Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Azalea/Rhododendron Field Trip 5/24 day or 5/17 afternoon, 1 by UMD_Terp

UMD_Terp wrote:
I'd like to invite anyone that is interested out to the Nursery I help out at. The only Saturday mid-day that works for me is 5/24, otherwise we could do 5/17 in the evening around 4 or 5.

It is White's Nursery in Germantown, MD.
http://www.whites-nursery.com/
[HYPERLINK@www.facebook.com]

I believe he has one of the largest deciduous collections available on the East Coast and a lot of non-trade azaleas. The owner grows them from seed as well through cuttings so there are some unique plants in the collection.

Come see the propagation house, cold frames, and plants in bloom. The cold spring has really set things back and the nursery will be exploding soon. I know that some of you have been interested in purchasing a deciduous or evergreen. For those that are I will work out a DG'er deal for the day of the "meet-up". If no other reason come to check out the process involved in growing azaleas and see the blooms!!

Attached are two pictures of the flame azalea, Calendulaceum, which are available at the nursery.

"Rhododendron calendulaceum, also known as the Flame Azalea, is surely one of the most spectacular native shrubs of the Appalachian Mountains. The flowers are larger than most of the natives, measuring from 1.5 to 2.5 inches across, and come in a wide range of colors from clear yellow, through shades of orange, to brilliant red.

First collected by A. Michaux in 1795 from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, this species has a wide range of distribution from southern New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio as a northern limit, southward through the Appalacian mountains to northern Georgia. In late May and June, entire hillsides can be washed with brilliant color as these magnificent azaleas come into bloom.

R. calendulaceum is difficult to propagate by cuttings, but is easily raised from seed. Please leave the plants in the wild for others to enjoy, and purchase blooming-sized seedlings from specialty nurseries for garden use since young plants establish easlily in the garden. R. calendulaceum is a naturally occuring tetraploid, having twice the number of chromosomes in comparison to the other native species. Because of this fact, it does not hybridize easily with most of the other natives and even if a first generation cross is made, the resulting hybrids are often sterile."**
**http://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/azaleas/calendulaceum.html