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The Rhododendron

Rhododendron ponticum.

THE tendency to depreciate the commonplace is very strikingly illustrated in the preference given to rhododendrons of almost any and every kind over this very old and most familiar garden flower. So anxious are raisers and planters to obtain something different to the cheap, hardy, accommodating, and uniformly beautiful Pontic species, that they are always prepared to produce and plant and vindicate varieties that are tender, shy, and of ungainly growth, for the sake of colours to which they are unaccustomed. But when seen in masses, covered with their bountiful bloom in many shades of rosy-purple, these Pontic rhododendrons surpass all others in point of beauty; and they have a certain freshness that is indescribable, but must be felt when the surroundings are in harmony with the rich but soft colouring. One of the best places near London in which to see these plants in perfection is Cobham Park, near Gravesend; but the London parks can show fine groups, and the nurseries at Bagshot and Working are renowned throughout the world, not only for the mere growing of rhododendrons, but for the multiplicity of magnificent hybrids that have been obtained by systematic labour long continued. There we shall find them in the opening of the summer gaily dressed with banners of scarlet, crimson, rose, purple, white; with shades of yellow, amber, brown, blue, and even black. And many of the splendid hybrids are as hardy as the more common plant before us; and their beautiful colours and floral characters give a special interest to the magnificent exhibitions that are annually held in the Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, and elsewhere in places of public resort. The common purple rhododendron appears to have been introduced to cultivation in this country in the year 1763. It is described in Martyn's edition of "Miller" (1807) as "native of the Levant and Gibraltar; also of Georgia, in the southern sub-Alpine tracts of Caucasus, and where it affects wet places in beech and alder coppices, on rocky mountains, but not on high Alps." In Aiton's "Hortus Kewensis" (1811) there are three references to technical descriptions of the plant, and one of them carries us to the only authentic figure we have succeeded in finding; for this being a very "common" plant, the picture-makers are quite unable to look up to it. The figure is in the Botanical Magazine, t. 650 (1803), and, though truthful and sufficient, is a far inferior figure to the one now before the reader. This is to be explained by the fact that a good garden variety has been selected for the present purpose; and our specimen is characterised by broad petals and a great depth of colour.

It will occur to the reader to ask whether this plant is to be taken note of in connection with the poisonous honey that we have discoursed upon in describing the Pontic azalea? The deleterious honey known to the ancients, and described by Dioscorides and Pliny, and which plays a dramatic part in the grand story of Xeno-phon, was certainly not a mythic substance. The inhabitants of Georgia were but too familiar with it. In the opinion of the writer, who for many years has been intimately familiar with the greatest plantations of rhododendrons of this country, and of Europe generally, the common purple rhododendron produces honey that is as wholesome as that from the clover, the heather, or any other good bee plant. Indeed, were it otherwise, we should be too frequently and forcibly informed to remain in doubt upon the subject. But in the Botanical Magazine, under t. 650, occurs a very interesting note, as follows:--"A middling-sized rhododendron, which had been somewhat forced, standing in a very light, airy bow-window facing the north, produced a large drop of very pellucid nectar at the base of the broadest segment of each corolla; as the flower decayed, this drop mostly crystallised. A number of these crystals were collected, five of which weighed a grain. They were very transparent, resembling in appearance and taste the purest white sugar-candy. The same has been observed in some degree, but not to nearly the same extent, on some other trees similarly situated." Many who observe minutely have seen these saccharine tears in flowers, but few have proceeded beyond the casual observation.

As for Pontus, it is a mysterious geographical entity; and to work out its boundaries will cost some labour, even to the geographer familiar with the ancient books. But there is a way out of every difficulty. Whoever desires a quick guide to the mysterious Pontus may refer in any modern work to Anatolia. The Pontic rhododendron will grow in any peaty, sandy, or light loamy soil. It does not thrive in clay or sticky loam, and it will sooner or later perish in a soil containing any notable proportion of calcareous salts. Therefore on limestone and chalk a soil must be prepared for it. In carving a garden out of a wilderness, the old grass turf, sliced off about an inch thick, and chopped over with sharp sand, will make a capital compost for rhododendrons. But where any difficulty arises, the way out of it is to cart in good turfy peat (not bog) soil.