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By Ole Jonny Larsen
European Member of the Seed Exchange Committee of the ARS
On behalf of the Seed Exchange Committee of the ARS, I have asked members and
others who grow rhododendrons from seeds to tell which species they really wish
to grow. The first wish list was published in the Journal and it has been
on the internet for two years connected to the 2008 and 2009 seed lists.
The first wish list was very long, 197 names, and most received wishes were
included. When I read through the 2008 seed lists from the most well known
rhododendron organizations, I found that 28% of the wished species (55 names)
were on the lists, about half of them on the ARS list. Of course one can not be
sure that this was a result of the wish list program, but I know that at least
some donors followed our list when pollinating their plants during spring 2008.
More of the wished species have been offered on the 2009 lists, so the first
list is now far too long. We have decided to present a new and much shorter list
for the 2009 pollinations. It now only includes species never (at least over the
last ten years) or very rarely offered on any list. These are species that
several members and others have asked for.
We now hope that collectors among us go through their plant lists and ask
themselves if they can support some of these species seeds for the 2010 seed
lists. Even one new name on the seed list will be greatly appreciated, maybe
someone have been searching just that species for years.
| ELEPIDOTE SPECIES |
LEPIDOTE SPECIES |
EVERGREEN AZALEAS |
(Almost) never offered:
albertsenianum
asterochnoum
bainbridgeanum
coelicum
eudoxum
floccigerum
haofui
luciferum
martinianum
mimetes
miniatum
nigroglandulosum
ochraceum
parmulatum
sperabiloides
subanseriense
succothii
Rarely offered:
adenopodum
aperantum
callimorphum
habrotrichum
lanatoides
selense ssp. setifeum
recurvoides
temenium
viscidifolium
pronum |
(Almost) never offered:
afghanicum
bulucaesium
capitatum
cinnabarinum ssp. tamaense
collettianum
cuneatum
edgarianum
fragariiflorum
laudandum
longistylum
shweliense
setapetiforme
tatsienense
thymifolium
tolmache
viiuniflorum
websterianum
Rarely offered:
complexum
micranthum
setosum
yungningense
baileyi nitidulum
russatum (incl. album form)
valentinianum |
indicum (all forms)
kiyosumense
nakaharae
serpyllifolium
wadanum
TENDER SPECIES
hongkongense
championae
ovatum (hardy forms)
VIREYAS
All species in subsection Pseudovireya |
Other more specialized wishes:
- Lapponicas
All forms, varieties, subspecies (some of them earlier described as
species) are wanted. Sophisticated growers are often interested in this
difficult subsection.
- R. viscosum
Different forms of this native American species are wanted (var. aemulans,
var. montanum and var. glaucum). This also goes for other American azaleas.
- R. sanguineum
All forms, varieties, subspecies are wanted. This is quite a tricky species
to grow well, but among the most beautiful rhododendrons when grown to perfection.
- R. pronum
Pronum is offered for the second time this year on the ARS list. This
species has been around for some years now, and it has started flowering in some
gardens. There is a BIG demand for seeds of R. pronum!
- Hardy forms of all tender species are always sought after, especially big
leaved species. Maybe the most important point in growing wild collected plants from seeds
is to find new and better forms than those introduced earlier. This goes for better
flowers, better leaves and better over all performance, but maybe most of all
for better hardiness. Don’t keep your secrets for yourself! |
