September Meeting 1999

by Evelyn Weesjes

Ken Webb gave a progress report on the activities of the Propagation Group, a small but vibrant number of our members interested in learning to propagate rhododendrons. This group, which meets every 3^rd Monday of the month, has been active for quite some time. They have the co-operation of the Forestry department greenhouses for propagation and Arbutus Nursery in making up their potting mix. They have made many field trips both to local gardens and further afield on the Island to get cuttings. Also in co-operation with Finnerty Gardens they are propagating their special ‘Loderi’ and some of the other rarer plants. Already, some of the propagated plants have been sold at the chapter’s plant sale and they anticipate producing many more plants in the near future. Their next field trip will be to Ken Gibson’s garden in Tofino, October 8^th – 10^th. New members are welcome and should contact Ken Webb for information.

As always we looked forward with great anticipation to hearing Harold Greer, of Greer Gardens in Eugene, Oregon speaking on his favorite topic, ‘Rhodos and the West – A Love Affair’. This time he covered the pioneer hybridizers on the Pacific coast and their hybrids and how their plants are now being used by more recent hybridizers. Although it was rather daunting to hear Harold announce he had 450 slides to show, his use of a 3-picture screen and a fast-paced clip, made his presentation very enjoyable.

Harold started by touting the natural beauty of Washington and Oregon, showing sea, mountain and lowland landscapes and how they affect the climate to make the area a great place to grow rhododendrons. His excellent slides showing the diversity and beauty of the natural landscape would have made his tourist bureau proud. Next he showed the native rhododendrons such as R. macrophyllum, R. occidentale, and R. albiflorum and briefly the eastern azaleas which were used so much in hybridization.

A history of the early pioneer hybridizers followed, with Harold showing a picture of the hybridizer along with some of the hybrids he produced. First up was George Fraser of Ucluelet who early in this century grew rhododendrons and made a few hybrids at his nursery. His contemporary, James Barto in Oregon grew mostly species but also produced some hybrids. A little later, in the ‘30s came Ted and Mary Greig at Royston on the Island where they grew mostly species and Mary did some hybridizing. About the same time in Seattle, Halfdan Lem was busy producing a multitude of hybrids of which ‘Lem’s Cameo’ and ‘Lem’s Monarch’ are well known. Also in the ‘40s and ‘50s Endre Ostbo, John Bacher and Theodore van Veen all grew many rhododendrons in their nurseries helping to popularize them in the Pacific Northwest. They also dabbled in some hybridizing. More prolific hybridizers were Lester Brandt, Hjalmar Larson and Bill Whitney, all in Washington, and who have left a legacy of hybrids still much planted today. One of the first to use R. yakushimanum in his breeding program to produce low, compact hybrids, was Ben Lancaster, another Washington grower. Oregon hybridizers were also very active, such as Rudolph and John Henny, George Grace, Cecil Smith and Del James all of whom greatly added to the commercially available varieties. Maurice Sumner near San Francisco used Maddenii's to produce ‘My Lady’ and ‘Mi Amor’ and other perfumed hybrids. All these early pioneer growers and hybridizers that Harold mentioned are now dead but their legacy lives on as he then showed how their hybrids were used by the next generation of hybridizers.

Willard Thompson in Oregon used these earlier hybrids in his extensive breeding program and Harold showed numerous examples of the parents and the resulting progeny. It was interesting to see on the triple screen the great variation within the progeny of these crosses.

Growing rhododendrons and producing hybrids can be very rewarding but it is not without its occasional down side as Harold showed with what happens to your plants in extremes of heat or cold, floods or pestilences from insects or disease. The bright side is always there, if you look for it, in the beauty to be found in the leaves and indumentum besides the floral glory in spring.

Through Harold’s marvellous slides, we had a look back in time and learned about the pioneers and their hybrids and how much they did to popularize rhododendrons in the Pacific Northwest, and from which our gardens benefit.