Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Amateur Gardening

    A Gardener's Miscellany

    Apr 14, 2020 5 minutes

    This week it’s:

    Rhododendrons and azaleas

    We look at these evergreen and deciduous woody plants from the heather family

    ACCORDING to the Botanical Garden at the University of California, there are 1,024 naturally occurring, mostly Asian, species of rhododendron in the world. These are just the species! When it comes to cultivars, hybrids, varieties and other forms, there are more than 28,000 listed in the International Rhododendron Registry held by the Royal Horticultural Society. You can see, therefore, that the rhododendron is a huge and diverse plant group.

    As we are about to enjoy the main season for rhododendron and azalea flowers, let’s take a timely look at just a few of their stories.

    Spot the differences

    RHODODENDRON is the largest genus in the heather family (known as Ericaceae). How are all these magnificently diverse plants

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Amateur Gardening

    Amateur Gardening2 min read
    Repairing The Lawn After Winter
    After months of seemingly incessant rain, it’s hardly surprising that for many of us, our lawns are resembling the end result of the Battle of Bosworth Field. We live at the top of a hill and our soil is free-draining and chalky and even our grass is
    Amateur Gardening3 min read
    AG Readers Asked To Help Hedgehogs
    AG readers are being asked to join a three-year pilot project that aims to count hedgehog numbers across the UK. Populations of the ‘nation’s favourite mammal’ have sharply declined since 2000, leading to the launch of the National Hedgehog Monitorin
    Amateur Gardening3 min read
    Post-flowering Bulb Care
    The other day I was talking to a friend who’s a keen gardener and she let slip the fact that in late spring she digs up and bins her tulips and buys fresh each autumn. I was aghast (she does the same with begonia tubers too) because while bedding tul

    Related Books & Audiobooks