Rhododendron 'MADAME MASSON'

Rhododendrons are reliable, beautifully flowering, evergreen shrubs of variable origin: S.W. China, Himalayas, Northern America, and even Europe. The original species were hybridized several times for better performance so in the 1950´s there were more than 10,000 cultivars registered, and the number keeps increasing.

Madame Masson is a queen of elegance from 1849. This large-flowered rhododendron boasts 6-7 cm wide, pure white flowers with pale yellow to medium amber orange dotting on the upper petal. They open from pink buds from the second decade of May. Evergreen leaves are leathery, broadly elliptic with conspicuous tips, 10-13 cm long, deep green, and partially glossy. The plant grows moderately into a dense, well-branched shrub about 1.8m tall and wide.

It is a cross between r. catawbiense and r. ponticum bred and introduced by Pierre Bertin (1800-1891). He was a French botanist, perhaps of Belgium origin, who at the age of only 30 years takes over a nursery in Lahaye where he begins his unforgettable career in breeding rhododendrons. There is a written record from 1849 speaking about a visit of Société d'Horticulture de Seine et Oise who counted more than 10 thousand of plants in his nursery. Madame Masson variety was probably named after a wife of a French historian Fréderic Masson. Only 164 (!) years later (in 2013) it receives the AGM award by the RHS.

For a better-looking plant deadhead rhododendrons where possible. The roots are shallow, spreading to sides in search for nutrients. Never plant them too deep. The soil must well-drained, acidic (of pH value 4.5-5.5), rich in humus, cool, and always moist. Ideal soil mixture is peat with lime-free, light garden soil topped with leaf-mould. Hardy to min. -27 °C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update 15-01-2007; 20-12-2021