Rhododendron & Azalea News

Preview of Coming Attractions
from the Rhododendron Chat Group

Compiled by Don Hyatt

Introduction

The [Rhodo] Internet chat group was started in 1998 and currently has 346 members from around the world who are dedicated to sharing information about rhododendrons. To date, they have discussed over 19,000 topics and shared thousands of images in this interactive format. The majority of the email discussions in recent years have related to new hybrids being developed by members of the group, comments about plants raised from the ARS Seed Exchange, suggested crosses to make, the effectiveness of various parents, new species that have been introduced, innovative cultural practices, and more. Those who participated in the Breeder's Virtual Roundtable in the 2021 ARS Convention had a chance to hear from some of the participants. To the right is the yellow rhododendron 'Nancy Steele' created by the late Dick Steele, Canada's "Captain Rhododendron." He named it for his wife. The photo was taken by John Weagle, 2021 ARS Gold Medal recipient, who recently shared it with the group. John says that a sister seedling, 'Bayport #82-1' seen below, is actually better.

I first want to thank members of the [Rhodo] group who have kindly allowed me to share some of their pictures. This page is designed to highlight a few of the topics and I plan to make this a regular column in the "R & A News". Perhaps you will be interested in joining the [Rhodo] group so you can follow the discussion in real time. Just go to URL below and click on the button that says "Join This Group".
www.groups.io/g/Rhodo

Several speakers at the 2021 Convention lamented the fact that most nurseries and garden centers carry very ordinary rhododendrons like 'Roseum Elegans' and 'Nova Zembla'. There are some fantastic new hybrids being developed but they are not being marketed except through a few specialist nurseries and chapter plant sales. The purpose of this page is to show some of the exciting new plants our members are developing. If we can build demand for better varieties, perhaps some commercial enterprise will start propagating more of them using tissue culture techniques or grafting.

If you would like to grow exciting new plants at the leading edge, consider hybridizing. The next best plant could appear in your own garden. Some say they are too old to be raising rhododendrons from seed but it is good to look at the example set by Charles Dexter. At age 59, he was diagnosed with heart trouble and told he didn't have long to live. Dexter did heed the doctor's advice. He retired from the textile industry and moved to a farm he purchased on Cape Cod to await the end of his life. Dexter soon became interested in rhododendrons and started making his own crosses. He started slowly but then began raising thousands of plants from seed every year. It is estimated that Dexter grew 200,000 rhododendrons during his lifetime. Perhaps raising rhododendrons is therapeutic in nature, or else it could have been the anticipation of seeing so many new seedlings bloom each year that kept Dexter going beyond what doctors had predicted. He did not experience an early demise but lived for another 22 years! Charles Dexter didn't name a single one of his hybrids but his admirers in the ARS selected plants, named the best, and introduced them to the world. We can all be thankful for that wonderful legacy.

Breeding for Yellow Rhododendrons

Every spring as new seedlings begin to open, members of the [Rhodo] group start sharing images of their promising new hybrids. Some had bloomed before but many are blooming for the first time. A few days before the 2021 Virtual Convention, John Weagle started a very active thread on yellow rhododendrons when he shared images of the "best yellow" he had ever seen anywhere. It was growing in a local Nova Scotia garden and the clear yellow of the flower was enhanced by the striking red calyx. Nobody recognized the plant but John eventually solved the mystery. With the help of Ken Shanik's thorough record keeping, they deduced that John's "Best Yellow" was a relatively unknown hybrid by the late Werner Brack called 'Gotham Rheingold'. Most of us had never heard of it before but now everybody wanted one! People were imagining crosses they might make with that plant and some were thrilled to discover they already purchased seed with 'Gotham Rheingold' in the cross that Werner had donated to the ARS Seed Exchange.

During the Virtual Breeder's Roundtable at the 2021 ARS Convention, Kristian Theqvist shared images of his lovely garden in Finland as well as many of the hardy hybrids he has created. We were all impressed with his best hardy yellow, 'Kristian's Sunshine'. Several other presenters showed images of their new plants and discussed hybridizing strategies. George Woodard who managed the ARS Seed Exchange many years ago was the last person to speak. We were so disappointed when the Internet connection froze just as George was about to reveal his "best yellow" to date. The cross had a complex parentage: (('Consolini's Windmill' x 'Unique Marmalade') x ('Karen Triplett' x 'Big Deal' #3)) We wondered what it looked like and fortunately an image did appear briefly on the screen as he terminated his session. George has kindly provided that image which is displayed below on the right side of the first row.

I hope you enjoy these images of yellow rhododendrons from our modern hybridizers. They will give you an indication of just a few of the new hybrids on the way. Discussions about yellows have continued on the [Rhodo] group as have other "art shades" like orange, peach, and apricot. There are other threads on topics like fragrance, winter hardiness, new species, and plants with unusual foliage, too. Those who attended the virtual convention will remember Joe Bruso's excellent talk about his hybridizing success with rhododendron foiage. I will try to highlight his work and some of the other things being done by these pioneers in future issues of the R & A News.

Werner Brack's 'Gotham Rheingold' Photo by John Weagle	'Bayport #82-1' Photo by John Weagle	George Woodard's "Best Yellow" Photo by George Woodard
'Kristian's Sunshine' Photo by Kristian Theqvist	Chris Trautman's ('Amber Gold' x 'Liquid Sunshine') Photo by Chris Trautman	Chris Trautman's 'Big Sky Country' Photo by Chris Trautman
Dick Murcott's TT240 Photo by Dick Murcott	'Bob Furman's Big Yellow' Photo by Don Hyatt	Don Craig 's 'Nova Sunrise' Photo by John Weagle
Chris Trautman's 'Golden Maya' Photo by Chris Trautman	Bud Gehnrich's 'Bud's Yellow' Photo by Don Hyatt	Bud Gehnrich's 'Lemon Zest' Photo by Don Hyatt
George Woodard's ('Offshoot' x 'Lofthouse Legacy') Photo by George Woodard	Chris Trautman's Repeat Cross of 'Recital' Photo by Chris Trautman	Bob Furman's 'Atlantic Gold' Photo by Don Hyatt
Bud Gehnrich's Double Photo by Bud Gehnrich	George Woodard R. macabeanum cross Photo by George Woodard	Jack Looye's (Casanova X (Stokes Bronze Wings X September Song)) (first bloom!) Photo by Jack Looye
Minahan's ((Mary Belle x Odee Wright) x Phipp’s Yellow) Photo by Don Hyatt	Joe Minahan's 'House of Gold' Photo by Don Hyatt	Joe Becales's 'Fashion Plate' Photo by Ron Rabideau
Jack Looye's (Nancy Evans X (( Golden Horseshoe X ( Sandra Hinton X Casanova ))) Photo by Jack Looye	Jack Looye's 'Golden Horseshoe' Photo by Jack Looye	Looye's (V-6609 x 'Fiery Orange') Photo by Jack Looye