Rhododendron Group of the Royal Horticultural Society Year Books 1954–1963

From 1954 onwards the Rhododendron Group of the Royal Horticultural Society had begun to embrace camellias and this was reflected In the title of the annual journal which became the Rhododendron and Camellia Year Book. By the 1963 edition it was reported that the decision had also been made to change the name of the Group:

A Change in Title: For a number of years rhododendron enthusiasts have had a small Group within the formation of the Royal Horticultural Society. This helped in catering for their particular interests and a member of the Society's staff was its secretary. During 1961 it was decided to widen the scope of the Group a little. To this end the Council of the Society decided that henceforth it will be known as the Rhododendron and Camellia Group and, in future, that it will come under the auspices of the Rhododendron and Camellia Committee, the Chairman of which is Sir Eric H. Savill, KCVO, CBE, MC, MA, VMH.

These editions from 1954–1963 are presented to you for download; they represent a marvellous resource for the researcher and enthusiast alike. The increasing camellia content must have been exciting for the contemporary enthusiast, especially as it came 30 years before the seminal International Camellia Register on which we now rely so heavily for accurate descriptions. In particular, Charles Puddle’s tireless work to inform the camellia grower was of great importance along with the contributions from American experts like Ralph Peer. Rhododendrons continue to dominate with developments in taxonomy, more new species becoming available and an explosion of new hybrids coming forward. Another important decade for our genera but not yet including magnolias!

Until now these works have only been accessible to the lucky few; the various permissions that the Group has received make these online publications freely available to all as searchable pdfs. It is of course possible to make a donation to the Group to support the continuation of its work in bringing publications such as these to widen knowledge of rhododendrons, camellia and magnolias and their history.

These books are available subject to the Group's Takedown Policy.