Bruce Clyburn, Nova Scotia, Canada
Another notable contributor to the Kentville programme was the late Radcliffe Pike of Lubec, Maine whom I met in 1951 at the University of New Hampshire graduate school. His knowledge of plants was amazing and his enthusiasm knew no bounds. I am certain that much of my enthusiasm for rhododendrons came via Rad. I recall memorable trips with Rad to the Arboretum at Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts and to the Reefe Point Garden in Bar Harbor. It was at Reefe Point that I was to view the hardiest and best R. fortunei specimen that he knew. Rad crossed this fortunei with a superior selection of R. smirnowii. Pike's records of the New Hampshire rhododendron and azalea breeding programme state that this smirnowii came via Reefe Point Gardens, Bar Harbour, Maine. Second generation in Maine came from plants from Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Scotland. The fortunei from seed from Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. At a later date Rad sent a number of the seedlings of his (fortunei x smirnowii) cross to Kentville where they developed into very large and beautiful showpieces.
Cultivar - 'Bellefontaine' (pictured above)
Parentage - (R. fortunei x R. smirnowii) Breeder - R. Pike, Lubec, Maine
Introduced - 1975, Registered - 1977, D.L. Craig
Habit - very large upright, Colour - rose opal, Exposure - light shade
Hardiness - zone 5b, Bloom time - mid-season Fragrant
Judged by many as the Research Station's outstanding introduction. A seedling from the same cross that produced 'Fundy'. Very tall (14+ feet) in 40 years. Pleasantly scented rose-opal flowers are borne in large trusses above the foliage. Very good plant form but only comes into its own after 8 to 10 years.
