The earliest record of rhododendrons is found in the Han Dynasty's Shennong Materia Medica, which lists "sheep heels" as a poisonous plant. The history of rhododendron cultivation has been at least a thousand years old. Rhododendron is also known as mountain heel, mountain pomegranate, Yingshan red, Zhaoshan red, Tang rhododendron, etc., for the rhododendron family rhododendron is evergreen or ordinary green shrub, the sixth of China's top ten famous flowers, has a high ornamental value, are cultivated in the world's parks, China's Jiangxi, Anhui, Guizhou to rhododendron as the provincial flower. There are many varieties of rhododendrons, we often divide azaleas into 5 major strains, how many do you know?
There are more than 1,000 species of rhododendrons in the world, and there are more than 600 in China. If divided according to the variety, it can be divided into three categories: Chinese rhododendron, Japanese rhododendron and Western rhododendron. The Chinese cuckoo is divided into spring and summer cuckoos. There are varieties such as Yingshan red, hairy leaf green lotus, Wanli red, Ryukyu red, Yunnan rhododendron and other varieties in the spring crane; the flower colors are purple, red, sprinkled gold, white, variegated, etc.; most of them are single-petaled flowers, rarely heavy petals, which are characterized by first flowering, and then long leaves, and the flowering period is from April to May. There are varieties of branches, green beads, agate, pure yellow, da hongpao, begonia red, purple butterfly, wrinkled silver red and so on. The summer tana flowers are colorful, with a large corolla and flat petals, characterized by long leaves first, and then flowering, and the flowering period is after late May. The main varieties of Western rhododendron are Tiannu Dance, Jade Crown, Four Sea Branches, Spring Swallow, Residual Snow, Xiaoshan, White Phoenix, etc., and the flower colors are lilac, yellow-green, white-green, red-white, sprinkled with gold spots, polychromatic and so on. The flower color changes greatly, the flowers are large and bright, and the flowers and leaves germinate at the same time, mostly imported from the Netherlands.
【Spring Crane】
Yingshan Red
The spring crane, also known as the hairy crane (with hair on the leaf surface) and the yingshan red, refers to the variety that blooms first and then sprouts, and blooms in late April and early May. Because it blooms in spring, it is named spring crane, and it continues to this day. Spring rhododendrons are very gorgeous when they bloom, there are many flowers in one bud, the flowers are clustered at the top, covered with branches, and the colors are rich, such as big red, deep red, purple red, pure white, pink, sprinkling brocade and so on.
【Summer Crane】
Summer Crane
In the spring, it first grows branches and leaves, and blooms in early May and June, so it is called summer crane. The corolla of the summer flea is wide and flared, and the flower type is single-petal, heavy-petaled and sleeve-petaled, with large petal variations, including round, light, soft and hard, wavy and wrinkled. Green in all seasons, flowering in all seasons, with yellow, red, white and purple four color wonders, cultivated in all seasons, beautifying the environment. Flowering takes place from mid-May to June and lasts from July to August. It is a widely used variety of bonsai that is now popular in the market.
【Higashi-azalea】 (Japanese Cuckoo)
Japanese cuckoo
The Eastern Cuckoo is a variant of the Japanese stone-rock rhododendron and its numerous hybrid descendants, introduced from Japan and called the Eastern Cuckoo in response to the Western Cuckoo. The East Crane blooms in the spring, and some places incorporate it into the Spring Crane. The flowers are mostly red, purple, white, pink white, tender yellow, white and green. It is also one of the materials of bonsai.
【Western Cuckoo】(Western Cuckoo)
Western cuckoo
The Western Crane is a horticultural cultivar hybridized by Europe and the United States, mostly heavy petals, so it is called Western Quail. Its gorgeous flowers are a popular species. The plant is low, with tight branches and small leaves, and the annual branches are green or red, the red branches are red flowers, and the green branches are white, pink, and pink. The western rhododendron flowering period can be artificially controlled, if the rhododendron is cultivated in the greenhouse in the north, it can bloom in January and February, while the flowering time in the wild is from March to May, and the flowering time in the high-altitude environment will be in July and August. The early varieties of The Western Azalea bloom in October, and the middle and late varieties bloom around the Spring Festival, and can bloom in April and May of the following year, with a flowering period of about half a year. Basically belongs to flower viewing, less bonsai.
【Alpine Rhododendron】
Alpine cuckoo
Alpine rhododendron is an alpine evergreen shrub or small tree plant in the rhododendron family. The flowering period is from April to May, and the flower type is mainly a set of petals and heavy petals, and there are also a small number of single petals, and the flowering period is about 1 month. Alpine rhododendron is leafy, colorful, strong germination, pruning resistance, strange root piles, is an excellent bonsai material.