Rhododendron Alfred

Rhododendron 'Alfred' is a variety that is over a hundred years old, but has lost none of its interest. It has beautiful flowering in spring, with each flower illuminated with mauve and white at its core, pleasantly romantic. Its beautiful dark green evergreen foliage highlights this flowering well. A heath plant, it appreciates acidic soils and is sensitive to limestone. It prefers partial shade, but depending on the climate, it can be planted in the sun in colder regions, provided the soil does not dry out.

Rhododendrons belong to the Ericaceae family, which supplies us with numerous ornamental plants (Erica, Enkianthus, Kalmia, Zenobia, Oxydendrum...) as well as some fruit plants (Arbutus, Blueberry...). The Rhododendron genus is extremely vast, mainly comprising of bushes, but also trees over 10m (33ft) tall, generally evergreen, but sometimes deciduous, particularly in the case of Azaleas, which are actually botanically speaking Rhododendrons.

Rhododendron Alfred is a very old hybrid, as it was obtained in 1891 by T.J.Rudolf Seidel in Germany, near Dresden. The Seidel nursery is still active in Grüngräbchen, a village in northern Saxony. It matures into a bush 1.60 to 1.80m (5 to 6ft) in height and 1.80 to 2m (6 to 7ft) wide, adorned with beautiful dark green evergreen foliage. It is obviously its flowering that attracts attention around mid-May to June. Beautiful mauve flowers, which lighten to become almost white at their centre, are produced in clusters at the end of the branches.

Rhododendron Alfred, a heath plant, is ideally suited to acidic or peaty soils, and will therefore thrive in partial shade in a fresh, humus-rich and well-drained soil with an acidic pH. It is hardy in most regions, but will only reach its full potential in a wet and not too hot climate. It can be used as a specimen plant or in mass plantings, especially with other heath plants. You can associate it with many other flowering species, and by choosing staggered flowering times, you can enjoy it all year round! Witch Hazels will open the show with their delicate yellow, orange or red spider-like flowers in the middle of winter. The unmissable Camellias will follow suit at the end of winter, with their magnificent single or double flowers, available in a wide range of colours. Then our little Rhododendron and many of its counterparts will transform spring into a fireworks display of colours. In May-June, superb Kalmias will take the stage, before passing the baton to the Hydrangeas to bloom in summer. Summer heaths, like the vibrant Calluna vulgaris 'Bonita', will keep the fire burning until late in the season, before handing over to the varieties of Camellia sasanqua, the autumn Camellia, which actually blooms more in winter.