Appreciation: Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden - the Parks Board 50

Discussion in 'Ericaceae (rhododendrons, arbutus, etc.)' started by wcutler, Jun 7, 2020.

  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron 'Beethoven' - magenta flowers - Blooms mid-May
    I've been stressing over the "rather delicate" bright magenta pink flowers, since all of a sudden there were two azaleas in the marker area with small leaves, one with much smaller leaves and flowers, and the other, by contrast, anything but delicate. But I'm pretty sure this one with the larger flowers is it, which Rhododendron 'Beethoven' (Vuykiana) (EA) | rhododendron 'Beethoven'/RHS Gardening says has "small, mid-green leaves, and in mid or late spring, relatively large, vivid purplish-rose flowers with a deeper blotch", my italics. That site uses the term Vuykiana in the heading, which is also the series that 'Palestrina' (another of the 50 of interest) is in. Dave at the Parks Board had told me that it's part of the composer series. Now I get it - Palestrina, Beethoven. And Joseph Haydn, which I said earlier was not the same as 'Haydn', but maybe it is. Japanese azalea: plant, care for and tips - My Garden Guide says typical characteristics of this group are flowers of 5 to 7 cm and stocky growth. Azalea says Vuyk (Vuykiana) azaleas bear larger flowers in May. Height to 3ft (1m), spread to 5ft (1.5m). Here is an article that goes into some detail on the Vuykiana azaleas: QBARS - v33n1 The Vuykiana Azaleas (vt.edu).
    RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144243.jpg RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144256.jpg RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144324.jpg RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144337.jpg RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144410.jpg
    RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144706.jpg RhododendronBeethoven_StanleyParkDriveNearHeronry_Cutler_20210521_144724.jpg
     
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  2. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    @wendy Cutler - this is an enormous, ambitious and very impressive undertaking to document rhodos in the Grieg Rhododendron Garden. If you don't mind, I'd like to send a link to their granddaughter here on VI although she may very well already be aware of your efforts.
     
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  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Of course I don't mind, Margot. The whole point is to share them with people. I just hope I'm getting these right, and that I don't have so many wrong that people who would correct me don't think it's too big an effort to set me straight.
     
  4. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    Hello Wendy - i drove thru the park as best I could from North Shore — en route to appt downtown

    I can’t figure out where exactly this garden is
    https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/ted-and-mary-greig-garden-walking-tour-brochure.pdf

    We circled back FROM Lost Lagoon UNDER causeway to the circle then north on PIPELINE (past roses and VPD HORSES and Miniature Train )

    There is a magnificent cluster of various rhodos in bloom on the side of Pipeline Rd just north of Roundabout — look toward 2nd Narrows (east)

    Thank you for doing this project
     
  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    It surrounds the golf course. In the brochure linked to in the first posting, the last page is a map, showing the markers for the featured rhododendrons in relation to Lost Lagoon and the West End streets. At the bottom of the map is the Park Board Office at the end of Pendrell Street, and the teeny blue triangle in the bottom left corner is English Bay.
     
  6. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    I wondered - cuz in all my Vanc yrs - I have always been on the other side of Stanley Park - I don’t know about a golf course

    Today of course one must divert north of Lost Lagoon toward the causeway (west Georgia) etc so I don’t know how to get toward the Sylvia Hôtel my old way via Beach etc
    ————
    In any event - do you think all the rhodos in the G garden came from Grieg Family — Or is it just named for them ?

    I have a rhodo enthused friend who is a member fan of the garden at Weyerhaeuser (federal Way) and that’s an interesting history of England to BC, Canada to Oregon then thank you to a corporate sponsor, Federal Way, WA - with a bit of UBC? And of course Mrs Grieg’s generous foresight and labour

    Thé original corporation sold the real estate but new owner says they’ll keep the gardens intact (last i read)

    History – Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
     
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    There are surely new ones, but a lot came from the Greig's Royston Nursery on Vancouver Island. I have a link to the history in my thread on other rhododendrons in that garden:
    I came across The Vancouver Rhododendron Society: a History, with a section about how the rhododendron hybrids came to be be moved to the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden from the Greig's Royston Nursery on Vancouver Island.​
    It's a long history of the society, but if you search on Greig (note the spelling, in spite of the title on the Park Board brochure), you'll find the relevant bit at around the middle.
     
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  8. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron decorum - white flowers - Blooms early June
    There is a grove of seven or eight of these "Big White" Rhododendron decorum on Lagoon Drive near Nelson St. They are all huge and very leggy, but there is quite a drop-off just past the sidewalk, so the bases of these trees are in the park below, and the flowers are at eye level or way above. Only one is set close enough to the sidewalk to touch. Or to smell. I kept forgetting to check for fragrance, which I had not noticed. This week I did smell one flower up close. It had a smell, not really pleasant, but it was way past peak bloom.

    They don't all look exactly the same, and last year I was too anxious about which might be the real decorum to post anything. This year, I have decided that they all are R. decorum of one sort or another, or maybe all the same sort with just the differences that occur in species trees. Here is the group, last year and this year. The one on the left starts blooming the last week of May, with the others coming along at various times in the first two weeks of June.
    Rhododendron-decorum_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20200608_150203.jpg Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380552.JPG

    This is the tree on the left, June 3 this year, with the last two from June 8. It was already past peak bloom. I was uneasy about the ID for this because of all the red in the throat. But what looks right are the long thick pistils with the large green stigma, contrasted with stamens so thin that they often look ragged. And the large smooth green ovary so prominently visible. And photos at Rhododendron decorum ssp. decorum show some colouring like this.
    Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210603_160559.jpg Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210603_160611.jpg Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210603_160633.jpg Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210603_160642.jpg Rhododendron-decorum1_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210603_160658.jpg

    Working to the right, the second tree has no flowers open that I could photograph. Leaves are a little larger than the others.
    Rhododendron-decorum2_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380558.JPG Rhododendron-decorum2_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380559.JPG Rhododendron-decorum2_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380560.JPG

    The next tree, farthest away, has the colouring I'm seeing in most photos, and at UBCBG, with a yellow throat.
    Rhododendron-decorum3LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380561.JPG Rhododendron-decorum3_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380562.JPG Rhododendron-decorum3_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380563.JPG

    Tree number four seems similar.
    Rhododendron-decorum4_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380564.JPG Rhododendron-decorum4_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380566.JPG Rhododendron-decorum4_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380567.JPG

    I have to continue this in the next posting.
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2021
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  9. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron decorum - white flowers - Blooms early June, continued
    Tree five is the second furthest along in blooming. Its colouring is most like the first tree, with some red in the throat. The stigmas are so large that I could tell they were green from the sidewalk around 3 meters away.
    Rhododendron-decorum5_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380568.JPG Rhododendron-decorum5_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380569.JPG Rhododendron-decorum5_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380570.JPG Rhododendron-decorum5_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380572.JPG Rhododendron-decorum5_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380574.JPG

    Tree six has drooping leaves more yellow than the others. I've assumed it was less healthy. Very few flowers are open yet.
    Rhododendron-decorum6_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380578.JPG Rhododendron-decorum6_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380579.JPG Rhododendron-decorum6_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380580.JPG Rhododendron-decorum6_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380583.JPG Rhododendron-decorum6_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380585.JPG

    Here's another tree in back of tree 6, pretty far away even for my zoom, but I can see that it has the standard yellow colouring in the throat.
    Rhododendron-decorum7_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380589.JPG Rhododendron-decorum7_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380592.JPG Rhododendron-decorum7_LagoonDrNelson_Cutler_20210608_P1380593.JPG
     
  10. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron 'Scintillation' - pink flowers - blooms mid-May
    I had a short talk with Head Gardiner Dave today about this tree on the Camellia Path, where the marker indicates 'Scintillation'. It sounds like that's what he's calling this tree, so I am going to have to ignore my little problem of that name having been used for something that I posted that I thought was different (see Identification: - What rhodo shrub blooming in November? | UBC Botanical Garden Forums). The flowers on this look the photo in the document.
    Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152414.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152430.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152442.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152456.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152507.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152528.jpg Scintillation_StanleyParkCamelliaPath_Cutler_20210517_152539.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2021
  11. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron auriculatum - white flowers (pink for the featured hybrid) - blooms mid-July
    There is a species R. auriculatum outside the Greig Rhododendron Garden, near the Pooh Corner Daycare. Flowers are 9cm across and deep, white, and very fragrant (when I was there, two people came up specifically to smell the flowers). It has red flower bud scales, eared leaves with slightly furry undersides, glands everywhere (even the flowers were sticky). Head Gardener Dave confirmed the ID.
    Rhododendron-auriculatum_StanleyParkBikePath-at-PoohCorner_Cutler_20210714_142553.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatum_StanleyParkBikePath-at-PoohCorner_Cutler_20210714_142631.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatum_StanleyParkBikePath-at-PoohCorner_Cutler_20210714_142640.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatum_StanleyParkBikePath-at-PoohCorner_Cutler_20210714_142703.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatum_StanleyParkBikePath-at-PoohCorner_Cutler_20210714_143601.jpg
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    Here is the hybrid featured in the document, on the Azalea Path. There isn't any indication of what the other parent in the cross is. There is no indumentum on the leaves, and the flower bud scales are creamy yellow. There are five different trees here, two with white flowers, which I think are also hybrids, and two that have such small leaves that I think they may not be auriculatum.
    Rhododendron-auriculatumHybrid_AzaleaPath_Cutler_20210707_150037.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatumHybrid_AzaleaPath_Cutler_20210707_150154.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatumHybrid_AzaleaPath_Cutler_20210707_150219.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatumHybrid_AzaleaPath_Cutler_20210707_150311.jpg Rhododendron-auriculatumHybrid_AzaleaPath_Cutler_20210707_150417.jpg
     
  12. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron 'Aladdin' - pink flowers, blooms in June
    I was very uncertain of this ID. There were four rhododendrons in the same area that I thought were not all the same, and this one has coloured calyces that were not mentioned in anything I read about this hybrid. Also, the flower colours were more salmon-coloured, not watermelon coloured. But head gardener Dave thinks this is 'Aladdin', and I did see one photo with this name that does seem to have coloured calyces. Except for the last three, these photos are from June, 2021; the last three are from July, 2023.
    RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144628.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144436.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210622_161427.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144449.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144524.jpg
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    RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144745.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144753.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144809.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210629_144717.jpg
    RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210707_152726.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210707_152732.jpg RhododendronAladdin-was-Pink4_MagnoliaPath-bottom-near-BikePath_Cutler_20210707_152826.jpg
    RhododendronAladdin_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230713_155444.jpg RhododendronAladdin_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230713_155555.jpg RhododendronAladdin_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230713_155606.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2023
  13. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Rhododendron 'Aladdin' - pink flowers, blooms in June, continued

    Here are some more photos. Two days ago, I'm sure there were no open flowers. Today, there were several open flowers, less salmon-coloured than in the photos from two years ago, but still not exactly watermelon coloured. Here is a description:
    https://www.rhododendron.org/descriptionH_new.asp?ID=398, noting Parentage (Seed Parent x Pollen Parent): griersonianum x auriculatum, both fuzzy plants. Everything on the plant here is sticky.
    I think there are three of these, in the bed that includes a large Birch Bark Cherry.
    Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150324.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150350.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150408.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150414.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150716.jpg
    Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_151658.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_150610.jpg Rhododendron 'Aladdin'_StanleyPark_Cutler_20230717_151417.jpg

    Hmm - someone in a very good Facebook group just posted two photos of 'Aladdin', not looking very glandular and with indumentum on the leaves. Actually, hers doesn't look like it would have griersonianum x auriculatum parents. Maybe hers is mis-named??
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2023

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