R. Ungernii and R. Smirnowii, from the Armenian frontier, are also worthy of culture, but they are at present rare in cultivation in this country.
Few hardy shrubs, it must be admitted, are more beautiful than these Rhododendrons, none flowering more freely or lasting longer in bloom. Their requirements are by no means hard to meet, light, peaty soil, or even good sandy loam, with a small admixture of decayed vegetable matter, suiting them well. Lime in any form must, however, be kept away both from Azaleas and Rhododendrons. They like a quiet, still place, where a fair amount of moisture is present in the air and soil.
HARDY HYBRID RHODODENDRONS.
GHENT AZALEAS, as generally known, from having been raised in Belgium, are a race of hybrids that have been produced by crossing the Asiatic R. pontica with the various American species noted above, but particularly R. calendulaceum, R. nudiflorum, and R. viscosum, and these latter with one another. These have produced hybrids of almost indescribable beauty, the flowers of which range in colour from crimson and pink, through orange and yellow, to almost white.
Within the last few years quite an interesting race of Rhododendrons has been brought out, with double or hose-in-hose flowers, and very appropriately termed the Narcissiflora group. They include fully a dozen highly ornamental kinds, with flowers of varying shades of colour.
The following list includes some of the best and most beautiful of these varieties:—
| Alba marginata. | Jules Caesar. |
| Ardens. | La Superbe. |
| Astreans. | Louis Hellebuyck. |
| Aurore-de-Royghen. | Madame Baumann. |
| Baron G. Pyke. | Marie Verschaffelt. |
| Beauté Celeste. | Mathilde. |
| Bessie Holdaway. | Meteor. |
| Belle Merveille. | Nancy Waterer. |
| Bijou des Amateurs. | Ne Plus Ultra. |
| Cardinal. | Optima. |
| Charles Bowman. | Pallas. |
| Comte de Flanders. | Queen Victoria. |
| Decus hortorum. | Reine des Belges. |
| Due de Provence. | Remarquable. |
| Emperor Napoleon III. | Roi des Belges. |
| Eugenie. | Roi des Feux. |
| Fitz Quihou. | Sinensis rosea. |
| Glorie de Belgique. | Sulphurea. |
| Gloria Mundi. | Triumphans. |
| Gueldres Rose. | Unique. |
| Honneur de Flandre. | Viscocephala. |
| Imperator. |
Double-flowered Rhododendrons:—
| Bijou de Gendbrugge. | Heroine. |
| Louis Aimée Van Houtte. | Ophirié. |
| Graf Von Meran. | Narcissiflora. |
| Mina Van Houtte. | Van Houttei. |