That rhodo is bloomin’ amazing
115-year-old(ish) Ladysmith bush sports more than 4,000 blossoms
Before we say anything else, let’s make this clear: a rhododendron is not a tree. It’s a bush. Even so, that the website Bored Panda rated Ladysmith’s 115-year-old(ish) rhododendron as one of the world’s most magnificent “trees” is just fine.
And bush or tree, magnificent is a fair comment.
Over the next week or two, the bush known as “Lady Cynthia” — so named because Cynthia is the name of the rhodo variety — at 226 Kitchener Street in Ladysmith will reach full flower. At more than eight metres tall and 10 metres wide, the rhodo sprouts more than 4,000 pink blossoms. (Its branches are so thick you can see why a casual observer might mistake it for a tree.)
According to the Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce, Lady Cynthia first sprouted in Scotland before being carried south through the Atlantic, around Cape Horn and then back north up the coast of South America and via Hawaii on a sailing ship.
For more on rhododendrons, here’s former Vancouver Sun gardening columnist Steve Whysall on the quest for perfection. Whysall’s tips for caring for rhododendrons: • Plant your rhodo in the right place. They thrive in light shade in well-drained, acid soil that is fairly rich in organic matter. • More rhodos are killed by overwatering or inadequate watering than from being improperly located. Remember to lightly water rhodos and azaleas in hot summer months as well as during dry spring and fall periods.
The planting hole should be wider than the root ball, but only slightly deeper. Check the drainage before planting. Rhodos hate to sit in waterlogged soil. • Rhodos can be moved easily since they have compact, shallow roots, even when they are quite large. The best time is in autumn or spring. Transplanting is often a better idea than severe pruning. • Fertilize before and after flowering with a light sprinkling of 10-8-6. • Prune in early March instead of after blooming in May. This will produce the best results because the season for new growth will be extended by up to six weeks. Be brave. Rhododendrons are resilient shrubs and, unless diseased or weak, tend to flush back with amazing vigour. • Established plants benefit from a feeding and top dressing in the early spring. A mixture of peat and garden compost or leaf mould spread in a thin layer at the base of the plant will help to maintain the acidity and nutrient level of the soil.
(A word of caution: Take care not to pile this mixture around the stem, or apply too thickly — rhododendron and azalea roots are particularly touchy about having their oxygen supply cut off underneath too much earth.) • In winter, heavy, wet snow can bend and snap branches. The solution is simple. Take a broom handle or other long stick, and gently tap branches so the snow falls off. In areas where the snow accumulates over winter, the increasing depth of snow will eventually support the branches of larger rhodos.