Plant expert- Peter Hutchinson

I didn’t know whether to be alarmed or delighted to see plant explorer Sir Peter Hutchinson, famous for introducing many rare rhododendrons from China, Turkey, and the Himalayas into Europe walk into our garden this afternoon among the visitors for our Open Gardens.
 
However, I had a copy of his book Seeds of Adventure and knew that if anybody could explain why our Chinese rhododendrons were not flowering he would be the person.
 
 
 
His answer surprised me: “They take five to ten years before  they flower.”
 
Ouch! We had assumed they would flower the flowing year. But that was  three years ago.
 
He assured me though that they were perfectly healthy and would bloom in due course.
 
As for some of our other rhodendendrons which we were worried about (had they reached the end of their lives?) all that was needed, he said, was a good pruning.
 

Despite the rain earlier on we had a reasonable turn out of people including some who who had travelled from Glasgow, Perth,West Lothian, Dundee and the Trossachs.
Oh yes and a couple from Holland…but they were visiting a relative in the area, John Gray, our next door neighbour who will be celebrating his 89th birthdaty on Tuesday.