Rhodoleia (genus)

Japanese name: ロドレイア
Scientific name: Rhodoleia

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub to small tree.
The leaves are simple and alternate, tend to cluster at the branch tips, and are oblong to long-ovate and thick.
The leaf margins are entire.
A head-like inflorescence of several (usually 5) small flowers emerges downward from the leaf axils at the branch tips, surrounded by colored, petal-like involucral bracts.
There are 2–5 petals, and only the petals on the outside of the inflorescence develop, becoming pale pink.
The sepals are not much developed.
The whole inflorescence, surrounded by the outer petals and the petal-like involucral bracts, looks like a single flower.
The fruit is a capsule, and several are arranged radially.
A Chinese species called Shakunage-modoki is commonly cultivated.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
The best time for cuttings is around June–July, and they root easily.
It can overwinter if it does not meet hard frost or freezing, so it can overwinter outdoors in Kanto and areas to the south.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile soil.
Avoid dry places, or prevent the base of the plant from drying out with mulching or similar.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries from spring to autumn, and keep it on the dry side in winter.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
If enough basal fertilizer is applied, no further fertilizer is particularly needed, but if growth is slow, bury a small amount of organic fertilizer around the plant as fertilizer in winter.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
There are 7–10 species of Rhodoleia, but some consider them a single polymorphic species.

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