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Hybrids in the Czech Republic

Vladimir Kodat

Most of my pictures of rhododendrons came from the Research Institute of Ornamental Gardening in Pruhonice near Prague.

Pruhonice was a village, but is now a suburb of Prague, with a chateau surrounded by a park created at the end of 19th centrury by Earl Silva Taroucca who was a keen botanist. He created quite an extensive collection of rhododendrons mainly brought from the Seidels from Dresden, Germany. In the 1930’s he gave the park to the state, and before WWII it was the seat of the Czech Dendrology Society, with its own breeding programme.

After 1948 when the socialist era began and everything was nationalised, Pruhonice chateau became a seat of the Botanical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute of Ornamental Gardening was founded on the remnants and property of the former Czech Dendrology Society. There were several generations of breeders who tried to create rhododendrons, and other ornamental plants, that were suitable for Central European climatic conditions. So there were created tens of hybrids that were registered within the former

Czechoslovak Republic, planted and sold within the country. It seems to me they have never been registered outside the country, their registration in the former Czechoslovak Republic being done mostly in 1960’s, and 1970’s. The above mentioned institute still exists, but I don´t know their official opinion on the topic of international registrations.

I found in the Glendoick catalogue Rhododendron ‘Alena’ (R. decorum x R. ‘Cunningham’s White’). It is the same as that registered in 1970 in the Czechoslovak Republic, breeder J. Kyndl in Pruhonice. It has a nice white inflorescence dark green foliage, and is a compact grower. Perhaps it came to Scotland via Germany. Another example is R. ‘Ledicanense’ in the catalogue of Mr. Greer. This is a Japanese azalea of Pruhonice origin bred during the socialist era. The Pruhonice Institute kept contact with German firms on both sides, East and West, so German hybrids found their way into the former Czechoslovak Republic. Likewise some Czech material appeared in Germany.