Rhododendron kendrickii is a member of the Ponticum section and Irrorata sub-section. This attractive rhododendron was first described in 1853 from a specimen collected in Bhutan. It was found subsequently by other collectors in Bhutan, Tibet, and Assam. In its native home it will grow to be a large shrub or small tree up to 25 ft. tall, but in cultivation it will probably never get that large. The author's plant is about 25 years old and is about five ft. tall and six ft. wide.

The leaves of R. kendrickii are six to eight inches long, narrow and pointed with wavy slightly down-curved edges. They are dark green and rather shiny on top and lighter colored on the underside of the leaf.

The truss is composed of eight to twenty bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are between one and two inches long and are rose, scarlet, or crimson in color. They are quite heavily spotted with red or deeper colored spots and have dark-colored nectar pouches.

In the Oregon area the plant starts coming into bloom about the first of February and will remain in bloom for at least two months. The new growth that follows the blooming period is an attractive bronzy color that lasts for several weeks before turning dark green.

R. kendrickii is not particular about soil conditions and will grow in heavier soil than will many other rhododendron species. Plant in a location where the frost won't damage the flowers and you can enjoy a beautiful early spring display that will enliven your garden and brighten your spirits.

The benefits of mulching are many. The first of these benefits is that mulching conserves moisture by physically holding it and releasing it slowly to the soil beneath. Since rhododendrons like a damp soil, this is an obvious plus. Mulch also conserves moisture by reducing evaporation by up to 90%. The result of this conservation is that the need for external water is reduced by one third to one half of that needed for un-mulched soil.

Mulches also moderate soil temperature. Mulched soil is up to 10°C (18°F) cooler on hot summer days and up to 10°C warmer during chilly spring and fall nights. The heaving of roots by frost can be prevented as can the drying of roots by high temperatures and winds. The shock from sudden changes in temperature can also be moderated by mulching.

Soil compaction and erosion from heavy rain, wind and hail can be prevented. Mulching can protect the plants from soil compaction due to foot and cart traffic, cold water on hot days and overdoses of water, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and salt deicers on sidewalks and roads.

Mulch can help eliminate weeds under the rhododendron. Not only does it lessen the workload, but it reduces the competition for moisture, nutrients and sunlight. Besides, removing the weeds can cause damage to shallow rooted plants. It helps prevent the spreading of disease spores by foot traffic, and some mulches even repel insects and combat diseases.

One of the most beneficial aspects of mulching is the improvement it brings to structure and fertility of the soil. Mulching establishes a cool, moist environment where bacteria and other microorganisms (e.g., worms) can aid in the decomposition process. This process, among many other things, produces humic acid, which helps release bound-up materials such as phosphorus and iron to the soil, carbon dioxide to the plant for use in food production and ammonia, a form of nitrogen plant food, to the plant.

Some wonderful rhododendrons and azaleas are native to the Japanese Islands. Most are easy to grow in your garden. One of the Japanese species that grows well is R. makinoi, which is native to the northern mountains of the island of Honshu.

The foliage of R. makinoi makes it a desirable garden plant. The lance-shaped leaves are about 5" to 6" long and 0.5" to 0.75" wide. Leaf edges are rolled under and the entire leaf has a downward curve. New growth appears in mid-to-late summer and is densely covered with soft white or tan indumentum, giving the whole plant a silvery appearance. On the underside of the leaves, the indumentum slowly turns a wooly tan or light brown color.

The flower trusses on R. makinoi have 10 to 15, funnel-shaped flowers that are 2" across. The flowers range in color from a soft rose through clear shades of pink to white, and are sometimes speckled with crimson spots.

R. makinoi will grow in sun or part shade in your garden.  Mature specimens grown in cultivation are mound-shaped plants about 5 to 6 ft. tall. R. makinoi is an attractive plant that will give you year-around pleasure in your landscspe.

Most of the great rhododendron gardens of the world have water features. Valley Gardens near Windsor has Virginia Water, Bodnant in North Wales has a rushing mountain stream in a spectacular rock gorge, and the gardens of Scotland and Ireland have water all over the place, mostly coming down in sheets. These water features are typical of the mountainous environment where rhododendrons grow in the wild.

Very few of us are blessed with a natural water feature in the garden but it is not that difficult to create a pond that works well in a rhododendron garden. Most references on garden ponds, however, focus on pond plants and fish. A pond choked with aquatic plants does not work so well for a rhododendron setting where it is effective to create cool, calm reflective surfaces to contrast with rhododendrons.

Site selection is critical to achieve a natural-looking landscape. A pond should be sited at a low spot, and if you construct a stream, it should be located in a small valley. It is surprising how often this fundamental rule is disregarded.

Ponds and streams for a rhododendron garden are most easily constructed to any desired shape using a flexible rubber liner laid over sand and fabric to reduce the risk of puncture. The key to successful pond construction is to plan the edge treatment beforehand.

A rock-lined pool is one of the most effective designs and this is achieved by constructing a level shelf around the edge of the pond. The liner is cut to extend several feet beyond the shelf. Large rocks are placed along the shelf to form the edge, and the liner is folded up behind the rocks. Soil is backfilled behind the liner up against the rocks keeping the liner vertical. When the pond is filled, the water level is about six in. above the base of the rocks resulting in a natural look.

As the pond will be at a low spot, drainage around the pond is likely to be required to avoid the soil around the pond getting soggy. Installing drainpipe and drain rock all around the pond solves the poor drainage issue.

It is worthwhile building a small stream into the pond as the circulation of water keeps the main pond clear of algae. Use a submersible drainage pump to power the stream rather than the more expensive pumps sold specifically for ponds. Streams are constructed by forming small ponds with intervening small waterfall steps. The liner is overlapped from one pond to the next over the steps and rocks are placed to cover the liner to achieve a natural look.

The meaning of the first part of the word is clear to all of us. It means many, much, or numerous, from the Greek polu. The second half of the word, ploid, is not so obvious. It means something like "of the self." Id, the operative part, was derived from the Greek idios for individual, private, or peculiar, the original meaning of idiot was a private person.

In the late nineteenth century a German geneticist used the same term as Freud used in psychology to denote what was then known as the germplasm, and what we now know as the number of sets of chromosomes. The number of sets of chromosomes is important because it controls the outcomes of sexual reproduction. Most of the organism we are familiar with have two complete sets of chromosomes. One set is inherited from each parent. Each set has all the genes for everything that makes up the organism and its life functions. That means each characteristic is controlled by two genes, each on a separate chromosome.

Multi-celled animals and higher plants are typically diploid. Diploid cells produce offspring cells with only one set of chromosomes. These cells are called "haploid" and are known to us as gametes or eggs and sperm. When a cell duplicates its chromosomes to produce two new cells, the division is not always complete, leaving a cell with more or fewer sets of chromosomes than normal. The result of two gametes combining to produce a cell with more than two sets of chromosomes is uniformly fatal in higher animals, but not in plants. For example, if a normal (haploid) gamete combines with one that didn't divide properly, and is still diploid, a triploid is produced.

Rhododendron diaprepes var. 'Garguantua' is a triploid. Its leaves and the plant in general are larger than specimens of the species itself with diploid cells. The general term for organism possessing more than the usual numbers of sets of chromosomes is polyploid.

Triploid plants will typically not reproduce successfully but, if the numbers of sets are even, sexual reproduction in higher plants can result in large numbers of sets of chromosomes. The resulting polyploids will have larger and larger body parts as the chromosome sets increase. Farmers, before we knew about polyploidy took advantage of the phenomenon to produce bigger and bigger tomatoes and other crops.

So, the next time you are buying or growing a beefsteak tomato thank the process that produces errors in cell division that give us polyploids.

Horticulturists generally agree that the ideal specimen for planting has sufficient roots to fill the soil ball (either pot-grown or a ground-grown, balled and burlapped plant), but not so much root that there is obvious crowing or congestion. The best plants are vigorous both above and below the ground.

For pot-grown plants, slip the pot off the root ball. If roots are crowded and matt-like, they have probably been in the pot a long time and have used up whatever nutrition was original in the soil. Such roots may be difficult to establish in new soil unless they are teased apart before planting.

Once loosened, this allows them to grow into the surrounding soil, away from the main root mass and toward better soil conditions. Many rhododendrons can tolerate the landscaper's trick of slicing the root-ball vertically before planting.

Plants that don't have many roots visible at the soil-pot interface are either newly potted (i.e., recently transplanted) or suffering from moisture, nutrition, disease or insect damage. In the first instances, as you are relieving the grower of the significant cost of growing the plant to a reasonable size its not uncommon to ask for a price reduction. Howver, if the cause is any of the later ones, it is wise to not purchase the plant.