when you feel
the bone structure
of the landscape
-Andrew Wyeth
Plant of the Month
Rhododendron spinuliferum
(QBG# 1990.058)
Collected as wild-origin seed on October 8, 1990 by Charles Howick & William McNamara (H&M #1420), at 2410 meters, from an evergreen shrub to 2 meters height, on a northwest facing, grazed hillside with cultivated Pinus yunnanensis and shrubs, on Mt. Moban, 60 km west of Xicang, Sichuan Province, China.
This stunning, scarlet-flowered shrub can reach a height of more than 3.5 meters in the wild, though usually is less than 1 meter tall. Leaves are 3-10 cm long and flowers are born in groups of 2-4 with tubular corollas, 1.5-2.5 cm long, that narrow at both ends and are colored bright red to orange-red. Stamens with purplish-black anthers number 10 per flower and are slightly exserted from the corolla, with the style longer than the stamens. Cylindrical, scaly capsules, 10-14 mm in length, appear in the fall. This rhododendron is native to
R. spinuliferum is a fast growing, relatively hardy species and produces very showy and prolific floral displays. Its cultural requirements include filtered shade and protection from heavy frosts. Typical of its genus, it prefers regular water and rich, organic soil, though it has performed surprisingly well in Quarryhill's rocky terrain.
Welcome to Quarryhill
Botanical Garden
a unique and beautiful Asian woodland in the Valley of the Moon, on the rolling hills above Glen Ellen, California.
Founded in 1987, Quarryhill is one of the pre-eminent Asian botanical gardens globally, featuring one of the largest collections of documented, wild-collected Asian plants in the world. Quarryhill's key programs include:
- Conservation of endangered Asian species
- Wild collection of threatened species seed and specimens
- Support of education through its local schools educational tour program
- Support of scientific research and studies at institutions worldwide
The garden welcomes visitors,
and is open for both self guided and docent-led tours year-round, as well as group and organization tours and events. Click Visitors for complete tour information, or call (707) 996-3166 for reservations.
An increasing variety of special events are held in the garden, including lectures, special tours, art events, musical programs and seasonal events. See the Events section for details of upcoming events.
Events
New Docent Training
Saturday, March 6, 13, 20, and 27
9am – 12pm
Quarryhill Botanical Garden will be hosting its annual new docent training series on the four Saturdays of March, from 9 am to 12 pm. We are seeking new docents for both our adult tours and for our new, very popular educational program for 4th and 5th grade Sonoma County elementary school classes. To register for this training series contact the nursery office at (707) 996-6027 or email cbarnes@quarryhillbg.org.
Have questions
for the garden staff?
Email them to
info@quarryhillbg.org