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Rhododendron Gardens - Page 2

© Kirk Johnson

The first hybrid rhododendrons were created during the early 1830s by Anthony Waterer, at Knapp Hill in Surry, England. He crossed the rather tender Rhododendron arboreum with the much more hardy Rhododendron caucasicum. The result were plants which were more hardy than Rhododendron arboreum and which had the advantage of repeat blooming. These hybrids are still among the earliest blooming rhododendrons; they bloom when there is a strong possibility of frost. Repeat blooming means that unlike most rhododendrons, all of the flowers don't open at once; instead they open in succession. If the first blooms get damaged by frost, there are still flower buds which aren't damaged. Waterer named this hybid family the 'Nobleanum' grex. A grex is a family of hybrids which result from the crossing of two species rhododendrons, it even includes crosses of the same species done by different breeders. This term became very confusing and it is no longer used by rhododendron breeders, it is only used to describe antique hybrids.

The vast majority of rhododendrons are native to Asia, especially in the vicinity of the Himalayas. Many of these were introduced to Europe during the nineteenth century. Wealthy estate owners valued them as garden plants. Most English estates contained groves of oaks, which provided ideal conditions for the latest arrivals. This is the most effective sort of rhododendron garden, creating a fantasy world unlike any place on earth. In nature the different species are usually separated from each other, that is why they became different species. When different species of rhododendrons meet in nature, they often produce natural hybrids. Wealthy estate owners such as Lionel de Rothschild competed with each other in the crossing of Asian species with other Asian species to create exquisitely beautiful hybrid rhododendrons. These rhododendrons are often referred to as "species hybrids". Lionel would raise a million seedlings on his estate at Exbury, employing a staff of over 100 gardeners. Out of these seedlings, only a few would be selected as worthy of growing, while most went on a burn pile.

The commercial rhododendron breeders focused on creating hardy rhododendrons with huge, brightly colored blooms. To achieve this goal they often crossed Rhododendron catawbiense with Asian rhododendrons. The most adaptable of these rhododendrons are called "hardy hybrids". It became fashionable to line driveways with them.

By the 1920s there was a reaction against these "brightly colored cabbages" on bushes which were just mounds of foliage for much of the year. Collections of species rhododendrons were still admired, as much for the beauty of their foliage as their flowers, but the arbiters of good taste sneered at most hybrid rhododendrons, calling them "the stockbroker's joy".

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