The glowing, beautiful, bright coral-red flowers of Rhododendron ‘Saxon Glow’ make it quite an attention grabber. This little subtropical shrub flowers in prolific fashion, off and on over most of the year, and has pleasingly compact dimensions (just 60 centimetres high and wide).
It’s one of the vireya rhododendrons, some of which can get a little leggy, but with ‘Saxon Glow’ this problem has been overcome by clever breeding. One of its parents is a ground cover variety and this has resulted in a very tight, compact habit of growth, with shorter internodes (the gap between leaf buds) than usual.
The flowers stand out just beyond the smaller, deep green, close-set leaves, a perfect set-up for getting the most from a floral display.
When planted in the garden there are limitations to where ‘Saxon Glow’ can be grown because of its susceptibility to frosts. However, it is an easy plant to grow in a container which means it can be moved into a spot with shelter from frost during winter.
In the garden ‘Saxon Glow’ can be protected from frost by growing it where there is an overhang of tree foliage or house eaves. But don’t go crowding it with foliage that hangs low and threatens to smother it.
Wherever it’s grown, this amazing shrub needs excellent drainage and a light, well aerated soil. Don’t go compacting the soil or planting where there’s the slightest inclination to waterlogging.
‘Saxon Glow’s cheerful, glowing colour imparts a lively, optimistic feel to gardens. Combine it with other bright flowers in a range of colours for a jewel-like effect, or use it in sophisticated interplays of flower and foliage tones. Give it an even more enhanced glow by placing it at the foreground of emerald green foliage, such as the exceptional, new, dwarf, Acacia ‘Limelight’ which has weeping strands of very fine foliage on a one metre high, bushy shrub. Or create a rich coloured effect by combining it with Loropetalum ‘China Pink’ which has burgundy coloured foliage (varying in intensity between the new and mature leaves in a most appealing style).
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Schemes & Themes
using Liddle Wonder Plants