Seven days of spring - Day six

For the penultimate day of the seven days of spring, we are exhibiting the rhododendron. These amazing plants have 1,024 different species, and most are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan reigon, but some can be native to other parts of Asia, North America, Australia and Europe. The name rhododendron is from the Ancient Greek words ‘rhódon’, meaning rose and ‘déndron’, meaning tree.

The size of rhododendrons can really vary. The smallest species can grow up to 1m tall and the largest recorded being 30m tall. Most types can grow brighly coloured flowers that can bloom anywhere between late winter and early summer.

The species we have here at Rosewyn is called the lanigerum. This type of shrub is evergreen and most can grow up to 12m tall in the wild (most grow up to 6m). The lanigerum species was first described in 1931 by Kingdon Ward. It was first thought the first specimen was collected from the Delei valley in 1928, but it was proved later that Ward had actually first discovered the plant in 1924 growing in Pemako, at the eastern end of the Himalaya. The tree starts to flower at around March, and grows a beautiful cluster of 20-25 deep rose-pink to reddish purple flowers.

Our rhododendron starting to bud, meaning flowers will start to appear very soon!