Above: A rhododendron
grove in healthier times at Woodruff Park in Olympia. The grove became diseased and was recently
cut down and removed. Photo
taken in May, 2015.
By Janine Gates
Little Hollywood
A
spectacular rhododendron grove standing 25 feet high has graced the corner of Woodruff Park on Olympia's westside near Thomas and Harrison Street since
the 1950s.
The beauty of its lavender colored blossoms has provided decades of joy for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, transit riders, neighborhood residents, schoolchildren of Garfield School, nearby business patrons and members of
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
The grove, however, has not lived to see another Spring.
After
an expert reported its condition to city staff, the diseased grove was recently cut down and removed.
Above: A close up of the rhododendron grove in Woodruff Park on Olympia's westside. Photo taken in May, 2015.
Above: The diseased rhododendron grove in June, 2017. Rhododendrons
are a large family of deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees with showy
blossoms. In 1959, the Legislature
designated the native species, Rhododendron macrophyllum, as the official
flower of the state of Washington.
Before making
the decision to remove the bushes, Olympia Parks and Recreation staff consulted
with rhododendron expert Dr. Gary Becker, an Olympia chapter member of the American
Rhododendron Society.
Becker has
been involved with many rhododendron gardens in University Place and Gig Harbor
and recently moved to Olympia. After inspecting the five large rhododendrons,
he provided a report to the City of Olympia.
Becker
suspected an infestation of phytophora, which spreads through the root system. One plant was
dead and the others exhibited significant dieback of branch tips and an absence
of new growth. He recommended the removal of the one plant and its root ball
and not recycling or composting it.
Two bushes
appeared healthy “with normal flush and full green leaves with only sparse tip
dieback,” while two others, he reported, could possibly survive with treatment.
“Fortunately
rhododendrons have shallow roots and a fungicide may be successful, but that is
not guaranteed. Despite the best efforts, all of the plants may become infected
and die over the next few years,” wrote Becker in his report.
Above: Tags
with handwritten messages expressing positive thoughts such as “Hope,” “Mend
& Heal,” and “You are Beautiful,” dangled from the rhododendron grove’s
branches.
Messages of Hope
The
rhododendron grove’s ill health did not go unnoticed.
Messages of hope written on
paper tags have been tied to its branches for at least a year.
Seth Chance,
the city’s landscape horticulturist, said the disease has been spreading
throughout the grove, taking out one or two rhododendrons per year for the past
couple of years.
“It’s a real
tragedy that those rhododendrons had to be removed. We didn’t send in tissue
samples for a definitive diagnosis, but phytophora is the suspected pathogen…and
finally infected the last healthy ones this past year.
“The plan is
to plant grass and leave the area fallow for a few years so that hopefully the
infection will die off. We opted against using pesticides in trying to combat
the infestation, as Woodruff is a pesticide free park, and success would not
have been guaranteed even with treatment,” said Chance.
Above: The rhododendron grove as seen this past
week in Woodruff Park.
