In article , Stephen
Henning wrote:

"presley" wrote:

hmmm. Well it seems to grow very well in spokane, washington, which is a
zone 5/6 climate. I guess there must be other factors involved as well as
cold tolerance.

Purple Splendour, the R. ponticum rhododendron hybrid, doesn't do well
in our zone 6 climate. Perhaps it is our hot humid summers rather than
our cold snowy winters. I know that your climate is very different to
ours even though we are in the same zone. We yell drought if it doesn't
rain every week in the summer, you build dams to irrigate your farms.
You can use swamp air-conditioners, our air is so moist they don't work
here. [I was born in Spokane.]

On the off-chance anyone was confused, the "other" 'Purple Splendor' is an
R. yedoense var poukhahense x R. hexe. It does spectacularly well in the
Pacific Northwest & is even encountered around here (in Kitsap County)
growing in roadside xeriscape gardens, with at most the protection of a
tree, as it blooms even in pretty deep shade. Though it might be overly
common it really is one of my favorites because so darned reliable. Mine's
in fat colorful bud right now & should be in full flower quite soon.
Strikes me as more flourescent pink than actually purple though.

-paghat the ratgirl
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