The university of Latvia (UL) botanical garden branch rhododendron breeding and experimental nursery "Babīte"
Established in 1980, July 1, the nursery covers 11.8 ha of pine forest near Riga, the village of Spilve, Babīte municipality.
The founder of the nursery is Rihards Kondratovičs (1932–2017) academic, Dr. habil. biol. professor, breeder of rhododendrons, the head of the nursery until 2017. He studied the genus of rhododendrons for 60 years. This is the only specialised rhododendron nursery in Baltic states.
The nursery shows a remarkable collection of rhododendrons with 76 wild species and 269 cultivars, 112 of which are created at “Babīte” nursery and registered in the International Cultivar Register of the Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom.
Every year in the blooming time – May and June – the nursery attracts about 25 000 visitors.
www.lu.lv
"Rododendri", Spilve, Babīte parish, Babīte Municipality, LV-2101
+371 67913107,
+371 67913127
rodod@lu.lv
www.rododendri.lu.lv