Another Terrarium Rhododendron - Vireya

[Tindomul]

Hello all,

This is Rhododendron 'Saint Valentine'
This is another one of my Vireyas, tropical Rhododendrons from South-east Asia and Northern Australia. This is another hybrid which I bought because I liked the shape of the flowers, compact size of the shrub and above all, the redness of the blooms.

Thing is, if you can grow orchids, you can grow Vireyas. I hope you all enjoy the following progression of photos over a period of 5 days.

Rhododendron 'Saint Valentine'-01 by César, on Flickr

Rhododendron 'Saint Valentine'-02 by César, on Flickr

Rhododendron 'Saint Valentine'-03 by César, on Flickr

Rhododendron 'Saint Valentine'-04 by César, on Flickr

[WhiteRabbit]

beautiful!

[naoki]

Pretty. You mentioned that it is compact, but do they stay compact (i.e. can it stay inside of moderate size terrarium)?

[Pattywack]

I love rhododendrons, grow them in our gardens but I've never seen these Vireyas until you began posting about them. They are gorgeous and certainly a nice addition to your viv. Thanks for sharing.

[Tindomul]

Originally Posted by naoki

Pretty. You mentioned that it is compact, but do they stay compact (i.e. can it stay inside of moderate size terrarium)?

Not all vireyas stay small. But there are many that would take 10 or more years to outgrow a standard sized terrarium. And that's only if you don't trim them. Vireyas can be trimmed down pretty harshly as well and they will basically start growing again.

The thing is, I like to stuff them into my terrariums, but you guys don't have to do that. You can grow them in small pots alongside your orchids. They are cool growing though, so dislike very hot temperatures, and really like drops in night time temperatures.

[ronaldhanko]

Where do you get them, Tindo?

[Tindomul]

Bovees nursery, and White Cloud Nursery. Rhododendron species Botanical Garden is another source, but when I shop there I end up getting other Ericads. Bovees is great, my favourite place by far. I think Bovees and RSBG are both not that far from you? At least much closer than they are to me. Worth a road trip for you perhaps.
And if you are interested, they pop up on Ebay. Information sites are listed on Bovees and RSBG links sections. I hope you like them enough to try them out. You would definitely be able to handle these.

[ronaldhanko]

Any species you would especially recommend? The smaller the better, of course.

[Tindomul]

I like the hybrids because they seem more forgiving. R. 'Alisa Nicole' flowers when it's small. There are some ground dwellers, Ruby Grace, and the species that comes from that I like is R. gracilentum . But it all depends on what you are looking for in the blooms.

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------

You may want to look here Ron,

Vireya Rhododendrons - Welcome

[ronaldhanko]

Thanks, Tindo.