"Royal Rhododendrons" are the effect of, more than a decade lasting, breeding work, performed in our nursery with the use of Finnish varieties, known for its high frost-resistance and other cultivars with attractive values. The aim of the breeding programme was to obtain new, frost resistant (at least to -30°C) varieties of rhododendron which are characterised by the following features:
8 most valuable varieties were selected during the breeding programme. The whole new line of frost resistant rhododendrons was named 'Royal Rhododendrons'. In laboratory tests they proved to be resistant to frost (frost damage of leaves testing) and they were positively assessed to be winter-hardy in weather conditions of central Poland.
We present "Royal Rhododendrons" !
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Purple flowers with a delicate, brown spot. This variety grows intensively and has a dense habit. Leaves are elongated and slightly turned up. It blooms in May.
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Variety of red flowers with a yellow-brown spot. Grows with moderate intensity. Shoots are thick, firm and brown-red. Leaves dark green and elongated. Buds light brown. Variety blooms in May.
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Very big, wide open, pink flowers. Almost white centre of the flower with a big, light brown spot. Variety blooming in May. The most intensively growing variety of all new ones, comparable to the variety Catawbiense Grandiflorum. Dense plant habit and oval, shiny leaves. |
Intensively red flowers, composing big, impressive inflorescence. Grows with moderate intensity, has compact habit. Leaves are dark green, elongated, shoots thick and dark brown. Finnish varieties were not used in the crossing. The variety is characterized by high frost resistance and abundant flowering. It is the latest blooming variety of all Royal Rhododendrons - it blooms in second half of May.
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Intensively dark-pink flowers with a brown spot. This variety grows moderately, has a compact habit, green leaves. It's distinguished by silvery tomentose on young leaves which gets rubbed away with time. It blooms late - in second half of May.
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Flowers of amaranth colour unique for rhododendrons, with yellow spot. Slow growing variety with rather small, elongated, dark green leaves, rolled up slightly. Light green buds contrast well with dark green leaves. It blooms late - in second half of May.
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Variety of subtle, sugary-pink flowers brighter inside of the flower. Growth - slow; habit - compact. Stems - thick and rigid; leaves - wide and dark green. Finnish varieties were not used in the crossing. The variety is characterized by high frost resistance and abundant flowering. Early blooming variety - it blooms in first half of May.
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This variety has a pink-white flowers, tightly curled, with a large red-maroon spot. Strong growth, thick and straight habit. At the age of 10, reaches 1.8-2.0 m. The earliest blooming variety of all Royal Rhododendrons - it blooms in first half of May. It can also partially bloom in autumn. Oval dark green leaves may be up to 12 cm long. Attractive plant because of the large, domed inflorescences, interesting colour and high frost resistance (-30°C).
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Finnish rhododendron cultivars are well known for over 10 years for their hardiness oscillating from -34°C to -39°C. They were developed throung a Finnish breeding program started in 1973 in University of Helsinki. In the majority of crossings Rhododendron brachycarpum subsp. tigerstedtii was used as well as R. smirnowii and R. catawbiense. The project was finished in 2001. The finish hardy varieties that can be found in our offer, in our opinion, are the most valuable ones from cultivars obtained by University of Helsinki through this project:
