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FROM THE PRESIDENT
With about 14 inches of snow on the ground, I did not fair too well when it
was all over..............MARCH 2008
After the snow melted and we had some nice weather (about three weeks later), I started working in my garden. I hauled many loads of debris with my tractor and wheelbarrow, out of my garden. Piles and piles of fir bows and broken plants were raked up and hauled to the compost pile. The damage gave me a reason to rake and clean my garden, taking out the dead perennials and weeds. One can really pull weeds now because the ground is so soft. The little native black berries are such a problem, as they keep coming up, making an ugly ground cover around my garden. Now, here’s some good news. Many of my rhododendrons are budded, and some that I have never seen before will bloom. The last four days with about 60degree weather has really started the plants growing. My crocuses are starting to bloom, so that is the first sign of spring. I have many plants to transplant, and seedlings to get rid of because they are not up to par. If this work can be completed early, it seems there are less weeds and work later this spring. I really enjoyed the program presented by Francis Burns on the Childers’ Hybrids. I had a chance to see lots of the flowers they developed, during their nursery days. Francis can be proud of the beautiful hybrids she has saved. I plan to go to the National Rhododendron Conference in Tulsa Oklahoma in April, so it should be a very interesting trip. I have never been to Oklahoma, so I will sight-see and try to take in as many gardens as possible. It looks like most of the conference features garden tours, which I will really enjoy. It’s coming up on the end of my presidency of our chapter, so if you know of a person who would make a good president, please contact Harold Greer. Also, there will be two board openings, so these positions need to be filled. Last but not least, we had some talk at the board meeting of changing our meeting time from Thursday, to possibly Monday or Wednesday evening. Please contact me and let me know your preference. Many of the members have other events on Thursday evenings.
I recently received
a phone call from Leonard Miller, in Grove Oklahoma,
...............................JANUARY 2008 What’s happening in the Olson garden? I have now harvested and planted fifteen crosses I have made. I am now counting the days until they will germinate. I have purchased a new grow-light from a garden business on 5th Street, in Springfield. They have a fabulous array of lighting systems for sale. I needed a new lighting system because the florescent lighting systems I had did not perform well, because the starters needed more heat in my greenhouse. I started raking leaves and cutting down dead perennials for mulch. I have hauled wheelbarrow loads of debris out of my garden. I still have tons of material to dig, transplant, and move to better areas. Many of the plants have out grown their temporary homes. I plan to take plastic ribbon, and place a colored piece on each of the plants that need to be moved. This will give me an idea as to where the new home should be for each plant. In gardening it is a never ending job of moving plants. I also have to make choices as to which of my seedlings I should keep and which to get rid of. Many of my hybrids need to be evaluated to see if they deserve a place in my garden. Gardening is a process of constant observation and evaluation.
After our
October meeting by Henry Helms,
..............................................................OCTOBER
2007
Now is the time to walk through your garden, and decide which plants are happy where they are growing, and which should be moved. I know in my garden, that I have many plants to move, and to find better homes for. In the eight years I have lived at Rocky Knoll, I have discovered that the trees are growing at a much faster rate than I expected. My plants are in much more shade now, than when I moved here. Some of the trees have grown more than ten feet in eight years. This year, I plan to move many plants to more open areas, and to fit them in with the trees as a back ground. I also plan to thumb through many catalogs, to find the flowering trees that will like it up here, and can fit in my forest. This is the time of year that we have to watch those rhody crosses that we made in May. The seed pods should be ripening and starting to turn yellow. They should be checked frequently this month, so we don’t lose our crosses. I am very excited about some of the crosses that I have made. This is really fun, and I wish you could all get into this part of our hobby. This next month should be a real treat.
Its always fun to see new hybrids, and I know Thompson’s have hundreds. See
you at the November meeting.
This was the one-hundredth year of the Rhododendron Festival in Florence.............................JUNE 2007 What a weekend. I prepared for the flower show, and then left early Saturday morning. First, I asked two of my granddaughters if they would like to help me prepare for the flower show. They both said yes, so I was set for a wild weekend of rhododendrons with two lovely little girls. They were as excited as I was, and very enthusiastically participated in the cutting, cleaning and grooming of about 40 trusses. We had a wonderful time cleaning and talking about what it took to pick out the best truss, and how the judges would pick and choose our trusses over the others. I let them each pick a truss to put their name on, so they could see if it would earn a ribbon. They were very careful to pick a good truss, and asked me questions about each of the flowers they choose. After all the preparation on Friday night, we went to bed, and then got up about 5:00 in the morning to get our flowers loaded, and placed in the van, so they could make the trip to the coast. We stopped at Dutch Brothers to have hot chocolate and coffee, and then took off for the coast. When we arrived, the girls helped me enter the trusses, and because I had filled all the entry cards the day before, it made it easier. They quickly caught on, and helped me enter my trusses faster then I had ever done.
We left the show while the judging was
going on, and went to Heceta Beach and walked along the beach for a couple of
hours. The girls found about ten perfect sand-dollars, so they were very
excited. They ran up and down the beach and the weather was perfect. We then
went to the carnival, and the girls rode on many of the rides they had for the
festivities. We then went to the flower show to see how we had done. It is
always interesting because you never know what the judges will choose. I got
lots of ribbons, and each of the girls (Halle, 9 and Gretchen, 10), both won a
blue ribbon for their choices. I also won best Yak with Baxter’s Yak, best
light pink with Ooh La La, best red with Thor, and best Purple with Olin O.
Dobbs. The girls and I had a wonderful time and I hope next year they will do
it again. I really feel blessed. Did everyone enjoy that 73 degree temperature as
much as I did?
..............................................March 2007 I wonder what will be in bloom for the flower shows? Warmer or colder weather often determines whether rhododendrons will be blooming earlier or later than normal. It doesn’t appear as though I had any damage from the extended period of snow and ice in January. I dug up some of my Statchys byzantina (lambs tongue) and plan to pot it. If any one is interested in getting some, let me know, and I will save some for you. I have a very good form and it really looks nice with a small rhododendron growing over the top of it. It has very gray-silver foliage, and is very soft and velvety. I also have lots of companion plants that I am willing to part with for a very small price, so come out and see what is in the garden. A couple years ago, I made a 10’ x 14’ plant box, filled it with mulch, and then seeded it with wild flower seeds that I collected from the woods. It has really been a good experiment, because it is full of little wild flowers such as lilies, iris, and erythroniums. I plan to plant them in my woods along the trails so they can be enjoyed on hikes. Remember, we have our early show on the
31st of March, which is earlier than normal. This is always a
great time to bring your early blooms to show, visit, and have a fun evening.
There will be an auction, and a nice program with a slide show, plus a
wonderful meal at the Electric Station, for which our Society will defray $6
of the cost of each member’s meal. I hope you can all attend.
This
has been a wonderful holiday for the Olson clan.
...............................................January 2007 We just had a wonderful Thanksgiving..................................................................................December 2006 with twenty-one guests. Believe me, it was quite an occasion with grandchildren and children and aunts and uncles. When I woke up this morning, there was about three inches of snow on the ground, and it was just beautiful. We get more snow up here at Rocky Knoll, because of the elevation. I took my camera on my morning run, and took beautiful snowy pictures. I also took some pictures of rhododendrons with a snow covering. I have a persimmon tree and the mountain robins (varied thrush), were all over the tree. It was as if the word is out, go up to Olson’s and get some breakfast. My immediate reaction was to go out and protect my tree, but Sandie reminded me that they were hungry, and that it was a nice pleasant way to feed, and view them. I really like persimmons, so I hope they leave me some. What’s been going on in my greenhouse? Well I am glad you asked. I have been very busy with cuttings, as usual. I have four bins full of cuttings, and a few grafts. This is always interesting. I am still using Swenson’s old cables, even though there is constant repair. I have them set just under 70 degrees, and keep all cuttings under plastic so as to make a little heat box. After my trip to Florence, a few days later, I went out to Galen Baxter’s and got more cuttings. He picked out what he felt were the better plants in his garden, and gave me many cuttings. It’s funny how this cutting adventure is. You never know what you will find and take as a cutting. After our show three years ago, Galen had asked me for the winning truss, Blue Boy, which I had won a trophy on. I said; “Sure, take it”. Meanwhile, I had lost my Blue Boy, and his graft took, and he had a beautiful plant. So he gave me cuttings off of the Blue Boy graft, from three years ago. What goes around comes around, and especially in the Rhododendron world. This is the time of the year I realize how grateful I am to have this
wonderful family, good friends, a nice home with a garden, and just a great
life. We all take many of these things for granted, whether it is freedom, or
just all the luxuries we have as Americans. I hope all of you have a wonderful
holiday and enjoy life to the fullest. After
our picnic
.................................................................................................September,
2006 Now, when I am ready to re-cut the cutting, I always cut it at an angle and scar both sides of the cutting, tearing off the cambium layer. I like to use liquid hormone, usually Dip and Grow or something similar. I mix the hormone when I am ready to put the cuttings in the bin. I use a baby bottle, to hold the mixed solution (it must be mixed with the correct amount of water). I let the cutting soak in the solution for about five minutes. Then I poke the cutting into my medium. I always fluff up the medium before inserting the cutting into it. On my second cut, prior to soaking the cutting in hormone, I cut the cutting down to about four inches in length. This length seems to work the best for me. I also use a mixture of three parts per-light or pumice to one part peat-moss. I dampen this medium, so it is moist but not real wet. This medium is approximately six inches deep in the bin. I have a heat cable in the bottom of the bin set at about 70 degrees. After placing the cutting in the bin, I dampen it when necessary and place a plastic sheet over the cuttings so they are like in a giant bag. Within a month, you will see scarring, and roots developing on both sides of the cutting. The bottom heat helps the plants roots to grow down toward the heat source. Harder to root plants should be taken when they are softer, or earlier in the season. Now start taking cuttings because you can save lots of money and really get some nice plants from members of the society. I am really excited about the two plants I named this year in the rhododendron registry. The first plant is a seedling I obtained from Nolan Blansit which I called Kaleidoscope. The name Kaleidoscope was not accepted, because it was used on another plant. So I changed it to Prism, which I like even better. The cross is Nancy Evans x Tamarindos, which made very unusual colors in the truss. The truss is beautiful and won The Best New American Hybrid, at the Florence Rhododendron show. The other plant is the cross of Full Moon x Mrs. Furinvall, which was done by Gladys and Willard Swenson. This is a very beautiful flower of a light yellow in shade. The leaves are round at the end, so it really shows off the truss. Now, for those who can make it, I will be giving a slide show at the Rock Garden Society meeting on October 3rd. That’s a Tuesday night, at seven-o-clock, at the Eugene Garden Club on High Street. I hope some of you can attend. There will be some interesting slides mostly of Rhododendrons. If not, I will see you at our October meeting on the twelfth.....................................................................Jack This
last week has made up for all of last
winter. ........................................................MAY 2006 Can you believe my Taurus is in full bloom? This has really been a different year, as I have things blooming that have never bloomed this early, and other early flowers are just coming out. I have an ‘Oreotrephes’ that has never bloomed this early. I hope there is something from it to show. If you don’t have ‘Oreotrephes’, you should get it. It is really a nice plant with beautiful bluish foliage, and nice purple flowers. Another flower that is pretty with a cute little plant is ‘Goldie Locks’. It’s a beautiful little lepidote with nice small, bright yellow flowers. I have it in my rock garden and it is putting on a show. This brings up another subject, and that is what should one plant in a rock garden? I have ‘Ginny Gee’, ‘Patty Bee’, ‘Impeditum’, ‘Proteoides’, ‘Goldie Locks’, ‘Trichostomum’, ‘Arctic Tern’, ‘Campylogynum’, and my favorite ‘Radicans’. Some of you, I’m sure, are thinking that some of these may get too big. Remember, you’re the boss, and you can cut back, and shape your plant, and make it grow the way you want. I have been having fun building rock gardens, which are some of my favorite areas is the garden. I hope to see all of you on the 6th and 7th of May, at our Big Flower Show, in the Oakway Mall. It will be fun to see those beautiful trusses, and what other people are growing in their gardens. We should see some flowers that have not been in our show for some time. I hear there may be some new seedlings that we have not seen before. Anyway, bring your flowers so this will be the best show ever. Jack Finally, the weather is warming and the days are getting longer....................................April 2006 Here in Fall Creek, the first signs of spring for me are my active honey bees. They have a few rhododendron blossoms to go to, such as R. Fargesii, R. Lutescens, and R. Maxine Childers. They also like the tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths, and other early bloomers. I have noticed some buds on other plants, starting to swell. Remember, I am a week or two behind you folks in Eugene and Springfield, so many of you may have more things blooming. Our early show is at the Electric Station, on Saturday, April the eighth, which is always an evening of fun. Nolan Blansit will give a slide show and talk about his many hybrids, and the ones that he feels are good plants for further hybridization. You will learn the many methods and plans he has for growing rhododendrons. I will have some of Nolan’s rhododendron crosses available, so you can have a copy of this clever hybridizer’s work. If you have any flowers you can bring for the show, be sure to do so. It is always fun to see what is blooming in other people’s gardens. The more flowers, the more fun we will have. Let’s make this the biggest and best Early Show ever! ....................................................................................Jack Olson My timing was perfect for my trip to Guatemala...............................................................March 2006 The day we left on February the third, it got windy and cold here at Fall Creek. I was in 80 degree weather for 17 days in Guatemala, so I missed all the cold that the rest of you had. We had a wonderful time and saw many wonderful areas of Guatemala. We flew to San Francisco, then to L.A., then on to Guatemala City. From there we were driven to Antigua, which is about thirty miles from Guatemala City. Our home base was Antigua. From there we traveled to various areas. We had a wonderful trip. I saw many volcanoes, ruins, beautiful cities, wonderful weavings, and hundreds of various orchids. If I lived in Guatemala, I would be an orchid thief. They have over 700 varieties of orchids, and many other beautiful flowers. I went through some beautiful private gardens, and took over 200 pictures of orchids, gardens, and many native plants and flowers. Now, what happened in my garden when I was in Guatemala? When I got home, I saw branches all over the ground, and there were some trees that blew over. No trees blew down in my garden, but there is some fire wood to cut here at Rocky Knoll. I had some pipes freeze around the pond, and had to replace them. My R. Recurvoides was starting to bloom when I left, and when I got back, all the flowers were destroyed by the freeze. This was to be the first year that I had ever seen it in full bloom. Maybe next year. I have many other buds on my rhodies, and I always wonder which of those potential show winners will have florets destroyed by frost. I will be able to tell when my R. Maxine Childers blooms, because it usually shows if there is damage in the florets. The buds are swelling, so it should bloom any day now. This year I am going to write down the day each particular variety blooms, so I can compare it from year to year. I noticed two of my R. Impeditums got frozen, and my larger one was not bothered. There were some smaller plants that were hit harder by the freeze. It will be interesting to see if they can make it. I did loose some cuttings that were set out last spring. They were young plants, so maybe they did not get a good enough start. When the weather clears up some, it will be a good time to clean up all those flower beds and do some weeding. The weeds you pull now won’t be so big later in the year. I have a habit of leaving the leaves on the ground until spring. I then start raking them as the weather warms. Our guest speakers are Leonard Foltz, and Fred Weisensee from Dancing Oaks Nursery, between Monmouth and Salem. It’s a fantastic nursery, so if you are ever in the area it’s a must stop. They will give a talk and slide show on plants that are good to have in the Rhododendron Garden. So be sure and be there as this will be a fantastic chance to see some new plants of interest. They are also bringing a special door prize. My Wife did some incredible detective work...........................................................................................JANUARY 2006 After going to three meetings, and asking who the culprit that took the name tags was, she interviewed me, and I absolutely knew it had to be one of three people, Joyce Reed, Laura Loucks, or Gwen Lounsbury. It had to be one of three because I distinctly remembered, that one had told me that they would bring them from now on. So Sandie was on the search with her detective abilities at the sharpest concentration she had ever used. She questioned me, and thought about all the people I had accused, and discussed this and that, as possibilities. Now, being married to me for over forty years gave her a tremendous advantage in detective work. After assessing all the information, she went to my closet and found the much missed name tags. To this day, I still think someone placed them in my closet during my sleep. Who could the culprit be? It’s great being married to someone who is a good detective. Or maybe it is someone who knows me better then I do. Is anybody tired of rain yet? This is the most rain I have seen since we moved up Little Fall Creek. It has really cleaned out my pond. As you know the rain comes off my roof, then into the pond. So it is very clear with all this rain constantly washing the old water out. I have done very little gardening because it has rained so hard. I have done some work in the green house. Many of my epiphyllums were frozen, during the cold spell we had a couple of weeks ago. They were all hanging in the green house, but the cold lasted so long, that it started freezing in the greenhouse. All my cuttings and seedlings are fine because they have bottom heat and are covered with plastic. I am still moving plants when it is not raining, which is very infrequent. I will not make the meeting in February, which I wish I could see because Gwen Bell always has a terrific program. There will be many beautiful slides of fantastic trusses, which I totally enjoy. Sandie and I are going on a little vacation to Guatemala for 17 days, so will miss the meeting. I am looking forward to the sun and warm weather for a change. I may find some exotic plant and bring home some seeds. It is always fun to look for unusual plants when you travel. I have about 30 monkey puzzle trees, I grew from seed that I gathered in Brazil. I was excited until I noticed that a squirrel had eaten the tops out of about half of them. Well, enjoy the February program, and get out and do some weeding if the weather will let you. It seems to be much easier to pull the weeds now, because the ground is soft, and the roots are short. Have fun with Rhodies Pres. Jack.
SANDIE AND I JUST RETURNED FROM A SHORT TRIP TO SALEM...............................................................DECEMBER 2005 ..................................................... where we had our Thanksgiving this year, at my daughter Stacie’s. With four children and seven grandchildren, Sandie and I are very thankful. With all the hurricanes and earthquakes going on in the world, we feel lucky to live here in the Pacific Northwest. All of us have a lot to be thankful for, living in this country. I have been spending lots of time, when it is not raining, transplanting and moving plants from one area to the next. Lots of the larger plants below the patio have found new homes down in the lower garden. I have cleared brush with the aid of a friend, making new areas for plants. This has really been fun and satisfying, as my garden is taking on a new look. Many of the plants are plants I purchased at the Northwest Convention. I also got many wonderful seedlings from Nolan Blansit, so there will be lots of new flowers in the future for my garden. Last week, I moved the last of my Rhododendron cuttings out of the bins. There were good root systems, as they were there too long. I have also been placing some of the seedlings in flats, so they can be moved around and placed under lighting so as to speed their growth. It has been a long slow process cleaning and doing more cuttings in the bins, but it is always fun and exciting to see what can be rooted, and the new plants one can obtain. I also have started digging my dahlias, so that is another big job. It is always interesting to see what will be living in my greenhouse each winter. This year is no exception. I have a pair of wrens who fly from one end to the other while I am working. They seem to love perching in my fuchsias and other hanging plants. Also, I have stacked some lumber in the greenhouse, so there is a packrat that has made his home between the boards. He is kind of cute, but he always manages to get into some greenhouse trouble. I have found tags, pencils, etc., in piles with other things that I have misplaced. I will find items in drawers, pots or any other hole he can crawl in and make a temporary home. Small objects could be almost anywhere in the greenhouse, so it is a must that I am careful where items are placed. There are also chipmunks that come in from time to time, and eat epiphyllums and trim plants to the best of their ability. I frequently find plant destruction, but I don’t blame them for coming in. It was their home first, so now we need to learn how to share space. I did have a bear come down and tear up one of my bee hives, so I had to put an electric fence around it. Bears sure like honey and can take the much needed honey out of a hive and kill the hive. The last little varmint is on a collision course with me. It’s a large raccoon who has managed to tear up my bird feeders, making it hard to keep little birds around unless the feeders are filled and fixed every day. Sandie will not let me shoot the raccoon, but I don’t like him and he is a lot of trouble. So stay tuned, I may be wearing a raccoon hat to one of the future rhody meetings. Your friend in flowers, FOR
THOSE OF YOU WHO DID NOT GET TO Nolan Blansit's for his plant
sale..................................................November 2005 I HAD TWO WEEKENDS OF FLOWERS AND VISITS WITH OLD FRIENDS.......................................................May 22, 2005 The past two weekends have really been a ride for me, first our show, then the Rhododendron Festival in Florence. I had two weekends of flowers and visits with old friends. If this is not heaven, then I don’t know what is. I saw so many beautiful trusses and sprays of rhododendrons and azaleas. I was invited to judge the flower show in Florence, which is always a treat because of the enthusiasm and graciousness of their chapter. Both shows were supposed to be inferior because of the rain and hail we had. However, I felt we had two wonderful and very impressive shows. It always surprises me how many trusses a show can have, with weather such as we have had the past three weeks. I expected both shows to be devastated from the weather. As president, I want to thank all those involved in our rhododendron show. There were so many people doing jobs, that it would take this article to include everyone. But I must thank Leonard Frojen for his efforts, which made an outstanding show. This is always a hard job, with lots of responsibility and organization. It was nice having Rich Aaring bring the trailer full of our flower stands and tables, which made that job so much easier. It was really slick and half the work. All those who came to set up and to take down the stands, I thank you. We are really good as a chapter making things work and completing our tasks. Now I have to share a new experience I had as a hybridizer. I entered for the first time, one of my own seedlings, which I have never shown before. This was a cross of Sunspray and Lems Cameo. I have really had some beautiful trusses from these seedlings. I have heard say, you should never name more than one seedling from a cross. Most times I feel this is probably true. However, the plants from this cross are so different that it is hard to believe. I ended up sending two plant forms to be registered. They are very different, one being fluorescent pink with a big calyx; the other being a creamy yellow, with tints of coral. I named the creamy yellow one Mead, and the pink one Kahlua. It sounds like I am rather alcoholic, but the new foliage is golden brown on Mead, and dark brown on Kahlua. I think they will be nice to grow and show. I was really honored to win best new American hybrid in our flower show with a truss of Mead. I personally feel Kahlua is even better, but I have never had a truss to show. Speaking of hybrids, I have to mention Jim Smith’s dark red, new American hybrid, he won best of show on, in the Florence flower show. What a beautiful truss, and a sure winner in the future. Way to go Jim, and when can we get cuttings? OUR EARLY SHOW WAS LOTS OF FUN...... I enjoyed
the flowers, the meal, the excellent program, and the auction at the end. We
saw some beautiful trusses from our local gardens, which is always
interesting. I love to see what everyone grows in their gardens. Best azalea
was an outstanding 'Hino crimson' from Ray Klein's garden. Our best
species was a beautiful spray of R. davidsonianum from
Gene Cockeram's garden. Best hybrid lepidote was
'Alison
Johnstone'
from Gordon Wylie's garden, and was a beautiful spray that reminded me of
apple blossoms. Our best hybrid elepidote was a truss of
'Whirlaway'
from Terry Henderson's garden, which was very pretty. (I have heard he might
have some for sale). We all had a wonderful evening with lots of
entertainment.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR GARDEN ? ......CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS WEATHER Can you believe this weather? All the rest of the country is getting rain or snow and we are sitting in a banana belt having fun in our gardens. I really enjoyed the visit and program of Steve Hootman. I am always ready to go on a rhody hunt after I have seen his program. I think as much as the rhodies, I enjoy the exotic locales and adventures Steve has. It was an excellent program. I was really excited about having Steve stay at my place, because it gave me a chance to talk with him about his travels, and for him to also observe my garden, and give me some input as to the collection of species and other plants I have. It was his feeling that I had many excellent species, but that I also had some specimens that were not the best examples. I know when you see some special plant, and it is some species that you have never seen before, that it is difficult to know if you have the best specimen of that plant.
The board decided that it would be easier on us old rhody growers, to
have a trailer for the storage of our tables and flower stands, that we use
for our flower shows. So this month we purchased a used trailer, so we can
just hitch up and haul the stands and tables to the show. It will be so much
easier, and will save a lot of wear and tear on our nerves and body. At this
writing, I am waiting to find out when I can pick up our tables. When we find
out we will take the trailer and load it up. If there is any member that
would not mind having an 8' x 12' trailer parked in their driveway or close
by, please let me know.
I am really enjoying the weather in my garden. I have transplanted
and moved many rhodies and perennials. I have trimmed my fruit trees and even
cut a couple of fir trees down (they were next to the green house) and cut
them up for fire wood for next year. My honey bees have been very active.
They are coming and going like it was summer. They come back heavily laden
with pollen. I think they are getting pollen off the wild filberts and red
alder. Both trees are heavy with pollen from the catkins that are hanging at
this time. I noticed one of the wild filbert trees were covered with pollen
and bees. The whole tree was covered with bees and was buzzing. This pollen
is taken back to the hive where it is fed to the new larva that are hatching.
With the warm weather, the queen starts the laying process. She can lay up to
2000 eggs a day. I have taken pollen comb out of the hive and eaten it just
to see what it tastes like, when I gather honey in the fall. They say that it
is very high in protein, and that is why the larva grow so fast. Enough
about Bees (I am fascinated by the little creatures). Let's talk about rhodys.
I am really looking forward to this spring. I have many seedlings
that will bloom, so I am hoping to show some of them at our show. Many Sun
Spray x Lems Cameo are budded, and it looks like my hose and hose yellow will
bloom, so you can finally see what it looks like. Many of the other plants
are going to bloom, so I will have even more than last year. As you know most
of my plants are about five to six years old, so I am finally getting some
plants with flowers. I plan to get pictures to share with the society.
Sandie and I could no longer stand it, so we bought our own Power
Point program, and now we can make our own flower programs or what ever we
want. Sandie has already given a button (She is the president of the button
society) program to her Eugene group, and it was quite a success. We are
still learning the program and think it has so much potential for all
societies.
This months program will be presented by Harold Greer. Harold always
has a top notch program with beautiful slides and interesting information
about each of the hybrids. He always inspires me to hybridize. After I see
his program, I start thinking about which of the plants I want to cross, so I
can grow the plant that will be the next Superior Plant Award winner (boy am I
dreaming). If you love rhodies, this is a program you can't miss.
The last thing I wanted to mention is my method for growing my
seedlings this year. I am trying something different just to see if it will
work. As you know, I do my cuttings on heat cables (Swensons old cables).
Since I had my surgery and ran out of time, I decided to try something
different. I did not get one of my cutting beds full of cuttings, so I
sprinkled seed in rows in one cutting bed. If they all grow, I will have
enough seed for all of Oregon and Washington. I don't know how this will
work, but it will be interesting to see what happens. The heat is set at 70
degrees, the same temperature that I use for my cuttings. Any way, I have one
full 3 by 10 foot bed full of seed. I will keep you informed and let you know
what happens. I may lose them all, or may be buried in seedlings.
(newsletter February 2005).............................Jack Olson
In the last news letter I mentioned that I would write an article about the Swenson hybrids. Remember I am writing this article with the best of my recollection, and it could have some discrepancies that I am not aware of. I spent many hours looking at rhododendrons and talking with Willard and Gladys about their hybrids as I discovered them. They never said much about what they had until it bloomed and I would see a beautiful truss that I had never seen before. I would ask Gladys because she would visit more then Willard. But when you got Willard to talk, he would really tell you a great deal of information. They raised the seed in little glass containers which looked somewhat like the antique celery containers. He would grind sphagnum moss, moisten, and then wring out the water, so the moss was only damp. With the glass covers on, he would place the containers on the 70 degree heat cable. In a month or so, he would have hundreds of little rhododendrons growing. He would then take the little seedlings out with tweezers and place them in wooden flats with peat moss and a small amount of perlite. The following are the crosses I saw grow in my 25 years of visits. SUNSPRAY- (Alice Franklin x Crest) Sunspray is probably my favorite yellow hybrid. It can have a huge truss. It is so big that it is hard to grow a perfect straight truss, but when you grow one it is spectacular. Did you know there was a whole row of these seedlings and many of them were really nice hybrids? I wanted to buy one of them but I figured they were not for sale. I really thought they would name a couple more from the other plants, but to my knowledge none of the rest was named. One afternoon I came home from school and they were all gone except Sunspray. RED EYE, and BLACK EYE- (Anah Krushchke x Purple Splendor) I like both of these hybrids and have them. Red eye especially has a beautiful truss and is really pretty when the sunlight hits the flower in the morning. Did you know there was a Green Eye? This plant was from the same cross but never became popular. I don’t know if anyone has one of them but it is worth having. The green eye has a nice contrast with the purple color of the flower. (Full Moon x Fabia) I think Greer gardens sold this plant for a short while but it did not grow good roots so was probably lost. I would love to see this plant again. I had one and so did Evert Hall. We have talked about the plant and both of us miss it. It was a low growing plant but had this unusual truss. All the florets were very flat sort of like Aberconwayi but much larger. (Full Moon x Mrs. Furnival) This is an incredible plant. I have shown this plant five times and won four trophies. It’s a soft yellow and has beautiful foliage. There are usually nine leaves to a truss, so it makes this beautiful skirt around the truss. I will name this plant after Gladys. I cannot say enough about this plant. I have taken cuttings off this plant so hope to market it because I feel it is that good. The story behind the plant is almost as good as the plant. I was over visiting with the Swenson’s one afternoon on my way home from work I was looking at various plants and checking out what was blooming. As I came around a corner there were three small plants. I asked Gladys what the plants were and she told me they were some seedlings that Willard was throwing in the brush pile. I said to Gladys if you are throwing them away can I have them. She said, “Take them or Willard will just burn them.” The three plants were similar as small plants but when they bloomed a few years later, one was yellow, one coral, and the third pink. I left the other two at my home on Hilo, in Eugene and haven’t seen them in a few years. YAK-ITY-YAK – Carl Phetteplace had given them some seeds from Japan in the fifties. They had grown these plants and the one they liked the best was Yak-ity-yak, named after Gladys. The plant was beautiful in fact the prettiest yak I had ever seen. However after they passed away and their house was sold, developers plowed it under with many beautiful plants. I do have a plant and take cuttings every year so it will always be around. In fact in 03, I won the best yak at our show with a truss. (Yak x Mars) One afternoon I stopped by and was visiting with the Swenson’s, when Willard went back into the cutting shed and brought out some seedlings. He took a pocket knife out and cut a square inch of seedlings and gave them to me. I grew the seedlings to full size, about 15 plants of the cross. I showed one of the plants trusses at the Florence Rhody show. It won best new Hybrid and was given a trophy. One of the nurserymen from Portland really liked the plant and felt it should be named. It has very nice foliage and a very pretty truss. I have yet to name it but still have about ten of the various seedlings plus some cuttings. (Yak x Moonstone) This is another of their crosses. It does have an interesting red spot in the throat of the florets. I had two other plants but do not know the cross. One is a creamy yellow which I hope Dale Peterson still has. We got the cutting years ago. The next is a big soft orange truss. I tried to get a cutting last year but it did not take. It is at my old house and I am mad at myself for not bringing it up to Fall Creek. I have gone back this year but cannot catch the people at home so I can get permission to take a cutting. It has a lot of potential for growing some huge trusses as the florets are about four inches across. I know there are many other plants they grew that I did not know about. They were rather secretive unless the plant was blooming. The Swenson’s were nice people to me and became very good friends. I will always remember the wonderful plants they grew and how they would share a wealth of information with me. I will always grow and try to keep stock of the plants I did get from them and cherish them forever. ( NOVEMBER 2004/NEWSLETTER) .....................Jack Olson THE FLORENCE VISIT WHO INTRODUCED YOU TO RHODIES? SAYS NEW
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