Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve

About Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve

Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve is located next to Salt Point State Park and is now a pristine reserve. The land was given to Californians by Edward P. Kruger and was part of a large ranch that was founded in the 1880s where his family raised sheep and harvested wood and bark. It was the site of one of the largest ranches of its kind in California.

In May, these spectacular flowers bloomed and coloured the lush green forest with bright pink flowers. A short loop leading to the rhododendron is a short walk on the edge of Salt Point State Park, just south of the park entrance.

In addition to the rhododendron plant, herbal berries are planted in the undergrowth behind the plant, and ferns cover the gorges, where seasonal streams flow in abundance.

Dogs and bicycles are not allowed on the paths, and buses are recommended for narrow roads with turning manoeuvres. Always stay off the trail, as young plants can thrive in the shade of trees and shrubs, especially the rhododendrons and ferns of the park's paths.

The reserve's wealth of rhododendrons is due to the severe fires that once broke out here, and today the recovering forest is gradually overburdening some of the rhododendron species.

In order to maintain the flowering of rhododendron plants, the current plant sequence must be slowed down, which is the management of this reserve, which is the goal of the Ministry of Parks and Recreation. To achieve this goal, the rhododendron trees have been revived by the renewal of the felling method and the forest is developing. These plants compete for available sunlight, water and nutrients, so that the most suitable species dominate the environment and create ideal conditions for the development of new species such as oaks.

This provides ideal conditions for the growth of rhododendron trees and their flowering heights, as well as for the development of new oak species.

When the rejuvenation project began in the autumn of 1979, there were only a few blossoms at the foot of the rhododendron trees, and what appeared was well below the eye - at eye level.

Tanochs had displaced some of them and successfully competed for available sunlight, leading to their rapid growth.

The last major cuts occurred in the autumn of 1981, and in 1984 there was a marked increase in flower presence.