Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023 - 72

TIP:
HOW TO GROW
RHODODENDRONS
As a horticulturist at Carolina
Native Nursery in Burnsville,
North Carolina, Shelby Jackson
knows all the secrets of growing
beautiful rhododendrons. Her
number-one tip? " Don't plant
it too deep in the ground, " she
suggests. " Rhododendrons like
good drainage and hate soggy
roots. " -LS
often reminds me, I could've made something
of myself in the bustling cities of
New England. I could've gotten a job at a
publishing firm or reported for some bigtime
paper. " You had a chance to leave
this place, " my daddy always says, nursing
joints fatigued by 35 years in a factory.
But if the rhododendron proves any
hackneyed truism true, it's that you can
bloom where you're planted.
Eric Griffin, an assistant professor of
This classic shot of Catawba rhododendron
against the backdrop of the mountains was shot
in early June along the Blue Ridge Parkway
near Bear Trap Gap Overlook at Milepost
428.5, elevation 5,580 feet.
ecological forestry at Warren Wilson College
in Swannanoa, North Carolina, explains
this in biological terms. According
to Griffin, there are about a dozen or so
rhododendron species native to the Southern
Appalachians, the two most abundant
being the Rosebay (Rhododendron maximum,
a.k.a. the great rhododendron or
big laurel) and the Catawba (Rhododendron
catawbiense). Much like mountain
folk themselves, these shrubs are hardy
and stubborn. They thrive in inhospitable
conditions, " commonly growing in infertile,
acidic soils, " says Griffin.
Exactly how they do this is equal parts
genius and villainy. Since rhododen72
BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
drons form a dense, almost impenetrable
canopy, light limitation prevents other
hardwoods from regenerating.There's
something else at play too-a biological
phenomenon called allelopathy, the process
by which plants release metabolic
secretions that either help or hinder the
growth of other flora. Though the research
is still shaky, many scientists believe rhododendrons
pump toxins into the soil to
kill competitors.
Many species of rhododendrons are
also notoriously poisonous to large mammals-humans
included-because the
leaves contain grayanotoxins. If consumed,
these chemicals cause a laundry
list of concerning symptoms: nausea,
vomiting, muscular weakness, bradycardia,
severe hypotension, respiratory
paralysis and death. Even honey made
with too much rhododendron nectar can
block nerve activity and result in a violently
trippy ride.
But for all its viciousness, the rhododendron
plays an integral part in the forest
ecosystem.
" Its thick, outspreading branches and

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Blue Ridge Country May/June 2023

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