The brightest and most abundant are rhododendrons
The rhododendron collection features the brightest and most eye-catching blooms of the year. Especially since their number is the largest in the dendrological collection of the Botanical Garden of VDU: a total of 274 collection units of rhododendrons are grown this year – for comparison, the dendrological collection of the Botanic Garden, the second most abundant of hydrangeas, has 124 collection numbers.
The smallest rhododendrons (for example, the “Wren” variety), spreading a flowering carpet in the ground and reaching a height of only 10-20 cm, and next to them – three-meter-high giants burdened with flowers “Rh. decorum” or “Rh. maximum” – the latter, growing as a tree in its native China, can reach a height of up to a dozen meters, according to the VDU Botanical Garden press release.
Rhododendrons are the most abundant genus of the Ericaceae family, with about 10-12 thousand varieties. Translated from Greek, the name of the plant means “rose tree”.
By themselves, these plants are common in Europe, Š. America, Asia (China, Japan, Korea).
It has been cultivated in European gardens for more than 300 years, and the most important, long-standing rhododendron cultivation centers in Europe are located in England, Holland, France, and Germany.
The introduction of rhododendrons in the VDU Botanical Garden in Kaunas has been going on since its establishment: as early as 1927. American rhododendron (“Rhododendron catawbiense Mixch “.) seeds are listed for the first time in the garden seed catalog. In the current collection, successfully grown rhododendron seeds and seedlings were obtained from several dozen countries around the world: from Germany, Switzerland to the USA and Japan.
Fortunately, scented oils
The collection of lilacs in the Botanic Garden of the VDU was also started by the founder of the garden, prof. In the time of K. Regel. The old collection consists of over 100 bushes, half of which are newly planted olive bushes.
In total, about 10 species and about 20 varieties are grown in the park. As a rule, their flowering begins with common lilacs and ends in the summer with the flowering of Amur, Japanese, and Peking lilacs.
Experts advise to pay attention not only to colors, but also to aromas when looking at oils. “Enjoying the smell of olives is also worth it because it produces the happiness hormone serotonin. And you can treat your eyes by looking at the differences in the varieties – not only the colors, but also the sizes, density, fluffiness of the bunches of the brooms”, – observes the senior curator of the collections of olives and rhododendrons in the Botanic Garden of VDU. specialist Jolanta Šabūnaitė.
Among the more interesting and unusual garden olives: the Afghan olive (Syringa afghanica) is a small, slow-growing, strong-smelling, long, clipped-leaved branch adorned with elegant flower candles.
Or Syringa amurensis (Syringa amurensis), which blooms towards summer, with abundant, strongly scented creamy white flowers. The chameleon variety “Sensation” that is blooming abundantly at the moment attracts the eye with its two-colored flowers.
