Address: Babīte PSF 30, Rīga district, LV-2101, Latvia
Director: Prof. Rihards Kondratovičs
Phone: 371 67913107
Fax: 371 67913127
E-mail: rodod@lanet.lv
Home page: http://rododendri.lu.lv

Nursery of Rhododendrons “Babīte”, the University of Latvia, was founded on July 1, 1980 according to the UL Board’s decision. It is located in the beautiful area of pine forest - Babite, Riga district with a total area of 12 ha. Currently it is the only specialized nursery of rhododendrons in the Baltic States.

The major activities of “Babīte” include the following:

• introduction and selection of rhododendrons; creation of new ornamental  and winter-hardy plants suitable for the Latvian agro-climatic conditions;
• testing of new plant varieties according to the UPOV (the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) guidelines;
• improvement of existing and development of new, effective methods of generative and vegetative rhododendron propagation;
• improvement of agro-technical methods, elaboration of methods and techniques for disease and pest control;
• examination of theoretical and practical aspects of plants endurance physiology relating to physiological and biochemical changes during the process of ecological adaptation of rhododendrons;
• participation in student training; organizing the placements of students, as well as expanding  closer cooperation for writing bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral thesis;
• plant propagating on TV, radio and the media;
• supplying plants and all information required to clients;

In 1957 the selection of new rhododendron varieties was started under the guidance of Professor Rihards Kondratovics in the UL Botanical Gardens with the aim to cultivate open-air, ornamental and winter-hardy rhododendrons adapted to the Latvian agro-climatic conditions. Since 1980 further work continues at Nursery of Rhododendrons “Babīte”. As a result, 634 crosses in different combinations have been made and the selection of several thousands of hybrids gave hundreds of the most valuable and perspective hybrids.

In the period of 1999 – 2010, upon successful examination of plant varieties, 69 species of open-air rhododendrons were approved and included in the Latvian State Register of Protected Plant Varieties (33 summer-green and 36 evergreen varieties of rhododendrons), 36 of them are also registered in the International Rhododendron Register, the Royal Horticultural Society.