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2008:I am not generally a lover of Rhododendron but this old hybrid has been a favourite since I spent an afternoon sleeping under a flowering
specimen drinking in the refreshing scent. I have three young plants in the garden, and I'm not expecting flowers any time soon
, but I'm happy to wait. In the meantime, the new growth is quite pleasant in the spring. 2011:The first flowering has arrived earlier than I was expecting. I have a couple of other plants further up in the garden, where it is more exposed, that are still a few years away from flowering but this is a good start. I should search out some of the other cultivars because this one was a joy for a couple of weeks. The Rhododendron Loderi Group were originally raised by Sir Edmund Loder at Leonardslee from around 1901 by crossing R. fortunei (seed) and R. griffithianum (pollen). R. griffithianum is rather tender but scented. R. fortunei is tougher and more vigorous. 'King George' has been described as the most floriferous of the Loderi Group, but I have not noticed much distinction among mature plants. The International Rhododendron Register says: "Fls c10-12/truss, funnel-campanulate to tubular funnel-shaped, 70-90 x 120-150mm, 7-lobed, soft pink in bud, opening pure white, with traces of reddish flush on outside, two faint bands of green in throat; scented. Calyx, irregular, lobes up to 5mm long, green, flushed red, gland-fringed. Lvs narrowly oblong, 250 x 75mm, hairless. Large shrub. AM 1968, FCC 1970 (Loderi Group)." |
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| 3rd May 2008 | ||
