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Species In Our Midst
Rhododendron ferrugineum
by Frank Brako
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Rhododendron ferrugineum, a dwarf to semidwarf species, is commonly known as the Alpine Rose. It is native to the Swiss Alps and Pyrenees and has been in cultivation in Britain since 1740. It is hardy to -I5F and is rated at 3/4/3. The leaves are described by its name, which means rust-colored. This is a very attractive addition to our species gardens since it is one of the latest flowers of the dwarf plants to bloom The flowers are small clusters of red crimson to pink blossoms which appear about July. These flowers, three quarters of an inch long, are tubular, with spreading lobes and held in trusses of six to eight. These plants will take sun but need perfect drainage. This is a very neat, dense, and compact plant with healthy, deep green leaves, the tops of which are glossy green with dense, rusty brown scales on their undersides and which in some varieties have wavy edges. This species is desirable because late spring frosts will not affect its flowers. There are also white forms of ferrugineum which supposedly are harder to grow than the pinks, but should be worth trying for variation, according to Cox's Guide to Choosing Rhododendrons.
One problem is that in the Eastern United States we may have excessive summer heat for R. ferrugineum to survive. Possibly, areas close to water might be cool enough to sustain this plant. It has been suggested that hybrids between this species and R. hirsutum often occur where the they meet in their natural European habitat. Supposedly, these hybrids are easier to grow. Both species grow also on calcareous soil and are considered slow growing, protected species.
A careful inspection of a book on hybrids, Rhododendron hybrids: A Compendium by Parent (Bulgin), reveals that there is not one individual commercial hybrid which uses ferrugineum as a parent. Couldn't we use this desirable species with beautiful leaves, a late bloomer as a parent of a new hybrid?