planted sometime in the twenties or MR. LIONEL AND HIS AZALEAS thirties." Jacquelyn A. Kuehn Mr. Lionel de created an immense, two-acre rock garden to suit Lucernemines, PA the desires of alpine rhododendrons. R. leucaspis, the scarlet R. sperabile var. weihsiense, and the pygmy R. The history of the modern deciduous azalea can be traced back to around campylogynum all thrived in the open 1825, when a baker in Belgium originated the Ghent strain, made by crosses situation of the rockery. Honey fun- involving R. luteum, and four American azaleas: viscosum (the Swamp Azalea), gus destroyed many of the rockery's periclymenoides (the Pinxterbloom), calendulaceum (the Flame Azalea) and the fine, selected plants, including one bright red speciosum (1) [R. Speciosum is an illegitimate name; the plant usually hundred plants of R. russatum and so identified is R. flammeum, ed.]. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw a many from the Sanguineum sub-series. rapid increase in plant-hunting expeditions. Reginald Farrer and Robert For- What survived was ultimately wiped tune made early forays into the Asian wilds. Frank Kingdon-Ward, Joseph out by the deprivations of World War Rock, and George Forrest followed, sending back such plant treasures as seeds II, and the rockery remained a jungle of new Asian rhododendron species. In 1855 Anthony Waterer, Sr. imported a until it was reclaimed in the late sev- quantity of Ghent azaleas to his nursery at Knap Hill, south of . Here enties by Mr. Edmund de Rothschild, he began an intensive breeding program to improve the race, using the so- with Douglas Harris as head gardener. called mollis hybrids to add size, calendulaceum and occidentale for large flowers Even since then, some of the fine spe- and scent, and arborescens as well for scent. "The resulting Knap Hill azaleas cies have now grown too big and are seemed to have everything—size, scent, glorious autumn tints and a scheme covering up some spectacular rockwork. of flower colors ranging from flame, orange-red, pinks and yellows to pale cream and white with gold or orange blotches" (2). The stage had been set for When Mr. Lionel recognized that the development of the finest azaleas. the work being done with azaleas at Knap Hill Nurseries (3) was necessary In 1919, Mr. bought the estate, near to his own, he purchased control of Southampton, . Initially, the garden covered only four to five acres, their collection. In 1920, he received, but in 1922, he began to expand the gardens to accommodate the many plants among a batch of azaleas from Knap arriving from plant hunters around the world. He immediately set a small Hill, 'George Reynolds', "an outstand- army of 150 gardeners to double digging, a task which lasted them for the next ing azalea in soft yellow and pink with 30 years. "The ground is so stony that it really shouldn't grow anything but a wavy-petalled flower that sometimes weeds," Paul Martin told me when I visited the Gardens in June 1996. Paul measured six inches across"(3). By has been Head Gardener at since June 1995. "The lads had to crossing this fine plant with some of use forks because no spade could penetrate that ground. They double-dug all Waterer's unnamed orange seedlings, the way to Gilbury Lane, and thought they were finished. But Mr. Lionel—as he arrived at the brilliant 'Hotspur', he was and still is always referred to by his staff—just built a bridge and the which ushered in a new epoch for gardeners kept on digging on the other side." azaleas.

Mr. Lionel joined other contemporary plant enthusiasts in sponsoring many In 1937 the Exbury azaleas were plant expeditions, particularly those of George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward. "introduced to the gardening pub- Exbury originally became known for its extensive plant collection; not until lic at the Chelsea Show—a new after World War II did it become famous for rhododendrons. strain developed via the azalea 'George Reynolds' from the already "I think he didn't go on plant expeditions himself," smiled Mr. Martin, good Knaphill [sic] azaleas and se- "because he had to show his face at the bank now and again." lected and re-selected until every seedling could be relied upon to give Cotoneasters, daffodils, nerines, and cymbidiums are among the myriad of a perfect flower. Hardy and vigorous, plants that benefited from Rothschild's work. One of the most breathtaking with a wide colour range, wonderful sights at the time of my visit to Exbury was an exquisite Wisteria sinensis, which scent and fine autumn tints, the draped itself in glorious abandon over a sturdy pillared arbor at one end of the Rose Garden. Its lavender panicles hung nearly to the ground, heavy with Exbury strain has the last word in rich fragrance. hybrid deciduous azaleas" (4). George Reynolds, incidentally, was the gar- "He was totally fascinated with all plants, I think; if it grew, he wanted to dener at , a house improve it. So, true to his nature," Mr. Martin told us, "Mr. Lionel probably just west of London belonging to selected this variety of wisteria. We don't really know for sure, though. It was Lionel's father, .

4 • THE AZALEAN/March 1997 in flower of any value with four ing bare boards of Exbury "In the International different types of azalea—Iutea, House... "there began in great Rhododendron Register the the old pontica (the old secrecy the Royal Navy's initial Exburys are included in the ponticum), 'Floradora' (a mollis- preparations and trials for the Knap Hill group, since the same sinensis hybrid), 'George Normandy invasion...on the blood (of nine species) flows in Reynolds' (a yellow large-flow- water and banks of the Beaulieu both, but Lionel de Rothschild, ered azalea raised by Anthony River strange and prophetic forms by ruthless selection and the in- Waterer, which has produced began to assemble where once the fusion of new blood, created a some of my best azalea hybrids) ships of Nelson's age had been very superior strain, with spe- and one of Koster's occidentalis hy- launched" (8). cial characteristics of its own" brids, I forget which. I also (5). crossed the azaleas with pollen During the war years—a time of from the rhododendrons and I unavoidable neglect for the gardens— Mr. Lionel's eagerness to try every must have made fifty to sixty many plants were lost, or at least lost possible avenue to a beautiful plant crosses each year. From all those track of. In 1946, after having served took him into diverse areas. He wrote crosses I only got one pod of seed in the Royal Artillery, Lionel's eldest frequently about his work, and and that contained mostly chaff, son, Edmund, returned to supervise founded and served as president of and I think I only raised three Exbury's return to life. the Rhododendron Association, which, Azaleodendrons from all that unfortunately, no longer exists. In the labour, and those three have not The main repository for all the 1934 Year Book of the Rhododendron yet flowered. I have tried to cross knowledge about the Rhodos and Association, Mr. Lionel wrote about the 'Broughtonii Aureum' time and Azaleas was Lionel's wife, Marie intriguing possibilities of, for example, time again and have never seen Louise. ...it was she who taught crossing elepidote and lepidote rhodo- a vestige of a seed pod upon it and passed on all the knowledge dendrons. He then described his own (7). to Peter Barber and Mr. Eddy, as attempts at making Azaleodendron [Edmund] is known. The third crosses: On Exbury—as on all of Europe— person who contributed so much World War II took a heavy toll. Mr. to the revival of the Gardens was Crossed together, deciduous Lionel de Rothschild died in 1942, just Freddie Wyniatt. Freddie had with deciduous azaleas and ev- before Exbury House was requisitioned worked at Exbury before the war ergreen with evergreen, they by the Royal Navy and commissioned before being drafted. He had been have produced some of the most first as HMS Mastodon, and later as captured by the Germans and glowing flowers which beautify HMS Hawk, which name was eventu- made to work in some sort of our gardens, but mated with ally given to one of Exbury's finest mine, either salt or coal. On his other series, the results are few rhododendrons. The fields in front of demobilisation he came back to and far between, very often dif- the House and to the side of the Gar- Exbury and asked for a job. He was ficult to grow or to propagate and dens were covered by 1500 men in created Head Gardener. He really in every case a mule. Though dif- nissen huts. A bare, skeleton staff re- had the first-hand knowledge ficult they are very beautiful, and mained to care for the garden and and was responsible for the 'Broughtonii Aureum', 'Glory of greenhouses, of which only the continuation of the breeding Littleworth', `Dr. Masters', 'Gal- cymbidium house was allowed to programme (9). loper Light' and the very old hy- continue. brid 'odoratum' always attract Today, botanists work at identi- admiration in the garden. Bean Gone were the exotic plants in fying the species in one section of the [W. J. Bean, Curator of Kew Gar- the tropical houses. Gone were the garden at a time, and many varieties dens], who has done much to tender and sweet-scented species previously thought lost have been re- help me, suggested one day that in the rhododendron house. Gone discovered. Fifteen thousand plants I should try and make some more were tens of thousands of orchids, have been tagged and recorded on Azaleodendron crosses. I am al- among them being quantities of computer, involving 7,000 varieties or ways ready to listen to him and, seedlings that had excelled all oth- types covering approximately 24 having just flowered one which ers in existence, being the fruits genera of shrub or tree. Sixty to was raised by Lowinsky [Thomas of Lionel's most mature and expe- seventy percent of these plants are Lowinsky] (6) and which, though rienced breeding. The houses of rhododendrons. a bad grower, is very beautiful, all those treasures became invaded was fired with enthusiasm to try. by the plebeian tomato and cu- Surprises lurk in the Witcher's For two years running I crossed cumber to help feed a hard- Wood, an area of the Gardens named any hybrid rhododendron I had pressed nation...on the resound- after a family of charcoal burners that

March 1997/THE AZALEAN • 5 once lived there. Witcher's Wood is the show, just barely past its prime, for there are comparatively few place to rummage if you are an expert the spring had been so wet and cold Exbury and Knap Hill cultivars with time to spare. Here is the loca- that everything was considerably de- available today in the US market tion where unselected seedlings and layed; the normal bloom season of because there were never many the rejects from plant expeditions were rhododendrons at Exbury is consid- available to begin with, and stashed. Many seedlings which were erably longer, beginning in February newer and better cultivars reportedly lost or purposely destroyed and continuing through July. have subsequently been devel- by Mr. Lionel were, in fact, just tucked oped here (10). into the welcoming ground of Although Exbury's name was very Witcher's Wood, where they grew familiar to me in connection with aza- After considering the above com- quietly, awaiting rediscovery. leas from years of reading, I did not ments from William C. Miller III, Mr. find a great many varieties offered Nicholas de Rothschild responded: in our catalogs, except from the spe- cialized rhododendron nurseries. In The reason for the lack of preparation for my visit to Exbury, I Exbury Azaleas in the US is quite asked William C. Miller III about the prosaic. We sold quite a few into reasons for that, and he replied: the Oregon/Washington State area in the early 60s, where I believe Given that deciduous azaleas, they still flourish. However the in general, are more difficult to Department of Agriculture put a propagate than evergreen azaleas; stop to the trade by imposing that the hybrid groups in ques- heavy soil restrictions and quar- tion are imports; and that both of antine regulations. the above contribute to a price dif- range of azaleas—named for the ferential in favor of evergreen aza- Solent, the body of water separat- leas, I would imagine that mar- ing the Isle of Wight from the ket forces favor the production mainland—are, in my view, on a and availability of evergreen par with the best new States-side azaleas. Further, evergreen aza- hybrids. It was the introduction leas have received a great deal of of these that ended the supremacy attention over the years in the of the older Exburys. We have, form of R & D programs, both this year, for the first time, man- government sponsored (the aged to get a few of them to rep- Beltsville and Glenn Dale hybrids) licate in tissue culture, though the A brilliant segment of Exbury's Spring show and privately sponsored (Gable, lab has yet to get them to root out Girard, and Harris). While the of the culture. They come fairly yellows and oranges are exquis- easily from cuttings, and our ite, incomparable, and not to be Nurseries have been concentrat- The Exbury register in the back of found in the evergreen sphere, ing on producing several hundred Peter Barber's excellent book lists the there is very little that is attrac- each year. But, as you say, their many cultivars that have received the tive about the typical leggy, de- deciduous nature often predicates RHS's highest awards over the years. ciduous azalea during the rest of against their sale when compet- The awards of merit are, of course, the year that would warrant com- ing against the more compact decided only on show days; sometimes mitting the space and paying a evergreens. However, pruning those are not the peak bloom days for premium. ...There are also other does create a tighter format. It a plant. But that is when the com- options. In some cases, the de- was Fred [Wyniatt, Head Gar- mittee sits, so that is when the judg- sire for a yellow azalea can be sat- dener at Exbury for many years] ments are determined. Oftentimes a isfied with some of the American who placed much greater impor- breeder is sure that, if the committee native azaleas over which there tance on azaleas within the had only met a day earlier or later, his seems to be a renaissance of plantings, especially the ever- variety would surely have won! interest. ...Then there are the greens, and the feel that one gets breeders that have developed in the gardens today was started For azaleas, the maximum season their own. There is Girard in by him. It was also through him of bloom is May 1-June 1 during nor- Geneva, Ohio which has its own that Exbury acquired the Solent mal years. When I arrived at Exbury line of deciduous azaleas, [and strain of deciduous azaleas which on June 10, 1996, I was in time to re- the] Arnesons in Canby, Oregon had been bred by George Hyde ceive the glorious impact of the spring [among others]. It is possible that at his nursery near Ferndown in

6 THE AZALEAN/March 1997 Dorset. There are around 150 of What we did find was that the have also hauled out load after load these and they were bought by oaks were very shallow-rooted. of invasive ivy, which was chopped Exbury in about 1959-60... At the We had always assumed that all and returned as mulch." time I think that the aim was to oaks had a deep tap root. We infuse new blood into the breed- found that the ones that came "The gardens remain very much ing, but the Solents proved to be down had really rather small root a family concern," Mr. Martin said. so good that they are hard to beat. structures for the size of tree. (This "Today, Edmund's sons, Nicholas and Lionel, are taking an active in- Their other great advantage is is not to say that in different soil how good they are in full sun. We terest in the work of Exbury. Re- conditions they would [not] have cently, Mr. Nicholas has begun always thought that they were like more root")(10). the other azaleas and had them planting up a path along the top of in dappled shade, until the hur- the rock garden. The entire work is Paul Martin adds, "It really was a owned and run by a charitable foun- ricane removed all their top cover. great blessing, however, and did what dation known as 'The Trust'; all prof- The following year and every year should have been done years earlier. its go back into the gardens. The subsequent to that they have ...overgrown trees and shrubs were family are in it because they love it." flowered better in full sun! We torn out, and forced a necessary renewal also tried to trim them back and of the gardens. Our plan is to con- Lionel de Rothschild described him- found that they responded most self as "a banker by hobby, a gardener positively to hard pruning. They tinue this renewal over the next 15 to 20 years. by profession" (11). A clear picture of are not at all straggly now (9). the man and his passionate, yet very generous attitude toward gardening The 1987 hurricane referred to by "At this point, we are concentrat- emerges from the following story, ex- Mr. Nicholas wreaked tremendous ing primarily on rhododendrons, hav- tracted from an article on Knap Hill havoc at Exbury, as it did at Kew and ing taken back the breeding work un- azaleas in Rhododendron Year Book many other large British gardens. der our own auspices. The long-range 1985/6 by G. Donald Waterer: plan calls for us to begin similarly ex- The hurricane had no name as tensive work again with azaleas in It was decided to resume the hy- it came as a bit of a bridization and selection of the surprise. The Knap Hill azaleas, but in 1935 a weatherman on the devastating frost on 17 May de- stroyed the flowers of every aza- early evening news lea in the open ground. With his said 'a lady from usual generosity Lionel de Jersey has just rung Rothschild invited the Knap Hill me up and told me Nursery to make crosses at Exbury that a hurricane is using azaleas which he had ac- on the way, I can as- quired from the second Anthony sure you that we Waterer, Exbury having suffered have no knowledge no harm from the frost. These of this, so do not crosses were made at Exbury by worry!' Boy, did he Frank Knight. Further crosses have to eat his were made at Knap Hill before the words! ...the hurri- outbreak of war in 1939 (12). cane-force winds... ripped ashore later Exbury's Head Gardener Paul Martin "A nice story, I think," summed up that evening. There Mr. Lionel de Rothschild, grandson was no time to give of Exbury's founder. A very nice story three to four years. it a name, let alone warn anyone with wonderful gardens, exquisite of its arrival. Exbury lost 750 ma- "The pH here is 4.5-5, which is very azaleas, and priceless contributions ture oaks and other trees in the acidic. We do nothing to change that, to the gardens of the world. space of an hour. The second hur- because the plants are so big anyway, ricane force storm came in 1990, and seem to thrive on it. Initially, the Thank you, Mr. Lionel. this time in February, when we soil was bulked up with humus, and lost a further 400-500 trees; this the plants have been fed with a gen- REFERENCES time it was the turn of the Scots eral fertilizer thereafter. Now, because Pine to take the brunt of the wind. of the size of the grounds, we some- (1) C. E. Lucas Phillips and Peter N. Bar- The trees were not necessarily old! times resort to chemical weeding. We ber, The Rothschild Rhododendrons,

March 1997/THE AZALEAN • 7 first published by Cassell, reprinted by Exbury Gardens, 1987, p. 35. PINE BARK AND AZALEAS This book is an invaluable source of information on Mr. Lionel de Larry Brown Rothschild's life and work, Exbury, Hammond, Louisiana and highly practical rhododendron culture. The book is a well-produced, hard-cover edition of 138 pages in- cluding 20 fine black-and-white illus- Use of pine bark in container culture of azaleas trations, plus 65 full-page color plates of plants in bloom. Peter Bar- ber had served as a major in the army As anyone who has grown ornamental plants in containers in the south- with Edmund de Rothschild, and eastern United States knows, milled pine bark is a great ingredient for a growth later become Managing Director of medium. Its qualities include good drainage and heat release, acidity, lack of Exbury Gardens. toxicity, and very slow decomposition rate. And anywhere that pine trees are harvested in quantity it has the additional advantage of wide availability and Berrisford, Judith. Rhododendrons and Azaleas. London: Faber and Faber, low cost. 1964, p. 45. The pine bark that I will be referring to throughout this article is described Berrisford, ibid. as being run once through a hammermill and at least six months old. This results in a range of particle sizes that is considerably coarser than bark that is Berrisford, Op. Cit., p. 46. usually sold as potting medium for greenhouse plants or houseplants. The Phillips and Barber, Op. Cit., p. 35. coarser bark is considered a necessity for growing healthy plants in containers in full sun in the South. If you are growing azaleas under less severe condi- In 1926 (Mr. Lionel) acquired most of tions, a finer bark may be more desirable. the collection of Thomas Lowinsky, one of the leading amateurs of the day and a RHS gold medallist, whose Azaleas can grow very well in 100% pine bark. However, one drawback to fine garden at Tittenhurst, such use is the low water holding capacity of pure bark. Another property, Sunninghill, was celebrated also for which can be either a plus or a minus, is its light weight. For shipping, light some of the rarer forms of conifer, weight is desirable, but plants in pure bark are easily blown over, such as the curious pendulous cedars and the very odd weeping wellingtonias, or 'ghost trees'," Plants grown in 100% bark or very coarse bark may also have difficulty in Phillips and Barber, Op. Cit., p. 26. becoming established when planted out, especially into heavy soils. The roots can easily dry out before they grow beyond the original container volume, (7) Year Book of the Rhododendron Associa- even if the surrounding soil is moist enough. Addition of up to 10% sand to tion, 1934: pp. 113-114. the container medium helps overcome these problems. (8) Phillips and Barber, Op. Cit., p. 20. Several years ago I compared the growth of various plants in media contain- (9) Communiqe from Mr. Nicholas de ing pine bark, 10% sand, and Canadian peat in percentages ranging from 0 to Rothschild, 9 October 1996. 90%. The results of these tests are shown in Table 1 (1). (10) Letter from William C. Miller III, 12 shown as May 1996. Results obtained in two separate tests in consecutive years are "Test I" and "Test II". (11) Exbury Gardens, [Christina Dykes and Charles Orr-Ewing, produced by TABLE 1 Exbury Gardens.] "An Introduction."

(12) Communiqe from Mr. Lionel de Weight of prunings from 'Carror' azalea plants grown in various media Rothschild, 10 June 1996. and pruned at 4" height after one season of growth.(1)

PERCENTAGES FRESH WEIGHT (g.) Jaacquelyn Kuehn writes from her home in western Pennsylvania, where she is eagerly anticipating the first blossoming of her young PEAT PINE BARK SAND TEST I TEST II deciduous azaleas this spring. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Pomona, journal of the 0 90 10 33 63 North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX). 5 85 10 52 73 10 80 10 55 84 Photographs by the author 20 70 10 55 84 Jacquelyn A. Kuehn Box 29 Lucernemines, 40 50 10 68 92 PA 15754 PHONE: (412) 479-0266 First 90 0 10 76 100 North American Rights ❑

8 THE AZALEAN/March 1997