Small is Beautiful
Bring colour into your garden as early as possible with small growing rhododendrons. There is no need to worry about these plants growing too big they are lovely mannered plants, perfect for even the smallest gardens.
The ancestry of the mountain growing, Northern American and Himalayan, alpine dwarf rhododendrons of many of them means they are tough and resilient. They flower early, from April onwards, a trait from their alpine past to take advantage of the short mountain growing season. The smaller the leaves, the closer the variety is to this alpine heritage but some of the hardiest varieties can be larger leaved. They are a fascinating group.
They can grow happily at the front of borders or in rockeries in the ground or pot them into a nice pot and they will be very happy for many years
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Christmas Cheer is the first of the traditional Rhododendrons to flower in the year but under its own steam, it will miss Christmas by just over a month. Early February onwards, large coral pink buds will open slowly to long lasting white flowers throughout February and into March, marking the beginning of spring along with camellias, daffodils and crocuses.
One of the great values of this early flowering variety is as the weather is cooler, the flowers come out much more slowly and also slightly in succession. Again with the cooler temperatures the flowers once out will bloom for longer period of time to give you more enjoyment.
People worry about the frost but the only time the frost will affect the flowers is if you can see the open buds or flowers yourself. So when in bud there is no need to be concerned but as soon as you see the pink and white petals, if there is going to be a frost, just cover the plant with some fleece carefully draped over the top for the night and you will be fine. This is a very hardy, low maintenance plant.
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