Well, I will try a question. I want a new rhododendron for my garden [I mean, new to me] and something bright-coloured, a show-stopper. A local specialty rhododendron nursery has recommended Rhododendron 'Milton' which is shown at http://www.artsnursery.com/product.asp?pid=144 [am I allowed to quote this commercial site?] and the bloom looks gorgeous. The nursery person says it so new it is not on most plant lists yet, but has been seen at shows, and is good for more shady areas, a characteristic I need. I was originally looking for yellow, but this is a fluorescent pink with a yellow tone... Has anyone seen or grown it? By the way, this is not the yellow-white deciduous azalea with the same name, 'Milton'... I am surprised there is not more rhododendron traffic on this site, it is an obsessive hobby for many. Maybe the specialty society websites for rhododendrons absorb all the traffic...
Hello janetdoyle, according to The International RHODODENDRON REGISTER and CHECKLIST, Second Edition, Royal Horticultural Society 2004, ISBN 1-902896-50-5, there are 2 rhododendrons named 'Milton'. 1) R. 'Milton', a creamy white deciduous azalea, parentage unknown, introduced in Belgium in 1888 2) R. 'Milton', lacquer red with a reddish brown blotch, parentage unknown, registered by I. Davies pre 1896 "The nursery person says it so new it is not on most plant lists yet" >>> Both forms of Rhododendron 'Milton' have been around for at least a hundred years. I'ts probably a case of a mislabeled plant, I have some doubt it is Rhododendron 'Milton'.
Thank you, interesting... the nursery I am going to visit is a small specialty one with quite a few varieties, and this really puzzles me. It is not the one from which the picture was obtained, however... but the specialty nursery which is selling it under that name near me, referred to, sent me the URL as an illustration. I'll discuss this with them.
Hi Janetdoyle, That R. 'Milton' quite beautiful. We have planted quite a selection of Rhodo's on our property over the years and the yellow form that we have R. 'Hotei' (Yellow) is beautiful in a shady area against all the dark green foliage. One of our favorites is R. 'Phyllis Korn' (Ivory white), a larger variety. I am not sure what nursery that you are going to, but we have purchased many from Firwood Nursery. Norm is so knowledgable and have picked up quite a few species forms over the years. Hope you find the one your looking for.
I wanted to thank you, Charles Richard, for giving me some feedback on R. 'Milton', which I have been told is relatively "new" and unknown, although the fact that there were much earlier Miltons above as brought out by Chris Klapwijk is fascinating! I visited Firwood yesterday and was totally overwhelmed by the beautiful location [a rainforest in the midst of Saanich municipality -- upward winding road through a very varied-tree forest, huge multi-species trees, peace, quiet, seclusion, and large selection of unusual rhododendrons -- like an area in China where these plants originally came from in a way, when China was forested...!?] Some rhododendrons brought in to hold and sell, others raised on site. They have a new website, http://firwoodnursery.com/find_us.html I hesitate to promote a commercial site, as I am not sure one is supposed to in this Forum, but according to the Charter: " 3.1 Restriction of Commercial Content 3.11 Use of signatures linking to commercial sites is conditionally allowed, providing: that the commercial site being linked to is somehow associated with the individual in question that the area of commerce is somehow related to the topic of these forums at the discretion of the forum administrators that the member of the forums has achieved a member level with permission to use signatures (see this thread) What's acceptable (examples): linking to your plant- or garden-based small business What's not acceptable (examples): affiliate links for services such as "Sign-Profit" (e.g., a pay-per-click forum signature ad system) or linking to a cosmetics small business " I hope, therefore, that I am not violating any rules here. What puzzles me is that there is not more participation by commercial nurseries in this Forum, if indeed linking to one's own business is permitted. Have I misunderstood something here? I am going to send the link to this Forum to Firwood. Anyway, 'Milton' may grow too large for what remains to me in planting space. But the colour is enchanting in the reference I gave to the photo, above. I wanted a brilliant colour. Can you describe the mature blooming plant and the colour of its blooms in a bit more detail? I was intrigued by 'Milton' ' s leaves -- long narrow and pointed, somewhat different from most rhododendrons. (must have some specific species heritage -- I do not know much about the details of rhodos, being merely an enthusiast) I have put off purchasing it for space reasons, until I figure out if I can move a few other items, and in the meantime have indulged in 'Nancy Evans', a smaller-maturing yellow and rose-toned rhododendron with interesting reddish buds, from this nursery. I will check their listing and see if they have 'Hotei', as well -- having a display of yellow rhododendrons would be quite interesting!
Rhododendron ‘Hotei’ (‘Goldsworth Orange’ × unnamed hybrid) Broadleaf evergreen, 3 ft (0.9 m) in 10 years, compact and tight growing. Leaves narrowly elliptic, up to 10 cm long, dark green. Flowers light yellow with deeper shading of brilliant yellow, openly campanulate, 6-lobed, 6.5 cm across, about 11 flowers per loose, ball-shaped cluster. 5o F, mid; quality rating: 5/4/3 [flower / plant & foliage / performance; scale 1 (poor) - 5 (best)]. Best in shade, avoid full sun, well-drained soil needed because it is prone to root rot (Greer, 1996). The cross was made by Karl Sifferman, Seattle, Washington, and seedling raised by Glendoick Gardens, Perth, Scotland; introduced in 1968 (Salley and Greer, 1986). It has been used as a parent for many new hybrids. Received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Merit in 1974 and Award of Garden Merit in 1993. ... from an Oregon State website via Google. On searching Google the blooms appear paler than what I am looking for... hard to tell from photos which are sometimes misleading...
Hi Janetdoyle, I hope that I did not cross any boundries mentioning Firwood Nursery. I would not have done it if I new it was improper. Will have to reread information on such. We have R. 'Nancy Evans' and it is a beautiful Rhodo and the color of the flowers is quite remarkable. The Nancy Evans definitely is a good choice for smaller space. I find that the R. 'Hotei' is quite a bright yellow. Has been said to be one of the truest yellow forms, unless new hybrids have been produced. We have others that are more chiffon/pastel yellows. I do find that pictures usually are not always the best way to choose a color. Friends of ours from the Rhodo. Society have always told us to buy when something is in flower if possible. This is more true when purchasing perennials. The R. Milton is very nice but has not performed as well as most of the others. If you have limited space, you would best to get one or two that you know that you will enjoy and are exactly (color wise) what you want. The parent plants for R.'Nancy Evans' are 'Hotei' and 'Lem's Cameo' ( this one is stunning in foliage and leaf, but larger than what you want). The new foliage on both Nancy Evans and Lem's Cameo comes out reddish green and is beautiful. Anyhow, rambling on too much. There is a book that I always referred to 'Greer's Guidebook To Available Rhododendrons' (Harold E. Greer) If this is something you are interested in, you probably could get it through your local Rhododendron Society. The Rhodo. Society's always had very interesting speakers on everything (companion planting), not just Rhodo's. I hope that you can find that special Rhodo.
Thank you for your full information. I don't think that there was any problem in mentioning the commercial outlet which we did, from reading the rules, but perhaps our Forum administrators will update us on that one. I don't see it done very often, which is odd, but I have emailed Daniel and hopefully will get a reply. I do think there is a plant sourcing topic in the forum, but I am not sure. Anyway, I appreciate your info and it will be a help to others. I am almost afraid to get into the Rhododendron group locally as I know it could become an obsession on top of several other gardening obsessions [groundcovers, pale-tipped small conifers, for two current ones] so I am sort of trying to steer a sensible course and remember we only have a townhouse garden! Also, the group is quite technical and knowledgable and is into the details of parentage of various rhododendrons so I don't know what I could contribute although I certainly could learn, but it might be interesting to attend some of their more general speakers' sessions if I joined. It would be nice to have a series of different plant society speakers all in one venue in one week somewhere... I guess that's what major gardening shows are all about. Is there one like this on Vancouver Island, or in Vancouver itself [there must be]. Well, I have yet to plant my 'Nancy Evans', which I must, and to move a smaller-growing variegated-leaf Forsythia from what turned into a too-shady spot for it to an area which will benefit from some bright colour and gets some sun too. I am going to try the 'Nancy Evans' in a really shady place with some ambient brightness around it, and see what happens. Both will provide some yellow interest on the shady side of the garden towards the street in spring. It will be tucked in near to my Cryptomeria japonica 'Knaptonensis' which were purchased at steep discount owing to damage and planted from their nursery pots to lighten up a shady spot and already are producing fuller growth and new pale branch tips after getting their nursery sunshine-burnt brown tips nipped off by me with tiny nail scissors...
