Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Pink Winner


An absolute winner of a rhododendron that I am also looking to purchase next spring is Olga Mezzitt. We already have two in the garden, but I have the perfect spot for another; it's in my imagination so far, but I know it's also somewhere in the garden if I just put my mind (and my shovel) to it.
Olga is about four foot tall, loosely upright, evergreen with very bright pink flowers in spring, and perfectly hardy here. Bluebells growing around it make for a dynamite combination in April.
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5 comments:

  1. GailJanuary 10, 2009

    I love Olga M, too. Te plus is that the winter foliage is also good looking... lovely photos! gail

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  2. IBOYJanuary 11, 2009

    Gail... you're very right about the winter foliage (true of a lot of the lepidotes).
    don

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2009

    Simply beautiful!
    I wish I can grow Azaleas and rhododendrons here in Texas the way you grow yours there.
    The condition of soil is not suitable for those lovely plants.
    I guess I'll just have to enoy your garden through the blog. Thanks for posting.
    :-)
    Delighted

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  4. Sweet Home and Garden CarolinaJanuary 12, 2009

    I've had an Olga in my garden for over 20 years and its a real treasure to find one that thrives in the harsh Chicago winter.

    As you probably know Olga was named after the wife of the famous PJM hybridizer, Peter J. Mezitt.

    Two other great shrubs ( Azaleas ) that will thrive here are R. Poukhanense ( from the Poukhanense Mts. of Korea ) and Karen x hybrid, a cross between R. Kaempheri and R. Poukhanense.

    You would absolutely fall in love with the sight of a full grown Karen azalea. It's simply breathtaking.

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  5. IBOYJanuary 12, 2009

    Delighted... that alkali soil is tough!

    Carolyn... Poukhanense I have, but I've never heard of Karen. I have in the back of my mind that kaempferi and its hybdrids are touchy here, but I'm going to look up Karen for sure.

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