieties

Red

Species rhododendrons: blood-red, Kamchatka, rusty, Albrecht. Varietal rhododendrons: Britain, Dr Dres-Selhuez, Karaktakus, Elizaveta, Scandinavia, Scarlet.

Pink

Species: Canadian, Daurian.

Grades: Rose Mary, Panenka, Marka, Renata.

Blue, purple, violet

Species: attractive, katevbinsky, dense.

Grades: Blue Pete, Fastuozum, Sapphire, Lavender-gel, Bourzaulyp.

Yellow

Species: tufted, Japanese, golden. Grades: Vlasta, Moravank, Norm.

White

Species: short-bore, Atlantic, sticky, tree-like. Grades: Jackson, Byte Kappingham, Alain.

Cultivation and care. All rhododendrons are rather peculiar shrubs. They are slowly growing, but they are durable and able

to maintain high decorative for dozens of years. For successful growth, they require an acidic( pH 4-5), but nutrient, rich in humus and nutrients, loose, air-and water-permeable soil. The lightest nutrient peat soil is the best way for rhododendrons. They do not tolerate stagnation of moisture, the land must be well drained. Plants do not like chlorine and lime in the soil, they do not tolerate neutral and all the more alkaline soils.

The root system of rhododendrons is shallow, compact, so loosening should be done very carefully, digging of the trunks is excluded. To protect the soil from desiccation, the trunks are mulched with a layer of crushed peat or wood bark, which has an acidic reaction.

High bed for rhododendrons

Rhododendrons completely do not tolerate a low level of soil acidity, the soil with an alkaline reaction is contraindicated. But in the open ground it is difficult to maintain a constant acidic environment, as a result of the inevitable processes of interpenetration and metabolism in the soil, soil alkalinization occurs, extremely unfavorable for rhododendrons. This can be avoided by constructing a high bed for one or several rhododendron bushes. To do this, from the site of the desired area, select the land to a depth of 30 cm, make a drainage layer of large pebbles, rubble, broken bricks with a thickness of at least 15-20 cm, install sidewalls of a high bed and fill the formed reservoir with an acidic soil mixture favorable for growing rhododendrons. Thus, the roots of plants will be constantly in an acidic environment and successfully develop. To care for a high bed is necessary as usual

Rhododendron reproduction by

layers 1. On the branch nearest to the ground, make an incision, without splitting to the end, into an open cut so that it does not close, insert a small pebble or a small chip.

2. Brush the tree to the ground, dig a shallow hole, lower the section of the branch with a cut in it, fasten it with a wooden or wire rod or staple and fill the hole with an acidic, loose soil mixture.

3. By autumn, the roots of the

branch are formed, the rooted seedling is separated from the mother plant in the spring of the plant in the spring of the following year.4. The seedling separated by the pruner has the

a fairly developed root system. After separation in spring, it is planted on a separate ridge to grow or directly to a permanent place.

. It is preferable to plant rhododendrons in the semi-shade or in a rarefied shadow under other trees. In summer plants need regular watering.

-The rhododendrons carry the transplant well, but when planting the bush it is impossible to penetrate the root neck of the plant, this weakens it. Soil around the root neck should be carefully sealed.

Rhododendrons propagate both vegetatively( by layers, bush dividing and cuttings) and generatively( seeds), and wild-growing species of rhododendrons are propagated, as a rule, with the help of seeds. Seeds are sown usually in the spring, for even sowing, since they are very small, they are mixed with fine sand. The sowing is done in the pickling boxes, pots or pots on the surface of the substrate. Seeds are light-like, so the crops are not sprinkled with earth( dense sowing is not recommended), abundantly watered and covered with glass. Optimal regime of germination 18-22 ° C, humidity 90-100 %. Crops daily aired( remove the glass).If the seeds that have been sprouted at least once dry, they will not rise again. Shoots appear after 3 weeks. With the appearance of the first leaves, a picking( 2x3 cm) is carried out. Plants are buried in the substrate to the cotyledons, watered with rain or thawed water at room temperature, tap water is kept for 24 hours in an open dish. This is due to the high content of chlorine and alkali in tap water. After 3 weeks, twice a month, they are fed with full mineral fertilizer in the ratio of nitrogen: phosphorus: potassium = 3: 1: 2( for 1 liter of water 3-4 grams of the prepared mixture).In August, a second pick is made( 4x5 cm).

In the spring boxes with the spiked seedlings carry out in a penumbra, and from September till February keep in a premise at temperature 5-8 ° С.Pour moderately. At the end of February and March, the temperature is raised to 18-20 ° C, and at the end of May and the beginning of June the seedlings( 16-18 months) are planted in an open soil for growing.

For winter cover with spruce lapnika layer of 5-7 cm or dry leaves. In subsequent years, winter-resistant species do not harbor. The first years of rhododendrons grow very slowly, most of their species bloom on the 5th year. To young immature plants grow better and form shoots, blossoming inflorescences are regularly removed. For the sowing of seeds and the cultivation of rhododendrons in the open ground, mixtures of light peat, leafy earth and coarse-grained sand( 3: 1: 1), sphagnum peat of high marshes and semi-perepredusya coniferous soil litter of pine-bilberry( 2, 1), from turf, sphagnum peat of bogs and coarse sand( 1: 4: 1), although the ratio may be different. The soil for sowing must be acidic, rich in humus, loose, air-permeable and water-permeable.

After the first flowering plants are planted in a permanent place. The best time to plant is spring. The depth of the landing pits is 40-50 cm, width is not less than 70 cm. The root neck is left just above the soil level. Plants abundantly watered, mulch the soil with peat, melkonarublennoy bark, fallen pine needles, rotted manure, sawdust layer 3-5 cm improves the soil in 2-3 years:. Spring in tree trunks make a bucket of rotted manure

Cuttings Rhododendron Rhododendrons are often propagated semilignifiedand green cuttings from the middle or upper part of the shoot. The lateral cuttings cut off with the heel also become well-rooted. To stimulate the rooting of the cuttings, it is recommended to stand in a solution of a growth stimulant, for example, heteroauxin. Do not take cuttings with a thick lignified coarsening tissue. Cuttings of rhododendrons are carried out in June-July.

1. Cut length stalk 10-15 cm by making an oblique cut long enough

thin sharp knife, remove the lower leaves, stalk placed in growth stimulant solution.2. Plant the stalk into the soil substrate. Cuttings better okorenyayutsya poor in acidic soil, consisting of a mixture of peat, sand and soil softwood, which is a well rotted softwood bedding. Cuttings covered with glass, transparent cover for seedling tray or film is moistened regularly creating moist microclimate promoting root formation and maintain a constant air temperature of at least 27-30 ° C.The developed root system is usually formed after 2-3 months of

or decomposed compost and is closed at a shallow depth. Early spring is made in the form of a dry mixture of a sulfur-acid ammonium superphosphate, potassium sulfuric acid( 2: 1: 1) 80 g / m2.At the second feeding( the end of May - the beginning of June) the dose is reduced by half. Most cultivars of rhododendrons are multiplied by layers, and as a soil substrate a mixture of peat compost with sand is used. Typically, evergreen species with hard, leathery leaves propagate. The technique is the same as for other shrubs.

Many types of rhododendrons reproduce well by cuttings - lignified, semi-mature and leafy with a kidney. Odrevresnevshie harvest in the fall before the onset of frost. Cut length of 5-6 cm. Cuttings semilignified and green cuttings carried out in June or July, treating their pre-Goethe roauksinom usual concentration. For better rooting, you can make a few shallow cuts at the bottom of the cut. The lateral cuttings, cut off with a heel, are well rooted.

Bark in boxes with a mixture of peat and sand( 1: 1) and a small addition of coniferous earth. Cover the cuttings with glass and keep in a room with a temperature of 25-30 ° C, regularly moisturizing. Good results are provided by heating from the bottom. Usually in 2-3 months a fairly developed root system is formed. Then the plants are transplanted into separate pots and contain already at a temperature of about 20 ° C.In leaf cuttings roots are cut off easily, but the growth of the kidney begins in a few months. If buds appear on the cuttings, they are removed.