GIANT RHODODENDRON BLOOM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26226, 9 August 1946, Page 9

GIANT RHODODENDRON BLOOM

Rhododendron Gigantium, a native of Yunnan, the largest rhododendron known, is flowering at the present time at Glenfalloch, the residence of Mr Philip Barling, North-east Harbour. Oniy one or two instances have been recorded of this rhododendron (which grows to a height of 80 feet) flowering under cultivation, and Bean in his “ Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles ” records no instances of its having flowered in the United Kingdom. Mr D. Tannock A.H.R.H.S., who has provided the Daily Times with information covering this variety, observes: “ It is probable that the rhododendron, which is the ‘ King of hardy tiees and shrubs,is more at home in New Zealand than anywhere else in the British Empire and that the Dunedin climate is ideal for its cultivation. In addition to R. gigantium, which is a very early flowerer, there are species thriving in Dunedin gardens which have to be grown under glass in the Botanic Gardens of Kew and Edinburgh, and they should be made a feature of the gardens of this city. We cannot say that the flowering of R. gigantium is an indication of a mild winter, for the buds were found last autumn, but the fact that its large truss of delicate pink flowers can develop in'the open air in winter is very convincing.