Wednesday, May 29, 2013

My Rhododendrons In Bloom

     The rhododendrons grow in the shady and secluded corner of my garden. These last spring days they started to bloom!


      Here not many gardeners dare on rhododendron cultivating. Because these plants require acidic soil, peat, and do not always tolerate extreme cold.
Previously, I purchased rhododendrons bred in different nurseries. They were strong and beautiful plants, but unfortunately were not suitable to our zone 5a and died in the winter.


A few years ago, here in St. Petersburg the garden center began selling rhododendrons from the Finnish nursery 'Mustila'. Scientists from this nursery bred many hybrids of these bushes. The majority of the 'Mustila' nursery hybrid rhododendrons are hardy, up to -35C, low, so are completely covered with snow in the winter. It's good for their flower buds, plants keep their buds and flower well in the spring.


So I bought a few bushes from 'Mustila' nursery 5-6 years ago. These were varieties "Pohjala's Daughter", "Helsinki Univesity", "Tigerstedt" and others. All my rhododendrons were wintering well, I did not cover them for the winter. In spring, once the snow melts, they straightened their evergreen leaves and prepared to bloom.
I love my rhododendron variety "Pohjola's Daughter" or "Pohjolan Tytar" (in Finnish).  Interestingly, its buds are of cyclamen-red color and flowers are pale purple!



Another variety is my new rhododendron "Peter Tigerstedt." Its buds are like candles, white with black stripes. Flowers open one by one and they are also white with brown speckles.
 

The third blooming rhododendron is "Helsinki University". It's short and round bush with high winter hardiness, its cowberry colored buds open into bright pink flowers.


My other leaved deciduous rhododendrons will bloom a little later, they have large buds and new leaves. So I will continue to talk you about my rhododendrons in bloom.

Read about my trip to the Arboretum Mustila here

Do you have the rhododendrons in your garden? Do they bloom every year or not always?


47 comments:

  1. Lovely! Here rhododendrons do not do too well, because the soil is not acidic enough and the winters are often too dry and cold. I do have some semi-deciduous dwarf azaleas, and those do a little better for me as well as for most other gardeners here in southeastern Michigan. I wonder if any of the nurseries here stock those Finnish hybrids; maybe they would do well here, too.

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    1. What zone is your garden? If you have frosty weather in winter the Finnish hybrids would do well in your place.
      Thank you,College Gardener!

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  2. This is such good information for me Nadezda. I have two rhododendrons and they barely survive my winters and look awful :( I will go straight away online to find out if these "Mustila" are available here. Your photos and the variety and colour of your flowers are absolutely gorgeous, real stars - I want one of each!

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    1. Dear Rosemary,
      I've found a link for you: http://www.hammarlundnursery.com/finnrhodo.htm
      They sell many Finnish hybrids, and "Tigerstedt" as well.
      Have a nice day!

      Delete
  3. Beautiful rhododendrons Nadezda! Having lived in a much colder climate I know how special it is to have these beautiful flowers there! You did a nice job of making collages with each one to show it's various stages of bud and bloom. Rhododendron macrophyllum is native here and is the state flower of Washington, where I live. In our mild climate, rhododendrons are widely grown in gardens.

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    1. Peter, how nice to see rhododendron blooming in your parks and gardens!
      Yes, it's quite difficult to have them here, in North.
      Thank you!

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  4. Welcome Nadezda!
    I am delighted with your rhododendrons.
    It's great variety. Tolerate harsh winter like in your control.
    This year, my azaleas and rhododendrons also look good after the winter.
    Now there are rains. They destroyed the flowers.
    I send greetings.
    Lucia

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    1. Lucia, I'm glad you have azaleas and rhododendrons in your garden too. I hope they grow well after flowering.
      Thank you!

      Delete
  5. I've never tried Rododendrons in the garden because they're not that hardy and also I didn't really like them, well, not the kinds I already saw but now that I've seen yours, wow, such beautiful blooms! Much nicer than the ones I once saw and such a good thing they're so hardy. I'm already looking forward to more of your beatuful Rododendrons!

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    1. Marian, I think in Holland where you live there are lots varieties of rhododendrons and these Finnish hybrids would do well too.
      Thank you!

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  6. You have a lovely collection of Rhododendrons! The pictures are beautiful. I did not know that there were Rhodos for different climate zones, I thought them all very hardy. In my garden they grow well because the soil is very acid, but I have only 4 shrubs of them. The Ismene Festalis in your former post is also a beauty. I grow them like you in a tub. Yours is very early flowering, here the noses just peep above the soil. In winter I keep the bulbs in their tub in the greenhouse or when it is too cold in the basement of the house. Early spring they get new soil and they can go off growing again.
    Happy gardening!
    Janneke

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    1. Janneke, thank you for the advice, I will store the Ismene the same way!
      Yes, the rhodos are bred for different zones, my previous ones died in cold winters.
      Thank you!

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  7. Nadezda, your rhododendrons are gorgeous! I especially like 'Helsinki University'. So lucious and such rich color.

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  8. Your rhododendrons are all beautiful and I'm glad you found a Finnish source that breeds plants that succeed in your area. My favorite is the pink and red Pohjola's Daughter! Wow -complex, multi-colored -- a beauty! I did not have much luck with rhododendrons, mostly because at first my garden was new and too open to winter winds. Now that I have more plants and a more mature garden I might try them again.

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    1. Laurrie, I was very glad when I found this garden center selling hardy rhododendrons.
      And now I think to add more of them to my collection.
      Thank you!

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  9. All of your rhododendrons are so beautiful Nadezda! I just planted 'Helsinki University' this spring. I hope it will do well. If only I had room for a small grove of them like you have! 'Peter Tigerstadt' is very elegant.

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    1. This spring 'Peter Tigerstadt' is blooming the first time and I was surprised to see how nice are its flowers!
      Cream-white color with some brown.
      The 'Helsinki University' was my first experience, and it survived well all frosty winters. I think because it's low and its buds are fully covered with snow.
      Thank you!

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  10. Hello Nadezda - great pictures you show of your rhododendrons.
    We have about 200 rhododendron in our garden - really like them, also seems that they are nice when they have finished flowering.
    Just pt. blossom approx. 50% of them - had a ball inside for a couple of days ago - link: http://hbt.finus.dk/ # post601
    Wish you a good Thursday :) Hugs Hanne Bente

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    1. Hanne Bente, I saw yours--- they are wonderful! 200! Too many for my little garden!
      Thank you!

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  11. Good morning Nadezda!Your rhododendrons are gorgeous!!Beautiful colours!!I don't have any of them in my garden!I wish i had!!Exellent photos and shots!!
    Dimi..

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  12. Nadezda, your Rhododendrons are stunning. So strong and beautiful. Mine aren't. The white one is blooming now, but it's not doing very well. Others have only buds and aren't blooming yet. I live in Finland and I don't have those beauties, funny! I think my Rhododendrons suffer from growing under my giant nut tree...

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    1. You are perhaps right!They don't like the other trees roots near. I re-planted the spruce away the rhodos.
      Thank you, Satu!

      Delete
  13. Están todos preciosos. Las flores son una belleza. No tengo Nadezda, el terreno donde tenemos el huerto no es nuestro y el dueño sólo tiene unos rosales.Gracias por enseñarnos esta maravilla:))
    Un beso

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    1. Aqui, en clima tan fria y muy pocos dias calientes estas plantas con numerosas flores son tan preferibles!
      Gracias, Laura!

      Delete
  14. Dear Nadezda.
    Rhododendrons are lovely. I agree with you: Pohjola's Daughter is a lovely colour. I would have that one in my garden! Back in Melbourne we have a very nice red flowering one but I cannot remember its' name at the moment.
    Here is a link to photographs from the National Rhododendron Gardens near Melbourne and not far from where our house is:
    http://rhododendron.com.au/gardens?view=galleries&gardenId=12&layout=gallaries
    Bye for now
    Kirk

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    1. Kirk, thank you this link, it's really a paradise!
      Your house is in a nice place, I love most the photo of a pond and rhododendrons around it.

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  15. How funny, I've just posted about my new Rhododendron area in my garden, inspired by a visit to Kew Gardens. You have chosen some lovely varieties, that 'Helsinki University' is a really pretty colour and 'Peter Tigerstedt' is a fabulous white. I hope they bloom for many years to come!

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    1. Paula, you've made a wonderful choice! I love most your purple rhododendron! I think Kew Gardens sells the climate suited plants for your zone.

      Delete
  16. Hi Nadezda
    Your rhodos are just beautiful! I'm glad Northern nurseries starting experimenting with this plant and that the Finnish ones have been so successful for you.
    I planted a few rhododendrons when we first moved here but they were in a direct line of fire from a sharp, cold North West wind and did not make it. I have never tried again but may now take a look at the type you have.
    Astrid

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    1. I think the rhodos like to grow in a secluded place, mine are between two fences, those defend them from Northern and Eastern winds and snow. When I found this source I was glad, by that time some of earliest rhodos were bad.
      Thank you, Astrid!

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  17. Your rhododendrons are so beautiful! I think I like Peter Tigerstedt most, but they are all gorgeous. So good to hear that you have found rhododendrons hardy enough for your climate, I remember from Norway the debate about how to make them survive the winter – by wrapping them in a duvet or fleece, but often you got rot and fungus problem instead. I bet they sell these in Norway too now :-)

    Here in London we don’t really have that problem, it is an ideal place to grow any type of rhododendrons and I just wish I had space for many more. I have Dopey and Christmas Cheer and an evergreen Azalea called Geisha Purple. They are flowering right now, very, very late!

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    1. Helene, you're right: you may have more problems covering rhodos with special cloth, than without covering! Mine stand bravely while snow covers them up and in spring look pretty and healthy.
      I've seen yours and Dopey variety is nice one!
      Thank you!

      Delete
  18. I am quite impressed with your rhododendrons, Nadezda. They are gorgeous! So many beautiful colors...what a lovely display.

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  19. Thanks for your comment Nadezda - No. 2 states snekrone - No. 5 states Flava. Wish you a go week-end :) Hugs!

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    1. I've seen the classification of your Flava --I liked it! Thank you!

      Delete
  20. Hardy rhododendrons... now that is something I wish I could find here. We're zone 5 as well, but I've never been able to find a rhodie that would make it through the cold of our Winter or the heat of our Summer. Yours are simply beautiful!

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    1. Carolyn, you live in the same zone 5, so look here:
      http://www.hammarlundnursery.com/finnrhodo.htm

      Thank you!

      Delete
  21. Great note. Super pictures! :)
      Yours.

    + Please visit our blogs. :)

    "Everyone needs to dissolve the mean time, not only in words."

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    1. Patricia, I've seen your new pictures, ladybird is pretty!
      Thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  22. Rhododendrons are such beautiful, varied and showy plants. They require an acid soil, though, which we don't have. That gets to be more of a problem when they grow really large.

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    1. Of course, acid soil and shade! I don't know when they grow large:they are slow and no more then 2 m up 10 years.
      Thank you, Jenny!

      Delete
  23. Nadezda, exellent rhododendron pictures. Did you know that 'Peter Tigerstedt' and 'Helsinki University' will eventually grow to height of 3 meters, 'Pohjola's Daughter' only to 1 meter but up to 5 meter wide. The tallest of Finnish rhododendron-cultivars is 'St. Michel' (aka 'Mikkeli'), the original plant is now 4 or 5 meters tall; this variety can be grown as a tree. All the Finnish cultivars can be found from these links:
    https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/pls/portal/!TAI_MTT.TAI_MTT_RP_TUOTELUETTELO.report
    http://www.mustila.fi/kasvit/Rhododendron/alppiruusut/kotimaiset

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    1. Dear Olli! Thanks for stopping by!
      I have no large space for my rhododendrons and it's pity that they will grow such tall bushes. I hope they won't or I will be able to prune them! This link is interesting to read, thank you!
      I'd like to see your blog or site, what is it http?

      Delete
    2. Hello again!
      The taller growing cultivars can be cut to a tree form so they don't take so much space on ground level. I have a 3m 'St. Michel' that has perennials, Leucothoë and smaller Rhododendrons like 'Raisa' (named after Raisa Gorbatšova).
      Sorry, I haven't got a blog or a website yet.

      Delete

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