Rhododendron Kalinka

A tough and hardy Rhododendron for containers or borders.

With 30 - 40 flower buds per florette each one starts of with red buds which slowly fades to pale pink with ruffled edges and beady looking central stamens.

Compact variety with short stems between its leaves gives a dense deep green foliage with a brown indumentum on the underside of the leaf. This cinnamon brown colour is made from tiny hairs which store water protecting the plant from cold and heat. Indumentum is mostly found on the Japanese cultivars Rhododendron yakushimanum of which Kalinka is a superb variety.

Tolerating full sun or shade but preferring dappled shade underneath other large trees is ideal where they cope quite well with dry soils.

Rhododendrons perform best in an acidic soil.  Use ericaceous compost if planting in containers or add Sulphur Soil to the planting hole.  For best results feed with an ericaceous plant food.