Andromeda - Bog Rosemary

(Androm'eda)

DESCRIPTION: These hardy, evergreen shrubs are found wild in peat bogs in the Northern and Arctic regions. A. polifolia (Bog Rosemary) is a small, attractive shrub that grows up to a foot high, rarely larger. Its slender stems are covered with narrow, glaucous-green leaves that are smooth and white underneath. In late spring and early summer, terminal clusters of drooping, pink, bell-shaped flowers are produced.

POTTING: These shrubs should be grown in moist, humus-rich, acidic soil, in a sunny or partially shaded site. They may be planted in the fall or early spring.

PROPAGATION: Seeds may be sown in a cold frame filled with sandy peat in the spring. Cuttings may be taken from July to September and inserted in sandy peat in a shaded cold frame. The plants may also be lifted and divided and the rooted pieces replanted, in the spring. Another method of propagation is to layer the branches in the summer and leave them undisturbed for a year.

VARIETIES: A. polifolia & var. compacta, compacta alba, macrophylla, nikko; A. glaucophylla.

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