QBARS - v8n2 Cover Article

Cover Article

The three varieties of rhododendron hybrids shown in color on the April cover of the Quarterly Bulletin are R. 'Beauty of Littleworth', R. 'Langley Park', and R. 'Mrs. G. W. Leak'. Very little has been written about the history of R. 'Beauty of Littleworth', and several of the earlier catalogues printed before 1938 do not list this hybrid. Goldsworth's 1938 catalogue lists R. 'Beauty of Littleworth' under the list of griffithianum hybrids. Frederick Street in his volume HARDY RHODODENDRONS gives scant mention to this plant that received an F.C.C. in 1904, R. 'Beauty of Littleworth' has proven hardy here in the Western United States, and survived the terrible winter of 1950 with no damage. R. 'Mrs. G. W. Leak' originated with M. Koster and Sons and received the F.C.C. in 1934. It is very near the hybrid R. 'Mrs. Furnival', though the latter was raised by Anthony Waterer and is I think more tender. 'Mrs. G. W. Leak' is of R. caucasicum origin. R. 'Langley Park' was raised by Messrs. Van Nes and is one of the hybrids of the R. griffithianum seedlings raised in Berlin in 1896. The habit of the plant is more or less open growing, but the color like R. 'Earl of Athlone', 'Borde Hill', 'Nuneham Park' and 'Bulstrode Park' is a deep red. - EDITOR.