With more than 4,000 accessions representing over 1,300 taxa, the Rhododendron collection at Jenkins (including azaleas) is incredibly diverse. This collection includes plants from across the globe, representing four of the five major divisions within the genus – lepidote rhododendrons (those with scaly leaves), elepidote rhododendrons (those with non-scaly leaves), evergreen azaleas (all from Asia), and deciduous azaleas (mainly eastern North American natives). The collection also includes all species of eastern North American native azaleas, including pinxterbloom, flame, and sweet azaleas (R. periclymenoides, R. calendulaceum, and R. arborescens respectively). The blooming season is long starting as early as February with purple (R. dauricum) and pink Korean rhododendron (R. mucronulatum) and ending in December with the Encore© azaleas.
Currently, Jenkins is working on preservation and collections expansion to include some of the best new cultivars from east coast hybridizers as well as known-provenance deciduous native species.
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