Hello. I am new here. I absolutely love Rhodos and was wondering if anyone knew of a gardener's "Craig's list" of sorts. I am interested in purchasing any, dare I say, "unwanted" healthy rhodos. Any help in this department would be much appreciated.
If you aren't in a hurry, visit your local garden centers and check out what's in bloom at different times thru the spring and early summer. Also, look at the leaves, there are many varieties than have wonderful colour both top & underside ( called indumentum ) which adds year round interest. Some people collect rhodos by leaf colour, not bloom. There are variegated ones too (ie: President Roosevelt ). There are scented ones too! I 'm pretty sure there is a GC on the lower mainland that specializes in rhodos. Another place to see a wonderful collection is the UBC Botanitcial Garden. A good guide, web sites for local rhodo clubs, they sometimes offer favorites. Also, from your library or book store, Greer's Guidebook to Available Rhododendrons gives you a lot of information from colour to hardiness, bloom time and mature size. A few of my favorites are R. augustinii, Nancy Evans, Loderi King George, any Yaku cross, Point Defiance and Taurus.
Oh thanks for the info. Sorry, I neglected to mention that I am looking for mature large Rhodos. We had about 20 of them in our yard when we lived in Burnaby and I loved them so much. I really miss them. We had a variety of colours too so they bloomed at different times.
I have seen them advertised under the "free" category of the "for sale" section on craigslist where properties are being developed. Other times property owners will put them up for sale... I think craigslist is probably the best bet for not paying a fortune for mature rhododendrons.
I just picked up a couple of 1-2 foot tall rhodies at the walmart. $10 each. I'm just planting them back in the woods at that price. Nice and rainy now for planting. If you are looking for rescue ones, why not contact a house demolition company and see where they are going to be working next?
Diane, I have several that I would give away free if the person is willing to come with their own shovel and dig them out (I've broken 2 shovels already). But I'm in Courtenay. And most of mine need some severe pruning (previous owner left them to their own devices).
Diane, We have a large healthy pale pink Rhodo in our east Vancouver back yard and just decided last night to remove it. It's free if you are willing to dig it up and transport it. It is very healthy and was pruned hard a few years ago so it is quite bushy. It just finished bloming. I'd estimate that it's currently about 5' high x 5'-6' wide. You'd be welcome to come by and take a look at it to decide if it's worth the effort. If interested you can send me a "private message"
