Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

George Ring III Papers, Accession 10553-h, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Acquisition Information

Mr. George Ring III of Fairfax, Virginia, gave his papers to the Library on February 10, 1988.

Funding Note

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Biographical Note

George W. Ring is employed by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a highway research engineer and has been a rhododendron enthusiast and hybridizer since about 1964. He has served as the Eastern Chairman of the American Rhododendron Society Ratings Committee, the Chairman of the Gable Study Group, a Director and past President of the Potomac Valley Chapter, and former President of the American Rhododendron Society.

Scope and Content

The papers of George Ring III of Fairfax, Virginia , consist of 2,832 items (17 Hollinger boxes, 5.5 linear feet), 1925-1987, chiefly correspondence, printed material, working notebooks, and questionnaires, all pertaining to his membership in the American Rhododendron Society and his interest in the hybridizers of rhododendrons, both contemporary and past.

Ring's correspondence with other rhododendron enthusiasts and members of the American Rhododendron Society , arranged alphabetically by correspondent or topic, constitute the first series of his papers and includes such general topics as advice about growing rhododendrons, the exchange of plants, pollen, seed, and cuttings, orders from nurseries, articles in the Bulletin , and requests that he give talks before various plant societies. Files on several rhododendron projects are also found in this first series.

The most prominent topic in this collection is the stellar contributions of nurseryman and fruit grower Joseph Benson Gable (1886-1972) of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania , in pioneering the development of hardy hybrids of rhododendrons, such as those found in his own special collection at "Little Woods."

Several files in the first series discuss the efforts of the Gable Study Group , a committee of the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society , formed in 1973, whose objective was to establish a listing of Gable evergreen azaleas and rhododendrons known to be growing in gardens and arboretums. Among these are: correspondence of Caroline Gable , especially about locating old letters between Guy Nearing and Gable; Phil Livingstone about the Gable chapter in Hybrids and Hybridizers ; Orlando Pride about Gable (November 19, 1978) and copies of Gable letters (November 28, 1978); Maletta Yates about Gable's collaborative relationship with her husband, Henry Yates ; and talks by George Ring about the contributions of Gable (July 1980 and n.d.). Much of the material pertaining to Joe Gable is located in the second series, which will be described later. The results of the work of the Gable Study Group was later published as a chapter in Hybrids and Hybridizers . George Ring was the chairman of the Gable Study Group .

Other studies or surveys represented in Ring's papers include: Hybrids and Hybridizers in the correspondence of Phil Livingston and Frank West ; the Nearing Study Group (see also Emil Bohnel , September 11, 1980); the Rating Project which attempted to rate various rhododendrons according to their performance in severe cold and heat conditions (Ring was the Eastern Chairman of the Rating Committee ); and the "Good Doer" Rhododendron Survey of all American Rhododendron Society chapters. This survey resulted in a compilation of rhododendrons and azaleas which grow best for each area of the country to be included in the national American Rhododendron Society book of "good doers."

Talks by George Ring include: "Value of R. Yakusinianum for Hybridizing" (October 24, 1982); "Rhododendrons and Hot Weather" (September 1980); "Rhododendron Growers and New Instructions" (June 1980); "The Gable Azaleas" (July 1980); "Rhododendron Hybridizing" (1979); "Small Rhododendrons and Azaleas for Rock Gardens in the Washington, D.C. Area" (January 29, 1978); "Species vs Hybrids" (January 14, 1978); "Talk for Peg" (April 28, 1977); and "Talk Given at Anna Arundel Community College (September 1975).

Other undated talks include: "Rhododendron Growers and New Introductions," "The Best of the East for Western Gardens," "Who is a Hybridizer?, "An Absolutely Up-to-Date Method of Growing Rhododendrons and Azaleas from Seed," "Hybrids and Species Selected by Joseph Gable," "Culture of Rhododendrons and Azaleas," and "Hybridizing and Growing Rhododendrons."

Other topics include: Ring's correspondence with Japan ese nurserymen such as Kenichi Arisumi , Koichiro Wada (see also Walter Beasley , December 2, 1982), and Hideo Suzuki ; the International Rhododendron Body ( Ralph Sangster , June 19, 1983); Taiwan species of rhododendrons (John Patrick, May 21, 1973); "A Fifty Year Report on Rhododendrons in Western Pennsylvania" by Orlando Pride ; "hardy" forms of rhododendron species ( Esther Berry , December 1, 1977); and a photograph of John Wister , Frank West , Raymond and Jane Goodrich and George Ring , 1975 (see John Wister ).

The second series contains several notebooks of research material pertaining to Joseph Gable and his career as a hybridizer and other material which formed the basis for two chapters in the book, Hybrids and Hybridizers , "Joseph Benson Gable" and "Contemporary Hybridizers."

Several of these notebooks contain copies of old letters between Gable and Guy Nearing (1890-?), who corresponded (ca. 1930-1950) about hybridizing thousands of rhododendrons and exchanged ideas and methods, and letters between Gable and Henry and Maletta Yates of Frostburg, Maryland . Yates collaborated with Gable for many years, growing many of Gable's seedlings and developing several azalea and rhododendron hybrids from them.

Other notebooks include: one with articles about rhododendrons from The National Horticultural Magazine (1932-1952); four of Joe Gable 's own working notebooks concerning rhododendrons, including notes of his hybrids (1925-1935), a rhododendron bed list (1932), inventory (1936) and azalea cuttings (1936); a notebook containing the questionnaires sent out to Eastern rhododendron hybridizers in order to identify contemporary hybridizers working to develop attractive plants hardy for particular areas of the country for a chapter in Hybrids and Hybridizers ; a working notebook for Hybrids and Hybridizers ; a notebook containing the Gable Study Group Returns used for the Gable chapter; and a Gable notebook which contains transcripts of the notebooks and file cards kept by Gable and other miscellaneous material relevant to the Gable Study Group .

A third series contains an alphabetical arrangement of various nursery and supply company catalogs.

Organization

The original alphabetical arrangement of this collection has been preserved, with the individual folders in reverse chronological order. The catalogs have all been placed together, and the notebooks' original order has been maintained.

The papers are arranged in three series: 1) Correspondence Files (Boxes 1-8), 2) Papers re the Joseph Gable Study Group (Boxes 9-11), 3) Nursery and Supply Catalogs (Boxes 12-17).