协会概况与历史
德国杜鹃花协会（Deutsche Rhododendron-Gesellschaft e. V.，简称 DRG）是一家登记于德国不来梅的公益性协会（eingetragener Verein），成立于 1935 年 10 月 18 日，创立仪式在不来梅市政厅（Bremer Rathaus）举行，由杜鹃花爱好者与苗圃业者共同发起。1937 年 5 月，协会在不来梅杜鹃花公园举行了首次正式会员大会，并与多家苗圃达成共识，将该公园作为展示与试种花园。协会宗旨是促进杜鹃花及常绿阔叶、针叶树种的科研、栽培与推广，办公地址位于不来梅 Marcusallee 60。
组织架构与会员
DRG 的最高权力机构是会员大会，理事会（Vorstand）由六人组成，现任会长为不来梅的 André-Michael Schultz 博士，副会长 Sabine zu Jeddeloh（Edewecht）和 Timo Schröder（Wiefelstede），财务 Andreas Bösch（Weyhe），秘书 Rosmarie Korte（Leipzig），专业事务 Dr. Hartwig Schepker（Bremen）。理事会之下设顾问委员会（Beirat），成员涵盖德国苗圃业的核心从业者与杜鹃花爱好者。协会设立三个地区分支（Regionalstelle）：北部（Schepker 负责 Niedersachsen 与 Bremen）、东南（Karsten Lehmann 负责 Leipzig/Sachsen）和西南（Manfred Konert 负责 Baden-Württemberg），覆盖全德范围的会员活动。截至 2018 年，会员总数约 771 人。
Bremer 杜鹃花公园与收藏
DRG 的核心任务是支持不来梅杜鹃花公园（Rhododendron-Park Bremen）的建设与发展。公园在协会支持下于 1937 年开放，目前面积约 46 公顷，露天与温室内共栽培约 550 至 600 个原种、3,350 余个品种，是世界范围内规模最大的杜鹃花活体收藏之一。公园全年向公众开放，每年五月花季成为德国北部园艺朝圣地。Schepker 既是公园的科学主管，也是协会的专业事务负责人，使保育与科研密切衔接。
杜鹃花基因库与科研协作
协会联合下萨克森州农业协会（Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen）发起并共建了「德国杜鹃花基因库」（Deutsche Genbank Rhododendron）。该项目自 2014 年 7 月 1 日起由联邦品种局（Bundessortenamt）协调，目前有 40 处公共与私人杜鹃花收藏参与，涵盖苗圃、植物园、公园与私人花园，构成一个去中心化的基因库网络，目标是保护约 600 种野生杜鹃花以及超过 30,000 个栽培品种的历史多样性。盆栽杜鹃花（Topf-Azaleen）作为德国与比利时最重要的温室花卉之一，已有约 200 年育种历史，培育出近 4,000 个栽培品种。
年度大会与会员服务
DRG 每年五月在德国不同城市举办年度大会（Jahrestagung）与会员大会，常设目的地覆盖 Niederrhein（2025）、Pinneberg（2024）、波茨坦（2023）、卡塞尔-马尔堡-法兰克福（2022）等。会员可获《Rhododendrons International》（最新为第 8 卷）半年刊、参加种子交换与地区活动、获取 20 页《种植与养护手册》（含气候变化与昆虫友好型杜鹃花专题，象征性收费 3 欧元）、并参加区域杜鹃花花园参访。协会定期评选并推荐适应气候变化的耐旱耐晒品种，以回应近年来关于杜鹃花对昆虫和生态价值的新认知。
Association Profile and History
The Deutsche Rhododendron-Gesellschaft e. V. (DRG) is a non-profit registered society (eingetragener Verein) headquartered in Bremen, Germany. It was founded on 18 October 1935 at a ceremony in the Bremen Town Hall (Bremer Rathaus) by rhododendron enthusiasts and nursery owners. The first official membership meeting followed in May 1937 at the Bremen Rhododendron-Park, where DRG signed an agreement with local nurseries to develop the park into a demonstration and trial garden. Its mission is to advance the study, cultivation and public understanding of rhododendrons, azaleas and other broadleaf evergreens.
Organisation and Membership
The supreme body is the membership assembly (Mitgliederversammlung). The executive board (Vorstand) comprises six members, currently led by President Dr. André-Michael Schultz (Bremen), Vice-Presidents Sabine zu Jeddeloh (Edewecht) and Timo Schröder (Wiefelstede), Treasurer Andreas Bösch (Weyhe), Secretary Rosmarie Korte (Leipzig) and Scientific Adviser Dr. Hartwig Schepker (Bremen). An advisory council (Beirat) of nursery professionals and rhododendron enthusiasts supports the board. Three regional offices (Regionalstellen) cover northwestern Lower Saxony and Bremen, Saxony/Leipzig, and Baden-Württemberg. As of 2018 the society had about 771 members.
Bremen Rhododendron-Park and Collections
A core task of DRG is the ongoing expansion and care of the Bremen Rhododendron-Park, opened in 1937 with the society’s backing. The 46-hectare park in Bremen Horn-Lehe contains roughly 550 to 600 rhododendron species and more than 3,350 cultivars in the open ground and in glasshouses, making it one of the world’s largest living rhododendron collections. Open year-round, the park draws visitors from across Northern Germany during the May flowering season. Hartwig Schepker, the park’s director, doubles as DRG’s Scientific Adviser, linking conservation work with research.
German Rhododendron Gene Bank and Research
Together with the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, DRG established the Deutsche Genbank Rhododendron, a decentralised network coordinated since 1 July 2014 by the Federal Plant Variety Office (Bundessortenamt). Forty public and private rhododendron collections, including nurseries, botanic gardens, parks and private gardens, participate in preserving around 600 wild rhododendron species and more than 30,000 cultivars. Pot azaleas (Topf-Azaleen) form a major part of the German and Belgian floriculture industry, with nearly 200 years of breeding producing roughly 4,000 cultivars. The scheme was preceded by a 2007–2014 demonstration project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Annual Conference and Member Services
Each May, at peak rhododendron bloom, DRG holds its Jahrestagung in a different German city — recent hosts include the Lower Rhine (2025), Pinneberg (2024), Potsdam (2023) and Kassel-Marburg-Frankfurt (2022). Excursions take members to landmark collections such as Windsor Great Park and Exbury Gardens in southern England, the gardens of Potsdam and Berlin, and major regional parks. Members receive Rhododendrons International (Vol. 8 currently available), a 20-page planting-and-care booklet covering climate-tolerant and insect-friendly rhododendrons (3 €), and access to seed exchanges, regional events and a member forum. DRG regularly promotes drought-tolerant and pollinator-friendly cultivars to counter misconceptions about rhododendrons.
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