Rhododendrons

Our Finnish Rhododendron Cultivars

A history in photos from 2014 of our Madison, WI rhododendrons. You can click on the plant title for a Mustila Arboretum description and photo of each rhododendron.

Mikkeli was planted in 2012 and has been getting off to a very slow start. The first Pohjolas Daughter was planted April 2013. Also a slow grower.

For the first two weeks in January 2018 we had unseasonable cold temperatures. Often the high was single digits. This was a setback for a number of the rhododendrons. April 2018 was the coldest on record, May the hottest and wettest on record. June is turning out to be record setting wet also. All the rhododendrons were fed in early spring with Azalea & Rhododendron plant food.

Nursery

The rhododendron nursery was planted July 14, 2017 in a 50/50 mix of peat moss and sand. It was covered with a screen to keep the squirrels from trying to plant or dig up nuts. The nursery survived the January cold spell perfectly. By the end of May 2018 we had to add bricks to raise the screen to allow room for the new growth.

Helsinki University

Helsinki was planted in May 2013 and has been the fastest growing and the best able to tolerate late cold season temperatures. It weathered the January cold spell with little damage.

Mikkeli

Mikkeli was planted in the spring of 2012. It has been a slow grower, frequently can be discolored, but keeps surviving.

Hellikki – N

This Hellikki was planted May 18, 2013. It had a bloom the next year. It survived the January cold spell as well as Helsinki.

Hellikki – S

This Hellikki was planted May 18, 2013. It was replanted 5/22/2014 (looking yellow but healthy) with a mix 1/4 compost, 1/4 sphagnum moss, and 1/2 soil. Hellikki had a really good growth spurt the summer of 2017. Apparently it grew too long into the season and was not adequately cold hardy, as it lost all of it’s leaves after the January 2018 cold spell. But the roots did survive and Hellikki is slowly sprouting new leaves at the base of the plant.