New Website with lots of Pictures
The Dutch Chapter of the ARS has created
a new website with thousands of pictures of
rhododendrons and azaleas.

Rhdodendron 'Sunspray'

Our regular monthly meetings include a short educational session, often on a seasonally relevant topic, followed by a guest speaker who typically gives a slide show on some aspect of gardening. Educationals explain how and when to fertilize, how to prune and prepare flower trusses for shows, how to take cuttings, graft and start seeds, and how to grow rhododendrons successfully in our climate. Every meeting includes a door prize, a rhododendron raffle, a coffee/tea/cookie break where members can socialize, and usually a dollar table where members can purchase donated rooted cuttings and small plants. While our meetings are held in Qualicum Beach, our members come from all over the central part of Vancouver Island, including Parksville, Nanoose and Port Alberni. In December and June, our regular meetings are replaced by a Christmas dinner party and a garden potluck dinner party, respectively. There are no meetings in July and August. In mid-April, the Society organizes a Rhododendron Flower (Truss) Show and Plant Sale, which features early-mid season blooming species. In early May, we organize a Garden Tour of about a dozen local gardens which best show the range of gardening opportunities in our area. The society has an extensive, expanding library on a variety of garden plants with emphasis, of course, on rhodos.

Membership
Most society members live between Nanoose Bay and Bowser on the eastern side of Vancouver Island in the communities of Parksville and Qualicum Beach, but active members come from as far away as Tofino, Courtenay and Lake Cowichan.

Membership costs $30.00 per year for an individual or couple (dues must be paid by December 1 for the coming calendar year) and includes a monthly newsletter from MARS and membership in the American Rhododendron Society (ARS). ARS members receive the ARS quarterly journal and have access to its seed exchange and regional meetings. MARS typically organises a number of bus trips throughout the year to various activities either on Vancouver Island, in the lower mainland around Vancouver or in northwest Washington State, where we visit particularly unique gardens, nurseries or attend plant sales.

Meetings are open to everyone and guests and non-members are always welcome to visit.

About the Area
The Parksville-Qualicum Beach area is in the centre of the Georgia Depression Ecoprovince, which lies between the Vancouver Island Mountains and the southern Coast Mountains of the mainland. It is a large basin containing the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia and Puget Sound in Washington State. We are centred on the eastern side of Vancouver Island in an area known as the Eastern Vancouver Island Ecoregion, which is an area of reduced rainfall leeward of the Vancouver Island mountain ranges. After moving over these ranges, surface air flow is level or subsiding, creating clearer and drier conditions than in coastal areas adjacent to the open Pacific Ocean.

We have the greatest annual amount of sunshine in British Columbia, with temperatures the mildest in Canada, being modified by the ocean. The climate is similar to that found in the Mediterranean, with winters at sea level usually only below freezing at most for a few weeks each year. Snow does not fall every year at sea level, but because of the great amount of snow which accumulates on the mountains, Vancouver Island has the lowest treeline in the Province. As in all mountainous areas, conditions vary greatly with altitude, and with Mt. Arrowsmith’s peak (1816 m) only 18 km from the coast, microclimate gardening conditions can vary greatly over even short distances.

Gibsons' Garden (Painted Mountain)
Tofino, Vancouver Island, BC

The incredible hillside of rhododendrons on Fourth Street, Tofino, began in 1971 and has since grown to include over 2000 plants (about 1000 varieties). Referred to as Tofino's "painted mountain", it is best enjoyed during April and May.
Photo Credit: Vancouver Island Postcards, Intermedia Press Ltd.

Our Ecoprovince supports the highest diversity of birds in British Columbia - 90% of all species known to occur in the Province and 60% of the species that breed in British Columbia. Vegetatively, the biogeoclimatic zone near the coast is the Moist Maritime Coastal Douglas-fir, and using the Sunset Western Garden Book, we are located in Zone 4. This classification is not the same as the US Dept. of Agriculture's, which is based on winter minimum temperatures, but instead also includes summer high temperatures, length of growing season, humidity and rainfall patterns. Zone 4 is one of the smallest in the West, and is jordangardiner@gmail.cominfluenced not only by the ocean but also from the continental air mass. It differs from Zone 5 in that it has relatively extreme low winter temperatures more frequently, a shorter growing season, and in some areas (not ours!), more rainfall. No zone better grows perennials and bulbs, and it is great for woodland and rock plants. Over a 20-y period, winter lows ranged from -7 to -22 °C.

Rhdodendron 'Qualicum Pride'

Table 1: Average monthly temperature and rainfall in Parksville, B.C. Month Avg. Temperature (°C) Avg. Rainfall (mm) January 4.7 147 February 7.7 97 March 9.7 83 April 13.2 51 May 17.4 40 June 20.3 38 July 23.5 23 August 23.0 47 September 19.5 45 October 13.8 98 November 8.2 132 December 5.8 166

Related Links of Interest

American Rhododendron Society (ARS) District 1 - the British Columbia ARS District.

Hirsutum.info - the Hirsutum Project - thousands of rhododendron and azalea picutres.

Fraser South Rhododendron Society; Fraser Valley Rhododendron Society; Peace Arch Rhododendron Society;

Vancouver Rhododendron Society - other District 1 Rhodo Societies, located on the mainland around Vancouver.

Nanaimo Rhododendron Society; Victoria Rhododendron Society; Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society; and North Island Rhododendron Society - sister societies on Vancouver Island.

American Rhododendron Society - the parent society for many associated clubs and societies nationwide.

Meerkerk Rhododendron Garden, Whidbey Island, Washington. Take a tour of the gardens, viewing different sections with various species. A scenic page with many photographs, interesting commentary

All about rhodos and azaleas by the Hennings: great place for general information on these plants for the general or novice gardener.

Rhododendron Species  Foundation, dedicated to conservation and education with their garden. A plant distribution catalog, and list of recommended books for all levels of rhodo growers.

Rhododendron and Azalea News

Parksville & Qualicum Beach Online http://www.zapbc.com

Vireyas -All about Vireyas (Semi-hardy rhododendrons from the tropics) by Chris Callard.