Description
This delicately scented beauty hails from the Sikkim/Bhutan region. Pure white to white flushed with pink flat trumpet-lilyish flowers are fairly large and lack speckled markings near the throat. Blooms April-May. Larger specimens have peeling cinnamon coloured bark. Introduced to horticulture trade in 1850. Parent to many Loderi hybrids along with many other stunning cultivars including Lady Bligh , Cynthia , Lady de Rothschild, and John Tremayne.
Deemed tender if grown in the wrong spot where here is inadequate summer and autumn soil moisture. This lack of water is departmental to winter survival to any rhododendron, but those more tender tend to be more vulnerable.
- Seed Count: 25-30
- Collection Date: November 2025
- Hardiness Zone: 7-9
- Height and Width: 2m x 2m?
- Habitat: semi sun to dappled shade of an open forest; well draining humus rich acidic moist soils.
- Family: Ericaceae
How to germinate Rhododendron griffithianum seeds
Rub peat moss through a 4mm screen to create fine lump free milled peat moss. Add 20/30 filter sand (10% content max) and greensand at 1 tbsp/gallon of medium). Moisten, blend well and fill pots/flats/WHT, tamp firm. Sprinkle seeds thinly on medium surface. Mist well. Give gentle warmth (20-25C). Lightly mist daily. Provide strong indirect light. Clear plastic cover helps maintain humidity and enhance germination /seedling survival by not letting medium desiccate. Seeds should germinate in 10 days. Never let seedlings nor medium dry out nor over water. Prick out when large enough to handle into individual pots and grow on. Shallow rooted. Be warned seedlings have very fine hair like roots and can damage easily. Have pots ready to receive when transplanting to avoid roots from drying out.
