The latest Origin Distribution of Rhododendron

Azalea, also known as azalea, pomegranate, evergreen or flat evergreen shrubs, for China's central and southwestern typical acid soil indicator plants, but also because of the bright red corolla, famous flower plants, with high ornamental value, in the world's parks are cultivated, let's take a look at the distribution of azalea origin and growth environment!

Distribution of Azalea

Rhododendron is produced in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan in China. China Jiangxi, Anhui, Guizhou to rhododendron as the provincial flower, Changsha, Wuxi, Jiujiang, Zhenjiang, Dali, Jiaxing, Ganzhou and other cities as many as seven or eight cities as the city flower. In May 1985, azalea was rated as one of the top ten famous flowers in China.

Environment of Azalea

1. Rhododendron is born under sparse shrubs or pine forests in mountainous areas with an altitude of 500-1200 meters. It likes acidic soil and does not grow well or even does not grow in calcareous soil. Therefore, soil scientists often regard rhododendrons as indicator crops for acidic soils.

2. Rhododendron likes cool, humid and ventilated semi-shade environment, afraid of both extreme heat and cold, suitable temperature for growth is 12℃ to 25℃, summer temperature exceeds 35℃, new shoots and new leaves grow slowly and are in semi-dormant state.

3. Sunscreen in summer and keep warm and cold in winter. Avoid sun exposure, suitable for growth under scattered light with low light intensity, too strong light, tender leaves are easy to be burned, new leaves and old leaves are burnt, and serious will lead to plant death.

4. In winter, measures should be taken to prevent cold in order to ensure its safety in winter. Among ornamental rhododendrons, the cold resistance of western rhododendrons is the weakest, and freezing injury is easy to occur when the temperature drops below 0℃.

The main varieties of rhododendron

There are more than 900 species of Rhododendron in the world. In the past century, there have been nearly ten thousand horticultural varieties in the world. Rhododendron has been introduced from Japan, Europe and America for cultivation in China since 1920s-1930s, and some new varieties have been bred through hybridization. Rhododendron can be divided into "five major" strains, namely spring cuckoo strain, summer cuckoo strain, western cuckoo strain, eastern cuckoo strain and alpine cuckoo strain.

1. Spring azalea: Spring azalea is native to China, Malay Peninsula and southern Asian mountains. Evergreen rhododendron species are very rich in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou mountainous areas of China, and deciduous rhododendron is distributed from northeast to south China. Natural communities are distributed in high mountains, growing on shady slopes, belonging to semi-shade plants. Likes to be born in the climate cool, the air humidity is big, the acid soil, also bears barren, but does not bear the ponding.

2. Summer cuckoo: It grows branches and leaves first in spring and blossoms from May to early June, so it is called summer cuckoo. The main parents of summer cuckoo are said to be Gaoyue Rhododendron and May Rhododendron.

3. Dongjuan: Dongjuan is a variety of Japanese Shiyan Rhododendron and its numerous hybrid descendants, introduced from Japan, so it is called Dongjuan corresponding to Western Rhododendron. In spring, the eastern cuckoo blossoms, and in some places it is included in spring cuckoo.

4. Western cuckoo: Western cuckoo is a popular species because of its gorgeous flowers, especially Belgian cuckoo. Because it is a horticultural variety bred by Europe and America, it is called Western cuckoo, also known as Western cuckoo. After introduced into Japan in 1892, the names of western cuckoo varieties were translated into Japanese, so those introduced from Japan in China were still translated into Japanese. Meanwhile, a number of new varieties were bred by crossbreeding with western cuckoo in China. Therefore, there are about 200-300 species of western cuckoo varieties in China.

5. Alpine Rhododendron: Alpine Rhododendron is an alpine evergreen shrub or small arbor plant of Ericaceae. Its plant height is 1-3 meters, its branches are thick, its leaves are clustered at the top of branches, thick leathery, 6-12 cm long and 2-5 cm wide. It blooms in April to May. Its flower type is mainly set petals and double petals, but also a few single petals. Its flowering period is about 1 month. Color has white, pink, reddish, pink, yellow and so on. Generally grows in the mountains between 600-800 meters above sea level, adaptability is strong, after artificial domestication, cultivation is expected to become evergreen ornamental plants in garden green space.