Author |
Message |
davidmdzn7
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:01 pm Posts: 412 Location: Maryland, USA
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Interesting John. Thanks for posting that.
BTW the summer-death scenario I describe is probably not a frequent occurrence. Whereas down here, perhaps 3 out of every 5 summers would kill an R. rex...up there it might be one in 5 or 10. So, still something you have to think about when dealing with something that grows large. Anywhere on the east coast, south of coastal Maine, I'd prefer to grow it grafted onto something tougher. The summers in Nova Scotia are as cool as England's.
|
Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:41 pm |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Hi Steven,
thanks for the info.......the marginal Yuccas in my area include:
Y. schottii - larger specimens can survive average to mild winters. I had one survive several years until the 2008-2009 winter killed it. We get lots of winter precipitation here.
Y. aloifolia - has never survived here in winter. I've tried many forms and all die in their first winter.
I can grow Y. rostrata, Y. elata and most forms of Y. gloriosa/recurvifolia.
Rhododendron is probably the most planted shrub in our area. Every other house has them. Here's a couple large specimens I spotted in some yards recently. Large estates and botanical gardens will have large specimens but these were large for such small house lots.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
|
Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:57 am |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Hi John,
great Rhodo specimen. Do you know if that's one plant or several which grew together? Large Rhodo's sure are beauties. I drive by a large leaf Rhodo when going to work. I should pull over and take some photos.........it's located up someone's driveway so I would be trespassing.....but it's worth it! I bet it's a large leaf form of R. maximum since the habit is more shrubby than tree like.
|
Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:02 am |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Hi David,
did that R. rex 'ficto' in SE PENN die from summer heat or winter cold? I planted my rex facing north and my rex 'ficto' facing east. Both are planted against my 'warm' foundation wall which has a basement; therefore, the frost depths should not be too bad.
|
Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:07 am |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Hi John,
Westport Point, Westport, MASS is very close to me. Yes, that area should be warmer than me since it's very close to the Ocean. Do you know where it was (address)? I can drive by and take a look. My kids swim at Horseneck Beach all the time.
|
Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:10 am |
|
|
johnw
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:37 pm Posts: 240 Location: Halifax, NS
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Tim - My guess is there was originally one plant in 1893 and it layered itself over the years.
Back at the turn of the century they built wigwams over such plants for the winter believibng they were not at all hardy. Much like Chinese Fan Palms world-wide these days.
I do not have the address of the late Powell Huie who grew that rex in Westport Pt., I must have deleted it when he died. I can write to a friend and find out if need be, BTW going through my emails I see that he grew/grows rex in Duxbury, so for you things might just be a bit promising.
johnw
Last edited by johnw on Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
|
Sat Apr 13, 2013 7:11 pm |
|
|
johnw
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:37 pm Posts: 240 Location: Halifax, NS
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
|
Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:50 am |
|
|
davidmdzn7
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:01 pm Posts: 412 Location: Maryland, USA
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Hi David,
did that R. rex 'ficto' in SE PENN die from summer heat or winter cold?
I don't seem to recall that it was discussed in the book "Rhododendrons of the World", by David Leach, but if you can find a copy, let me know what you find out. Just that it had not been a permanent plant. I have a fairly distinct memory of formulating a list of my most sought after plants when I was in my late teens, checking that book out from Fairfax County Public library, and noting in my mind "big leaf rhododendron...lasted for a few years at a garden in SE PA." No doubt I first heard about them from watching the travel segments on Victory Garden and hearing Peter Seabrook coo about them in some zn 10 New Zealand or Tasmanian garden.
The name Wister rings a bell in relationship to that passage of the book, but it's never been clear to me if what Swarthmore now calls the "Wister Garden" is actually where the Wisters gardened back in the early and mid 20th century. At any rate I've pretty thoroughly combed through the Scott Arboretum, and if I'd seen a large Rhododendron rex, my heart would have stopped, so it's safe to assume it's no longer there! Confusingly, the Tyler Arboretum also calls their rhododendron collection the "Wister Collection." Likewise, there is no big leaf rhododendron there, but it must be one of the best collections of large plants (> 10' tall) on the East Coast and you should check it out if you have a chance.
|
Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:15 am |
|
|
johnw
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:37 pm Posts: 240 Location: Halifax, NS
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Tim - Here's my rex Berkley x Quartz, yesterday. A few buds to come....
johnw
|
Wed May 01, 2013 1:50 am |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
nice Rhodo John! Those leaves look nice and long......10" to 12"?
|
Thu May 02, 2013 3:02 pm |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
Here's a couple photos of my two R. rex's........one is looking good but the other is loosing the deep green color in the leaves.......is this a concern I can address by fertilizing?
This R. rex 'ficto' looks great
This R. rex has lost the dark green color in its leaves
|
Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:05 am |
|
|
Alexander
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:55 pm Posts: 3344 Location: Leidschendam, The Netherlands. (52 N latitude)
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
_________________ Living to close to the arctic circle!
|
Sun Aug 18, 2013 3:12 am |
|
|
Steven
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 4:02 pm Posts: 2486
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
David, once again you imply that one place should be representative for the whole country it is located in. That's oversimplifying and wrong. Munich's data is as little convincing for Germany as London's is for the UK. To boot, you picked with Munich one of the worst climates for Rhodos and plants in general. Munich is sited far too high (>500m asl) and is too continental (reads too far to the east) to have a good climate for maritime climate species such as Rhododendron. I'd say anything east of a sharp line, running from N to S right through Frankfurt is far too cold for the plants we here are GOTE like to grow, the only exception being the immediate coast line of the baltic sea. If you want to make a meaningful statement about rhododendron growing conditions one should at least look at those areas, where Rh are actually grown, that means either in Hamburg (which is sited 600km north of Munich ) or at least nearby, where many of the big Rhodo breeders are, in Westerstede , Friesland.
|
Sun Aug 18, 2013 1:59 pm |
|
|
Tim B
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 11:56 pm Posts: 417 Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts USA, USDA zone 6b
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
one of my two Rhododendron rex's is producing another flush of leaves........this can't be good this late in the season. Do the rex's in Europe produce a second flush of leaves this late in the season??
|
Wed Sep 25, 2013 8:06 pm |
|
|
johnw
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:37 pm Posts: 240 Location: Halifax, NS
|
Re: Rhododendron rex
This would be an extremely good thing if it were Spring. These rex are reluctant to branch, especially so low down, unless growing in full sun and exposure. Hopefully at least a bit of the new stems will survive and re-flush next spring.
johnw
|
Wed Sep 25, 2013 8:26 pm |
|
|
|
Who is online |
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 35 guests |
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum
|
|