Golfers' nightmare

Rhododendron arboreum subsp. zeylanicum is one of our best species – we have at least four examples at Arduaine, one probably dating back to the 1920s or earlier. It’s a native of Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it once was, which is the origin of the specific epithet. Fortunately names don’t change along with political regimes or people; I was amused when someone once referred to Rhododendron ‘Winston Churchill’ as ‘Sir Winston Churchill’, and pointed out that it was the man who had been knighted and not the plant!

Very similar to Rhododendron arboreum subsp. nilagiricum, which hails from southern India and flowers in the garden in May, the Sri Lankan species flowers here in July. It’s a beautiful dark-leaved shrub with deeply furrowed bark and a rather primitive appearance, with foliage clustered around the ends of the sturdy shoots.

A visitor who had recently holidayed in Sri Lanka once told us that people going to that island to play golf were often rather put out that these rhododendrons seeded in the bunkers! They should be so lucky!