Hello; I am a new member of this forum with a special request. I used to be a member of the Vancouver chapter of the ARS (American Rhododendron Society), living in North Vancouver, BC. As such, I was given some special seeds to raise almost 20 years ago, and obviously took this stewardship quite seriously. Three moves and many ferries later, I am still transplanting the bounty from this sowing, even though some of the progeny are taller than me! The following quote from Doug Justice's June 14, 2010 'Botany Photo of the Day' of Rhododendron glanduliferum will help explain why these seeds are so special: ".. a large number of seedlings derived from collections made in 1994 by the late Peter Wharton, former curator of the David C. Lam Asian Garden. Peter traveled to northern Guizhou, China, in the autumn of that year, where he visited the Dashahe Cathaya Reserve. Peter's notes reveal that this area was exceptionally rich in temperate species and he collected a large quantity of seed, mostly at between 1300 m and 1600 m elevation." Last June, a newly transplanted seedling from this collection bloomed for the first time: it had white, scented flowers. The problem now is that I've lost all the names associated with these seeds, and have no idea what I may have! As we are finally at our 'forever' home, with enough acreage to accommodate most of the results from this long-ago sowing, I am curious about all these precious species. Some of these plants have been transplanted 2 and 3 times, some potted for most of these years, and some were living in suspended animation on tarps under a mulch of wood chips while living in Powell River. Even though the names have disappeared, the plants are still alive! Hopefully they will continue to adapt and even thrive in their new surroundings. In order to help me I.D. them, does anyone have, or know someone with, seedling plants from this collection? Of course, I do realize I'll have to visit UBC's Asian Garden too. Since I haven't seen it for about 15 years, that should be a real treat!
You can also look for matches at the Rhododendron Species Garden south of Seattle, which has a major collection. This would best be done when your seedlings are in flower.
Maybe try R. auriculatum, possibly from the P.W. 50 1994 collection. The leaf base may be auriculed, ear lobe shaped. Sorry I can't find the seed collection list. If you can put up photos it may help. Welcome to the forums.
As well as UBC, there is some information regarding Peter Wharton's 1994 seed collections here that may help. www.fearing.ca/pages/addenda2.php#9 www.fearing.ca/pages/gallery.php
