Rhododendrons are an amazing group of plants with new species still been discovered. These beautiful group of flowering shrubs to trees offering something very rewarding for those who love to garden and those who are inspired to garden.
The Rhododendron is perhaps the most beautiful plant we grow at Blackwood Ridge Nursery.
Situated in the Wombat forest at an attitude of 660m the nursery Blackwood Ridge benefits from high rainfall, mists, fogs and rather mild summers and has proven to be ideally suited to a large number of rhododendron varieties.
Australian gardens where Hydrangeas, Camellias and Pieris grow are great for Rhododendrons, in fact right here in Victoria we have the National Rhododendron Gardens at Olinda if you would like to visit or know more Australian Rhododendron Society.
A Brief History
In the wild, rhododendrons range from giants of 20-30 metres to diminutive ground-hugging dwarfs barely a 10cm high. The leaves of some species exceed 75cm in length and 30cm in width; others never reach a 1.25cm in length. Some have flower trusses as large as a basketball while others have tiny thimble-size flowers. Some are fragrant, some are not. Colours cover the entire spectrum.
Survivors of the ice-age Rhododendrons have managed to adapt themselves to the changing conditions of their environment. The largest concentration of these plants in the wild exists in the Himalayan area and Western China. We even have native species in Northern Queensland (Vireyas).