Rhododendron Cultivars K

'Karin'

A member of the Ammer-landense group (‘Britannia’ × williamsianum). The cross has also been made at the Boskoop Experimental Station, Holland, and three clones named, of which ‘Karin’ is said to be the best (Dendroflora, No. 3, p. 52).

Karkov (griersonianum × Red Admiral)

Truss compact, globular, with about 16 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, 31⁄2 in. wide, crimped and wavy at the edge, carmine-rose. Leaves narrow-elliptic, 6 in. long. Medium size. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1947.)

'Kate Waterer'

Flowers about 17 in a hemispherical truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 23⁄8 in. wide, with broad, overlapping lobes, rosy crimson passing to clear rose, with a flare of bright green markings on a white ground. Compact, symmetrical habit. June. (Waterer, Bagshot, before 1876.) One of the best of the old hardy hybrids, very free-flowering.

Kiev (elliottii × Barclayi)

Truss flat-topped, lax, with eight to ten flowers; pedicels glandular. Corolla tubular-campanulate, very thick and fleshy, 2 1⁄2 to 3 in. long, width variable (2 in. in the sample seen, 4 in. according to the A.M. description), deep blood red, speckled all over inside except at the very base. Stamens with red filaments and black anthers. Leaves elliptic, 6 1⁄2 by 3 in.; petioles tinged bronzy purple. Tall-growing. May. (Rothschild. A.M. 1950.) The colour is striking but the truss is poorly formed. Rather tender and suitable only for woodland.

Rhododendron 'Kiev' at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 12 April 2008. Image John Anderson.

Kilimanjaro

Another Exbury hybrid from R. elliottii is the Kilimanjaro grex, the other parent of which is a plant of the Dusky Maid grex (R. discolor × ‘Moser’s Maroon’). This has a rounded truss of about 18 flowers. Corolla funnel-shaped, deep red (Currant Red), speckled, 3 1⁄2 in. wide. Medium size. Late May or early June. F.C.C. 1947 (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 33).

Rhododendron 'Kilimanjaro' at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 1 June 2008. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kilimanjaro' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 19 May 2017. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kilimanjaro' at Lime Tree Cottage, Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 14 May 2011. Image John Anderson.

'Kimigayo'

Corolla tubular-campanulate, 1 to 11⁄2 in. wide, Phlox Pink, white in the throat. Dwarf (Kurume; Wilson No. 15). A.M.T. 1952.

'King George'

Blush-tinted at first, becoming pure white, 6 in. wide, unmarked in the throat apart from two faint bands of green. F.C.C. 1970.

See notes for Loderi group

Rhododendron 'King George' in full sail at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 5 May 2015. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'King George', often Loderi 'King George', in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 17 April 2024. Image John Anderson.

Close-up on the trusses of Rhododendron 'King George'. Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 19 April 2017. Image John Anderson.

'Kirin'

Corolla 1 1⁄4 in. long, with deep, oblong lobes, silvery pink (55b), darker outside. Calyx petaloid, with laciniated lobes, coloured like the outside of the corolla (Kurume; Wilson No. 22, but introduced earlier). One of the prettiest of the Kurumes but not quite hardy. It is sometimes sold by florists in late winter as a pot-plant.

Rhododendron 'Kirin' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 23 April 2024. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kirin' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 23 April 2024. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kirin', an evergreen azalea with petaloid calyx (RHS Rosemoor, Devon, UK; 15 March 2022). Image Julian Sutton.

'Kiritsubo'

Corolla light rosy mauve, deeper at the edges, about 1⁄2 in. wide, with a long tube. Calyx normal in some flowers, in others partly petaloid. Dense habit (Kurume; Wilson No. 24).

Flowers on Rhododendron 'Kiritsubo' in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 10 May 2012. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kiritsubo' in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 5 May 2017. Image John Anderson.

'Klondyke'

Deep golden yellow, suffused salmon-red; buds orange and yellow (Knap Hill-Exbury, 1947).

Rhododendron 'Klondyke' at the Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford, UK. 9 June 2015. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Klondyke' at the Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford, UK. 9 June 2015. Image John Anderson.

'Kluis Sensation'

Flowers 14 to 18 in a rounded truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 31⁄2 in. wide, slightly frilled, crimson-scarlet, shading to a lighter colour in the centre, spotted dark red on the upper lobe. Leaves dark green above, much paler beneath, tending to be concave above, 7 in. long. Early June. (A. Kluis 1946.) A fine red, free-flowering hybrid.

'Kluis Triumph'

Flowers 12 to 16 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla campanulate with a spreading limb, 21⁄2 in. wide, coppery red, spotted dark red on the central lobe. Leaves dull green, narrow-oblong, slightly concave above, with pinkish petioles. Late May, i.e., slightly earlier than ‘Kluis Sensation’. (A. Kluis, 1946. F.C.C.T. 1971.) An unusual and pleasing colour.

'Knap Hill Red'

Brilliant red (Knap Hill, 1948).

'Koningin Wilhelmina'

Vermilion red. (Vuyk van Nes)

'Koran-yuki'

Corolla 11⁄4 to 11⁄2 in. wide, with a short slender tube abruptly widening into the limb, scarlet. Stamens and style long-exserted. Calyx variable, partly petaloid. Dense twiggy habit. Of the Kurume type, introduced from Japan to the Tower Court collection.

'Koster's Brilliant Red'

Bright orange-red (Mollis; M. Koster and Sons). Seedlings were originally sent out under this name, so there is some variation among the clones.

'Kure-no-yuki'

Corolla 1 1⁄2 in. wide, white with a faint greenish flare. Calyx petaloid, white, lobes mostly strap-shaped, almost as long as corolla. Compact, dwarf habit (Kurume; Wilson No. 2). Very hardy and free- flowering. A.M.T. 1952.

Rhododendron 'Kure-no-yuki' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 18 April 2017. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Kure-no-yuki' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 18 April 2017. Image John Anderson.