Rhododendron Traditional Cache

The Rhododendrons are part of an alcove in the back of the A.D White house gardens at Cornell. I'll be eager to see what color the flowers are, come spring.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron (from Ancient Greek "rose" and “tree") is a genus of 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae), either evergreen or deciduos, and found mainly in Asia, although it is also widespread throughout the Southern Highlands of the Appalachian Mountains of North America. It is the national flower of Nepal. Most species have showy flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer.

Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron. They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower.

Description

Rhododendron is a genus characterised by shrubs and small to (rarely) large trees, the smallest species growing to 10–100 cm (3.9–39.4 in) tall, and the largest, R. protistum var. giganteum, reported to 30 m (98 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged; leaf size can range from 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) to over 50 cm (20 in), exceptionally 100 cm (39 in) in R. sinogrande. They may be either evergreen or deciduous. In some species, the undersides of the leaves are covered with scales (lepidote) or hairs (indumentum). Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large flowers. There are alpine species with small flowers and small leaves, and tropical species such as section Vireya that often grow as epiphytes. Species in this genus may be part of the heath complex in oak-heath forests in eastern North America.

They have frequently been divided based on the presence or absence of scales on the abaxial (lower) leaf surface (lepidote or elepidote). These scales, unique to subgenus Rhododendron, are modified hairs consisting of a polygonal scale attached by a stalk.

Rhododendron are characterised by having inflorescences with scarious (dry) perulae, a chromosome number of x=13, fruit that has a septicidal cpsule, an ovary that is superior (or nearly so), stamens that have no appendages, and agglutinate (clumped) pollen.

Rhododendron wardii var. puralbum

Rhododendron in Japan

A garden with tall Rhododendrons in Lynnwood, Washington

Rhododendron forest in Nepal

Distribution and habitat

Species of the genus Rhododendron are widely distributed between latitudes 80°N and 20°S and are native to areas from North America to Europe, Russia, and Asia, and from Greenland to Queensland, Australia, and the Solomon Islands.The centers of diversity are in the Himalayas and Malaysia, with the greatest species diversity in the Sino-Himalayan region, Southwest China and northern Burma.

Ecology

Invasive species

Some species (e.g.Rhododendron ponticum  in Irelandand the United Kingdom ) are invasive as introduced plants, spreading in woodland areas and replacing the natural understory. R. ponticum is difficult to eradicate, as its roots can make new shoots.

Though it had been present in Great Britain before the last Ice Age, it did not recolonise afterwards and the ecology of the island grew up without it. Its presence today is due to humans introducing it, and it easily naturalises and becomes a pest in some situations, often covering whole hillsides (especially in Snowdonia and the western British Isles). In the British Isles, it colonises moorlands, uplands, shady woodlands (alongside escaped laurels and the native holly) and in areas of acid soils, often in shaded areas.

Cultivation

Rhododendron-Park Bremen, Germany

Both species and hybrid rhododendrons (including azaleas) are used extensively as ornamental plants in landscaping in many parts of the world, including both temperate and subtemperate regions, while many species and cultivars are grown commercially for the nursery trade.

Rhododendrons can be propagated by air layering or stem cuttings. They can self-propagate by sending up shoots from the roots. Sometimes an attached branch that has drooped to the ground will root in damp mulch, and the resulting rooted plant then can be cut off the parent rhododendron.

Rhododendrons are often valued in landscaping for their structure, size, flowers, and the fact that many of them are evergreen. Azaleas are frequently used around foundations and occasionally as hedges, and many larger-leafed rhododendrons lend themselves well to more informal plantings and woodland gardens, or as specimen plants. In some areas, larger rhododendrons can be pruned to encourage more tree-like form, with some species such as R. arboretum  and R. falconeri  eventually growing to 10–15 m or more tall.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle, the push hard to open and close kind. Please BYOP and put everything back as you found it, rubber band and sealed plastic bag and all.