Rhododendron Group of the Royal Horticultural Society Year Books 1964–1971

From 1964 onwards the Rhododendron and Camellia Group of the Royal Horticultural Society were fully embracing both genera in their annual publication. With more colour plates and a change in style from 1969, and the disappearance of presumably revenue-raising advertisements, the year books had become very expensive to produce, especially in the uncertain economic times of the late 1960s. At a cover price of 30s (£1.50) in 1971, the equivalent of which is over £30 today, it is no wonder that things had to change. Reading the Foreword in the 1971 edition it is clear that the Group knew that the future of this specialist publication was in doubt and indeed that was the last hardback year book to be published. The RHS ceased publication of all the specialist year books simultaneously.

Set adrift thereafter, the Group was left to face a situation whereby the publication ceased forever or it set about self-funding later editions through a membership subscription. A year later the Group published Rhododendrons 1972 printed in only sufficient numbers to cover its membership at the time and very much on a shoestring. As a result, copies of this publication are scarce and when encountered are in notoriously bad shape. The Group has digitised one of the few remaining copies and it can be downloaded here.

These editions from 1964–1971 are presented to you for download; they represent a marvellous resource for the researcher and enthusiast alike. They portray another run of exciting years for rhododendrons and camellias across the world and in just two years magnolias come into the mix.

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.