On 2013-12-12 16:40:48 +0000, Chris Hogg said:

I've just taken delivery of a s/h set of the six books by Hyams on
Ornamental Shrubs for Temperate Gardens, season by season. In the
volume on Winter Flowering shrubs he mentions Rhododendron x
nobleanum. He says the flowering season is very variable and that it
can often begin in November but usually in December. The undersides
of the leaves are covered in a brown indumentum, although 'Christmas
Cheer' that I mentioned previously is similar, probably because they
share a parent, R. caucasicum. Hyams doesn't mention 'Christmas
Cheer'. R. nobleanum is a very old variety, one of the earliest
hybrids, produced before 1832 by Michael Waterer.

Images of R. nobleanum (http://tinyurl.com/q568yhl) show a range of
shades of pink, from quite dark to a similar shade to your picture,
but bearing in mind that there are several steps between the actual
flower and my computer screen, all of which might alter the shade, it
could be the same. Millais nurseries have an image which looks more
like yours, at http://tinyurl.com/nfgmv27.

The R. nobleanum he planted here died a couple of years ago,
unfortunately and it was in a different bit of the garden, in a very
wide border which faces west and is on one side of the large lawn seen
from the house's south front.. The R Christmas Cheer is our addition to
the bit of the garden he called Rond Point which is at the top of his
Rhododendron Walk. I've always wondered how he pronounced it! Despite
my best intentions to keep a list of what we plant, I *always* forget
to update it at the time. I'm sure this must be R Christmas Cheer and I
do know it's a rhodie we put in. But you've reminded me that I must
ask Ray about putting in another R x nobleanum. It's a fantastic
splash of colour in the garden at this time of year and obviously, it
enjoys a very long lifetime, too.

But talking of winter flowering shrubs our Hammamelis mollis has
flowered and gone over. Strange year!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon