Joleen

Winning 'Best Fragrant Rhododendron' in the Eureka ARS flower show 2 years in a row,this hybrid of R. Scintillation x R. Lem's Cameo is one in my Fragrant series of new hybrids. I picked R. Scintillation as the seed parent because it has R. fortunei in its parentage, so has fragrant genes. Lem's Cameo also has fragrant genes, so I was pretty sure any offspring would perfume the air. I was not disappointed. The flowers are quite large, but lack stamens, so there is no chance of using pollen for further hybridizing. The plant has foliage much the same as R. Scintillation, and makes an attractive mounding form. In 10 years the plant is 4 to 5 ft. tall and 6-8 ft. wide. Although not tested, I will guess that it will be plant hardy to -5 deg F, and bud hardy to 0. Not yet registered. 

Rare Variety – This variety is difficult to find anywhere due to these reasons

·        Hard to propagate – many cultivars do not root easily from cuttings, but at a reduced rate thus making the plant rare.

·        Hard to find – these cultivars are hard to find in the first place, probably because they are hard to root from cuttings

• Singing Tree Gardens Originals – All cultivars created uniquely by Singing Tree Gardens are deemed ‘rare’. Singing Tree Gardens is the ‘Exclusive Distributor in the USA’ of this variety.