Rhododendron concinnum hybrid • rhododendron

Rhododendron • シャクナゲ • 石楠花 • shakunage

It looks totally different that all the other Rh. concinnum in the SJG, which are rather mid-size and compact and all have quite dainty purplish flowers, also flowering right now, mid-April. This  concinnum hybrid surprises with above the human hight at at least  7′, and  with  much bigger flowers, described in our Plant booklet as ‘corolla pink and white’. It grows in ZZW, by the W fence, next to the (tagged) ‘Shigitatsu Sawa’ maple (Acer palmatum  ‘Shigitatsu Sawa’), near SW corner of teahouse garden.

SJG • 4/10/13 – Rhododendron concinnum hybrid • rhododendron, Area ZZW, close to  SW corner of the teahouse garden

SJG • 4/10/13 – Rhododendron concinnum hybrid • rhododendron, Area ZZW; FLOWERS

From Hirsutum:  […] In cultivation since: 1904.  First described: 1910, (Hemsl.) Origin: West and Central Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan 1500-4400 meter […]

If you click on the Hirsutum page and scroll about half page down, you will see that the picture of flower from University of Britsh Columbia, Vancouver, Canada is nearly identical to our hybrid.

Interesting general information on hybridizing and classification of the genus Rhododendron   at rhodoland, from Tijs Huisman – a gardener, hybridizer and photographer in Netherlands:  […] The Rhododendrons we see and plant in our gardens are mostly hybrids, bred out of the original species. This hybridizing work started mainly in Europe, first in England, later also in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. English, but also Dutch, French and German planthunters introduced many species from Asia to Europe. Names as George Forrest and Frank Kingdon Ward and many others should be honoured for their contribution! Many plant lovers hybridized with them since the end of the 18th century and introduced thousands of new hybrids. Later also American hybridizers brought many new hybrids into trade and still do with excellent new introductions. […]

Tijs’s entire website is dedicated to rhododendrons and azaleas, and is very informative – that is where I learned that most evergreen azaleas are Japanese in origin.

Rhododendron quinquefolium • azalea

Rhododendron Rhododendron / Azalea •  シャクナゲ / ツツジ  • 石楠花 / 躑躅  •  shakunage / tsutsuji

Edited 4/29/13 – pic of leaves

Our Plant List says we have them in the shady areas ZZE and ZZW, along the Service Road – on a stroll today I discovered the one in ZZW: the leaves are not quite out yet, and the dainty flowers are rather sparse.

SJG • 4/10/13 – Rhododendron quinquefolium, azalea, area ZZW.  Not the best photo, but it gives you an idea where to look: traveling N on the Service Road, you will pass the bench and 2 dwarf bamboo clumps (lower L of the pic), then you’ll meet it in at 7′ tall.  I’ll watch it for the next couple of weeks – will post a better photo, if it happens so…

SJG • 4/10/13 – Rhododendron quinquefolium, azalea; area ZZW, FLOWER, described in the Plant List as: ‘ whorls of 5 leaves, corolla white’. The leaves are barely there,  so stay tuned for a better pic, if I catch it.

SJG • 4/29/13 – Rhododendron quinquefolium, azalea; area ZZW, LEAVES. The specific name, ‘quinquefolium’, means ‘having five leaves’

From Hirsutum: R. quinquefolium; In cultivation since: 1893; First described: 1871, (Maxim.); Origin: Korea and NE Manchuria in open woodlands […]  From their website’s pics it seem like the leaves do something amazing in fall: turn sharp red edges,  then completely red – will watch…

From Millais Nurseries in England:  Known as the ‘Cork Azalea’. This plant has pure white flowers spotted green, that open with the leaves in April. Delicate leaves appear in whorls of 4 or 5, sometimes edged in red. A fine collectors plant from Japan which requires a choice position. Hardy, but it does need shelter when young. […]

From rosebay.org:   Rhododendron quinquefolium.  This white-flowered Asian azalea is in Subgenus Pentanthera, Section Sciadorhodion. It is part of the distinct group of deciduous azaleas, which have whorled leaves. The specific name, ‘quinquefolium’, means ‘having five leaves’; the plant is also referred to as Cork Azalea, a name which comes from its gray-brown corky bark.

This graceful, compact plant with spectacular autumn color is slow growing as a young plant. It reaches 2-3 feet in cultivation and is a rather dainty shrub, wider than high. Its leaves unfurl in whorls of 5 on the tips of branches and are light green, often tinged along the edges with red. In the wild it can grow up to 15 feet in height. It grows in central Japan above 3000 feet in shady ravines. It forms great masses and intermingles with R. pentaphyllum, usually pink, with R. degronianum growing underneath. […]

Rhododendron keiskei • rhododendron

Rhododendron • シャクナゲ • 石楠花 • shakunage

We have three rhododendrons keiskei in SJG, all well visible right after the garden entrance: one in area C – immediately to the right of the main path, between the gate and yukimidoro lantern (a compact, densely covered in bloom, pruned round), and two other, sitting next to each other in area B, best seen from the connector path between areas B and Z – one of them is pruned round and the other kept in more free form.

They bloom early spring here in Seattle (early April this year,  2013, and same last 2 years),  different shades of cream/yellow – some more pale, almost white blooms, the other almost yellow.

SJG • 4/4/13 – Rhododendron keiskei, Area C; corolla pale yellow, pruned round  on the R side of the picture

Hiroko, asked to  to confirm the Rh. keiskei ID information, wrote this about the plant and its name: You might want to look at website about Rhod. keiskei in hirsutum website. It is www.hirsutum.info/rhododendron/species/detail.php?id=742. It even has a picture of Mr. Keisuke Ito whom this species is named after. The reason I looked into keiske species is that I always wondered the spelling of the species. I knew it must be after person’s name of Keisuke, but I always see it spelled Keiske. Consonants in Japanese language are always followed by vowels. Mr. Keisuke Ito’s name in the website spells correctly Keisuke not Keiske. I presume whoever gave the species name first misspelled his name, and it is stuck ever since.

SJG • 4/4/13 – Rhododendron keiskei, Area B ; corolla pale yellow; 2 of them, seen here from the main path, while looking left onto the connector path. Their shades of yellowness are different: one is cream yellow, and the other almost white.

Interesting description of this plant on the Rosebay.org site:  The specific epithet ‘keiskei’ commemorates the Japanese botanist Ito Keisuke (1803-1900). It is native to mountainous regions of central to southern Japan, in rocky situations at elevations of 2,000 to 6,000 feet. In the southernmost part of its range (Yakushima) it occasionally is epiphytic.

R. keiskei is a lepidote (scaly) rhododendron, quite variable in habit. Taller forms can reach as much as 10 feet, with a loose, open habit; at the other extreme is var. ozawae (formerly var. cordifolia) and its cultivar ‘Yaku Fairy’, which forms a dense, spreading mound, barely 6 inches tall and 2 feet across. Foliage is also variable in shape and size (1 to 3 inches long), olive green to medium dark green. Flowers are 1 to 1 1/2 inches across, pale yellow to lemon yellow, in trusses of 2 to 6 flowers, produced in early midseason (second to third week of May in the Boston area).

SJG • 4/1/13 – Rhododendron keiskei, Area B ; corolla pale yellow; FLOWER – almost white

SJG • 4/1/13 – Rhododendron keiskei, Area B ; corolla pale yellow; FLOWER: truly pale yellow

Camellia japonica

Camellia  •  Camellia   •  ツバキ  •   椿   •  tsubaki

There are two camellias in area N – northwest hilly corner of SJG: one is described in the Plant List as ‘sasanqua, flowers pink, has support pole’ (very corner of N, close to the path) and the other as ‘japonica, red flowers fading to pink’ (closer to top of the hill).

This post is about ‘C. japonica’ (no support pole) – last year I posted about this camellia in a group post in April (blooms same time in 2013), so now giving it a separate post.  I’m somewhat fascinated by the fact that many of SJG  camellias classified as ‘japonica’ have sub names like ‘Lily Pons’ or ‘Takayama’,  but quite a few are left just as “japonica’, no further ado. I checked them all, and although most of our just ‘japonicas’ come in (different) shades of red, several bloom white, most are single petals, but one has double petals, which perhaps means that we simply do not know their sub-names…

The wikipedia article (link below) indicates that it grows in the wild in red or white, and that particular cultivars were either named after people who breed them or in honor of others (among wiki-listed there is white, edged pink with pink center Commander Mulroy camellia japonica, which I believe we actually have in area M, only listed as ‘japonica’, as well as Bob Hope camellia japonica, which is supposed to have deep red flower color).

SJG • 4/1/13 – Camellia japonica, red flowers fading to pink, area N; seen from the N path at the top of the Garden

SJG • 4/1/13 – Camellia japonica, red flowers fading to pink, area N; FLOWER

From wikipedia:  Camellia japonica (the Japanese camellia) is one of the best known species of the genus Camellia. Sometimes called the Rose of winter, it belongs to the Theaceae family. It is the official state flower of Alabama.

In the wild, it is found in mainland China (Shandong, east Zhejiang), Taiwan, southern Korea and southern Japan. It grows in forests, at altitudes of around 300–1,100 metres (980–3,600 ft). […]

Flowers of the wild species have six or seven rose or white petals, each 3–4.5 centimetres (1.2–1.8 in) long by 1.5–2.5 centimetres (0.6–1.0 in) wide; the innermost petals are joined at the base for up to a third of their length. (Cultivated forms often have more petals.)  […]

County Line Nursery has pictures and descriptions of many cultivars for your perusal: among them ‘Daikagura’ which we actually  have growing in area C (described as ‘red and white flower’ when in reality it is more pink flower with white splotches), and a picture of Bob Hope camellia japonica, too.

Salix babylonica • Weeping willow

Salix  •  Willow •  ヤナギ •  柳 •  yanagi

The weeping willow sits in Area K, and creates a striking focal point on the corner of the winding E path for a visitor traveling north, but also for the one traveling south and bending the same path: from both angles the willow takes a central front view, attracting the eye all year round: be it the impressively  dark naked branches in winter, new contrasting pale green growth in spring, or fascinating long sweeps the rest of the year.

I think I finally got the story of the tree right: it was originally planted leaning diagonally over the water to suggest movement, but some years ago it toppled and fell into the pond.  After it was rescued it was given a short support pole, with hope that it will recover while its root seemed totally hollowed out; it developed a secondary root system and did recover, presently leaning almost horizontally.  It is the only remaining willow in the garden – all others had been removed as they grew out of scale with the rest of the garden; I like to tell visitors that this one had earned its keep…

SJG • 4/1/13 – Salix babylonica • Weeping willow, Area K

SJG • 4/1/13 – Salix babylonica • Weeping willow, Area K. You can see to the other side through the cavity of its hollowed root.

From wikipedia: Salix babylonica (Babylon willow or Weeping willow; Chinese: 垂柳) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe. […]

From Missouri Botanical Garden: […]  Noteworthy Characteristics: Native to China, weeping willow (sometimes called Babylon weeping willow) is a small deciduous tree that grows to 30-40’ tall with a broad rounded crown of branches that weep to the ground. Many consider this tree to have the best form of the weeping willows available in commerce. Branchlets are typically green or brown (not yellow as with S. alba ‘Tristis’). Weeping willow can be a spectacular specimen at the edge of a pond with its branches gracefully weeping down and touching the water, however, it is often very difficult to site this tree in a residential landscape. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers appearing in silvery green catkins on separate male and female trees. Flowering catkins appear in April-May, but are not showy. Narrow, lanceolate, finely-toothed leaves (to 6” long and 3/4” wide) are light green above and gray-green beneath. Variable fall color is usually an undistinguished greenish-yellow. This tree has more pendulous branching and is more compact than Salix alba ‘Tristis’. The specific epithet was given to this tree by Carl Linnaeus who mistakenly believed it to be the biblical willow of Babylon. The true species may not be available in commerce any more. […]