Another one that took me a few minutes just to find a common name for. I had to snag it off of a German wiki page (thanks translator!). This is another wonderful alpine plant in the Ericaceae or heath family, it is a dwarf shrub but you could easily mistake it for an herbaceous perennial. Exists in the eastern alps from elevations of around 1000 to 2000 meters.
One site says that it is often found on limestone screes but another I found said that when container grown it should be grown in an acidic soil. I'm going to go with the natural habitat conditions on this one and I imagine it can handle neutral to alkaline soils just fine. It is reportedly quite difficult to germinate from seed. Fluctuations between freezing and higher temps may help break dormancy. Cuttings can be rooted from them but they are also difficult. One reference I found was to etiolate the plant by putting another pot on top of it (which will prompt it to produce more shoots), these younger shoots may root better. Hormone applications to the stem might not do much (from the reports I read).
It prefers a sunny location and provided good drainage, can take a variety of water conditions. Blooms from June to July in it's eastern Alp habitat.
This is a short one, as information isn't copious. It's kind of one of those niche die hard alpine lovers plants. Rhodothamnus is a small genus with only 2 widely accepted species. There is another species that reportedly can be found in the northeastern part of Turkey.
If this looks similar to yesterdays plant of the day, well, it is. Fairly closely related.
Enjoy.
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