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Welcome:
This website is dedicated to presenting the plants of Rhododendron subgenus Vireya
- more commonly known as Vireya Rhododendrons, or simply Vireyas.
Numbering over 300 species, vireyas can be found growing across
much of S.E. Asia, principally in New Guinea, Borneo, Sulawesi,
Sumatra and the Philippines. Although these are tropical regions,
vireyas mostly grow in the cool mountainous areas, either as
epiphytes high in the tall trees of the cloud forest, or in
more open ground in shrubberies. Here the climate is more temperate
and this makes the vireya ideal for wider cultivation across many
parts of the world.
Given their basic requirements of a frost-free
growing environment and a sharply draining compost, vireyas
will reward the grower with regular displays of exotic, often
scented, blooms in a range of vibrant colours, many backed by
distinctive foliage with an attractive scaly covering.
The beauty of the vireya has long attracted the attention of
hybridizers in further developing the already varied range of
flower and leaf forms of the species and many excellent cultivars
have been named as a result of their work.
Enjoy your visit!
Chris Callard
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