Rhododendron 'Hellikki'

'Hellikki' is an erect rounded rhododendron with beautiful dark foliage and brilliant flowers. It is a freely pollinated descendant of a red-flowered Seidel hybrid, and the leaves indicate the strong influence of Smirnov’s rhododendron (R. smirnowii). New shoots on ‘Hellikki’ are covered with soft white hairs and the leaf undersides by a yellowish-grey felt, also called indumentum. The strongly-coloured purple-red flowers open by mid-June.

'Hellikki' has proved somewhat difficult to grow, especially in open spots. It prefers almost full shade, where it still flowers fairly abundantly. It grows to about 1m in 10 years. The specimens at Mustila were planted in the early years of this century and have thrived, flowering abundantly.