Rhododendron 'GRAZIELLA'

Rhododendrons are reliable, beautifully flowering, evergreen shrubs of variable origin: S.W. China, Himalayas, Northern America, and even Europe. The original species were hybridized several times for better performance so in the 1950´s there were more than 10,000 cultivars registered, and the number keeps increasing.

Rhododendrons from the Ponticum group (Pontus = Black Sea) originate from southwestern Europe, Great Britain, the Caucasus, and Western Asia, and preserved fossils prove their even wider distribution before The Last Glacial Maximum (abt. 20,000 years ago). In modern history we find the first record of its cultivation for ornamental purposes in 1763 in Britain. They are commonly recognized by narrow leaves and spreading habit. The botanical species forms abundant suckers which allow formation of colonies often endangering original flora. Therefore, it is now considered an invasive species in many countries of its native habitat. Fortunately, most varieties that fall into this group do not have 100% of the species’ genes as they were crossbred with other species, so we needn’t about their invasion in our gardens.

Graziella is a unique variety that, outside its flowering period, looks like anything but a rhododendron as its leaves resemble oleanders or another exotic plant. They are evergreen, narrowly elongated with a prominent tip, leathery, dark green, glossy, strong and healthy. Graziella is an early bloomer and if the spring is nice and warm it can start blooming already from late April and continue until the second decade of May. The flowers are bell-shaped, bright lilac-pink, opening from deep pink buds. It is a hybrid of Black Sea (r. ponticum) and Tibetan (r. roxieanum) species and was bred by Hans Hachmann in 1992. It grows rather slowly into a beautiful, dense, dome-shaped, evergreen shrub about one meter high and about one and a half meters wide. Despite its exotic appearance, it is very hardy and durable.

For a better-looking plant deadhead where possible. The roots are shallow, spreading to sides in search for nutrients. Never plant them too deep. The soil must be acidic (pH 4.5-5.5), rich in humus, cool and always moist. Ideal soil mixture is peat with lime-free, light garden soil topped with leaf-mould. It is hardy to min. -27°C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update 02-05-2008; 15-01-2024