How we grow our rhododendrons, azaleas and other plants
At Glendoick garden centre, we sell rhododendorns and azaleas year round in containers. But most of these have started life grown in the ground in our nursery fields.
Our mail order plants are mostly open ground grown: out in fields in the open.
Glendoick is the only U.K. Rhododendron grower to still grow most rhododendrons in the open ground. Maddenia and Evergreen azaleas are container grown.
Advantages of open-ground over container production
- Better and quicker establishment of plants in the garden. Container-grown plants are usually supplied in pots which are too small which causes plants to become pot-bound. The roots cannot break out of the pot shape, establishment is poor and or slow and pot-grown plants take longer to acclimatize to wind and drought.
- Open ground plants are hardier and suffer less disease (mildew, etc) than those grown indoors in tunnels etc.
- We can field grow rhododendrons with less than 25% peat in the mix and we are moving to as low at 10%. No other UK rhododendron production can match this.
- Open ground production requires fewer chemicals and less water.
- Some varieties such as R. souliei are very poor when container-grown.
- It allows easier packing and posting and cheaper postal charges.
Glendoick Gardens, uniquely in the UK grow our plants in the open ground. This is better for the plants, better for the environment and better for establishing them in your garden.
