| | |catawbiense hybrids are the
| | |best, being hardier than
| | |the others. The flowers of
| | |many of the earliest of the
| | |R. catawbiense hybrids are
| | |of lilac or purple
| | |colouring. The influence of
| | |R. caucasicum is most
| | |plainly shown in the rose,
| | |white, and heavily spotted
| | |varieties, whilst it also
| | |imparts some of its sturdy
| | |habit to its progeny. R.
| | |ponticum shares with R.
| | |catawbiense the honour of
| | |producing many of the best
| | |lilacs and purples, but
| | |through so much
| | |intercrossing it is
| | |difficult to trace the
| | |influence of any particular
| | |species in many of the
| | |newer hybrids. In this
| | |group raisers are
| | |fastidious, regarding the
| | |shape of the inflorescence
| | |as of first importance,
| | |that is, a conical truss
| | |of symmetrical outline, the
| | |flowers on short stalks and
| | |held firmly in the truss.
| | |In the Rhododendron dell at
| | |Kew many of these hybrids
| | |are to be s