Rhododendrons
Arduaine Garden is well-known in international rhododendron circles for the number of wonderful species grown here, many of which are considered tender elsewhere and grow unusually under a canopy of mature Japanese larch. To some people, rhododendrons are those unpleasant purple-flowered objects which clog up our native woodlands or which alternatively feature on many calendars and appear to enhance the landscape of Scotland. This is but one species, Rhododendron ponticum, or a hybrid of it, the only one which spreads rapidly both by seed and sucker to cover extensive areas of Britain.
Our collection is very extensive, containing close to 400 distinct species, some of which occasionally self-sow in the garden, though not enough to cause a problem. Our rhododendrons range from the large-leaved giants such as Rh protistum, Rh sinograndeand, Rh macabeanum to the small-leaved, high altitude plants which are often classed as rock plants, a sample of which would include Rh fastigiatum, Rh impeditum and Rh orthocladum. In between these two extremes sit the majority of species of differing sizes with a variety of foliage shapes and an astonishing range of flower colour and form. One of our specialities is the only rhododendron from Ceylon - Rhododendron arboreumsubsp. zeylanicum, of which we have several old specimens.
Not for Arduaine is the one-off explosion of gaudy colour in late spring. Although Rhododendron 'Nobleanum' displays its pink flowers intermittently throughout the winter, the season really begins with a few early bloomers like Rh dauricum after Christmas and continues until Rh 'Polar Bear' calls it a day in August. Our main flowering period though, in a normal year if you can remember one of those, tends to be late April and early May.
Among our special plants are a large number of rhododendron species and hybrids in the Maddenia subsection, which is probably best known for containing species and hybrids such as Rh lindleyi, Rh maddenii, 'Fragrantissimum' and 'Lady Alice Fitzwilliam'. Most of these are tender, white and highly scented and usually inhabit the conservatories of large country houses. The naturally occurring species in this subsection come from the East Himalayas, Yunnan, Upper Burma, North Vietnam and similar places at comparatively low altitude and at Arduaine they all grow outside, generally flowering in early to mid May. We are also experimenting with some of the tender species included in the Pseudovireya subsection.
The garden has a number of other rhododendron hybrids; we're not really species snobs though we do tend to concentrate on them more. The collection has several of the older Hardy Hybrids such as 'Hollandia' and 'Pink Pearl' together with hybrids produced a little more recently - 'Polar Bear', 'May Day' and 'Penjerrick', to name but three.
Our collection is very extensive, containing close to 400 distinct species, some of which occasionally self-sow in the garden, though not enough to cause a problem. Our rhododendrons range from the large-leaved giants such as Rh protistum, Rh sinograndeand, Rh macabeanum to the small-leaved, high altitude plants which are often classed as rock plants, a sample of which would include Rh fastigiatum, Rh impeditum and Rh orthocladum. In between these two extremes sit the majority of species of differing sizes with a variety of foliage shapes and an astonishing range of flower colour and form. One of our specialities is the only rhododendron from Ceylon - Rhododendron arboreumsubsp. zeylanicum, of which we have several old specimens.
Not for Arduaine is the one-off explosion of gaudy colour in late spring. Although Rhododendron 'Nobleanum' displays its pink flowers intermittently throughout the winter, the season really begins with a few early bloomers like Rh dauricum after Christmas and continues until Rh 'Polar Bear' calls it a day in August. Our main flowering period though, in a normal year if you can remember one of those, tends to be late April and early May.
Among our special plants are a large number of rhododendron species and hybrids in the Maddenia subsection, which is probably best known for containing species and hybrids such as Rh lindleyi, Rh maddenii, 'Fragrantissimum' and 'Lady Alice Fitzwilliam'. Most of these are tender, white and highly scented and usually inhabit the conservatories of large country houses. The naturally occurring species in this subsection come from the East Himalayas, Yunnan, Upper Burma, North Vietnam and similar places at comparatively low altitude and at Arduaine they all grow outside, generally flowering in early to mid May. We are also experimenting with some of the tender species included in the Pseudovireya subsection.
The garden has a number of other rhododendron hybrids; we're not really species snobs though we do tend to concentrate on them more. The collection has several of the older Hardy Hybrids such as 'Hollandia' and 'Pink Pearl' together with hybrids produced a little more recently - 'Polar Bear', 'May Day' and 'Penjerrick', to name but three.
