By Will Clausen, Horticulturist & Assistant Curator Deciduous Conifers (pdf) With October in full swing, it’s a good time to highlight some of the most surprising contributors to fall color. Deciduous conifers are plants that in the summer masquerade as typical conifers. They have the cones, branching structure, and small needle-like foliage you would expect. […]
By RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson I always get asked this question: “What is your favorite rhododendron?” R. quinquefolium blooms Out of 1300 species, it is nearly impossible to narrow it down to a single favorite, but my answer is always the same: Rhododendron quinquefolium. It is a deciduous, five-leaved azalea. What […]
By Emily Joseph – RSBG Retail Sales Manager & Assistant Nursery Manager If you’ve ever wandered through a fern-filled garden or hiked on a summer afternoon and watched dust shimmer in the golden light, you may have witnessed ferns in the act of reproduction. Appearing in fossil records dating back about 350 million years, […]
By Will Clausen, Horticulturist & Assistant Curator Spring is in full swing with summer nearly upon us and if you’re anything like me, then the urge to get out and see wild plants in our beautiful region is seriously building! It’s well known that coastal Pacific Northwest is a great place for growing rhododendrons in […]
Download: Plethora of Pleiones By Atsuko Gibson RSBG Nursery Manager and Assistant Curator When I was first introduced to the genus Pleione during my early years at the RSBG, I was blown away. There was once a fairly large clump of Pleione formosana blooming in the Alpine Garden—nestled in thick moss. (Sadly, it’s now gone, thanks to voles.) At the […]
By Emily Joseph – RSBG Retail Sales Manager & Assistant Nursery Manager Of all the rhododendron species you could grow, Rhododendron williamsianum is among the easiest and most adaptable for urban and suburban gardens. We often consider it an excellent introductory choice for beginners or budding rhododendron collectors. Rounded leaves about the size […]
Rutherford Conservatory Updates Ahead! Download (pdf) By Rutherford Conservatory Horticulturist Kim Farmer For those of you who have been visiting the RSBG for some time, it may be hard to believe that the conservatory first opened 16 years ago in September of 2010. Since that time, many plants have grown and flourished in their new […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen Gardens are living museums and ever changing. Those basic truths, though occasionally frustrating, are a big part of the fun of being a gardener. As 2025 wraps up, I am reflecting on some of the garden projects we completed this year and thinking about things we plan […]
By RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson The most frequently asked question here at the garden is, “What is the difference between a rhododendron and an azaleas?” There is a simple answer and a long answer. The simple answer is, all azaleas are rhododendrons, but not all rhododendrons are azaleas. All azaleas belong […]
By RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson Rhododendron Potting Media The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden is always on the lookout for the best potting media for species rhododendrons. After conducting numerous experiments with various soil types and ratios, we’ve settled on our current mix: 30% small lava rock and 70% fine bark. Visitors […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen While December might be dark, often damp, and sometimes chilly, these characteristics make it perhaps the most atmospheric time of year in the garden. At its best, December is truly dramatic. Wisps of fog wending through the conifers, or entirely enveloping the garden creates an eerie […]
By RSBG Assistant Nursery Manager Emily Joseph November, the month when even the drive along Weyerhauser Way invites you into the garden through a tunnel of deciduous color intermixed among a backdrop of evergreens. Native big leaf maples (Acer macrophyllum), vine maples (Acer circinatum), and black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) are ablaze in shades of yellow, […]
By RSBG Horticulturist and Assistant Curator Will Clausen October is here, and by now, the days are getting short, the sky cloudy and often heavy with rain, and in the garden, we start to see colors popping up where before everything was green. The month of fall color is finally upon us, a time of […]
By RSBG Assistant Nursery Manager Emily Joseph The sun-drenched days of summer have passed, ushering in cooler temperatures and welcome rain showers as the seasonal shift from summer to fall sneakily slides into view. Early signs of deciduous foliage gathering sugars and producing anthocyanins and carotenoids have begun (those red, orange, and yellow pigments that […]
Story and photos by RSBG Horticulturist & Assistant Curator, Will Clausen Throughout August, new Rhododendron leaves continue to emerge and mature as the relentless summer sun does its best to sear the garden. As the heat builds through the end of summer, the new growth is quickly becoming thicker and more adaptable to both the […]
Story and photos by RSBG Nursery Manager & Assistant Curator, Atsuko Gibson While our nursery specializes in species Rhododendron, we also propagate “companion plants” — the term we use for our non-rhododendron collection. We focus on plants that grow naturally alongside rhododendrons in the wild, as well as many other genera within the Ericaceae, the […]
