Rhododendron yakushimanum Tina Heinje

Rhododendron Tina Heinje is a compact habit hybrid that graces us with an early flowering of intense colour. Its intense pink buds open into flowers of a dark pink almost red, with a paler throat speckled with red. Flowers are abundant on a dense and rounded bush, highlighted by small shiny dark green leaves with a lighter fuzzy underside. A particularly striking rhododendron, perfect for dressing up a small shaded area of the garden, in a bed, along a border or in a container.

Rhododendrons are plants of the Ericaceae family, just like heathers, preferring mostly limestone-free soils, with acidic tendencies and humid climates. Rhododendron Tina Heinje stems from the cross-breeding of the varieties yakushimanum Koichiro Wada x Kluis Sensation. It forms a dense bush, with a rounded habit of about 90 cm in all directions at maturity. Its growth is rather slow. Its small, glossy, dark green, elliptical, evergreen leaves cover the plant well. Flowering occurs in April and May. Grouped in corymbs, the light pink-red floral buds open into large funnel-shaped, 10 cm wide, intense pink flowers, almost red, fading in the centre, speckled with red.

Like all yakushimanum hybrids, affectionately nicknamed "rhodos yak" by specialists, Rhododendron Tina Heinje is hardy to -15°C, even -20°C. Although they prefer a semi-shaded exposure, these hybrids tolerate the sun as long as it is not scorching (morning sun) and their base remains moist. Tina Heinje, with its abundant and brightly coloured flowering, will easily dress up a slightly shaded small area of the garden, alongside Ferns, blue or variegated hostas, Pieris, Azaleas, Japanese Maples, or other rhododendrons of the same group to create superb patchworks of textures and colours in spring. Container cultivation requires regular watering with non-limestone water and specific fertiliser inputs for acid-loving plants.