Abstract: Experiments on raising Rhododendron seedlings using different media and at different times were carried out with the following results. 1. The optimal range of temperature for seed germination and seedling growth was 16 - 20℃, and the seedswere best sown in earlyMay inMt. Lushan. Among the five subgenera of which we had ample materials for testing, Rhododendron subgen. Pentanthera had the highest speed of seed germination, subgen. Azaleastrum had the lowest speed of seed germination, while subgen. Hymenanthes, subgen.Tsutsusi and subgen. Rhododendron had the speed of seed germination in between. 2. Humic soil plus moss was an ideal sowing medium that resulted in a higher rate of survival and better growth of the seedlings than the medium of humic soil only. 3. Species distributed in places closer to Mt. Lushan and having less climatic differences were easier to propagate by seed, and the taxa from themiddle and lower altitudes in themiddle and lower
reaches of the Changjiang River performed verywell. 4. The five subgenera Tsutsusi, Azaleastrum, Pentanthera,Hymenanthes and Rhododendron, in that order, had increasingly lower effects in propagation. 5. The management during seed sowing and seedling growth was critical to success of propagation.

Key words: Rhododendron, Seed germination, Seedling growth, Influencing factor