QBARS - v27n3 Sport of R. 'President Roosevelt'

Sport of 'President Roosevelt'
F. W. Mosher Jr., Mill Valley, California

At the April meeting of the Monterey Bay Chapter, Allan Korth exhibited a sport of 'President Roosevelt' which had lost its variegation of leaves but displayed a brighter and darker rose-pink truss.

As the only rhododendron hybrid with variegation, 'President Roosevelt' was introduced into the United States from Australia and first was shown in Oregon. Later this unusual variety was brought into California. All reports from Australia were that it was extremely popular "down under."

According to the September 1969 issue of 'The Rhododendron,' official journal of the Australian Rhododendron Society, 'President Roosevelt' was first imported into Australia in 1930 from Charles Mesman of Boskoop, Holland. It apparently was not popular in European countries.

Korth, past president of the Monterey Bay chapter, says that he plans to secure a plant patent on the new sport and propagate it commercially.