The horticultural world is mourning the sad loss of Peter Cox, founder of Glendoick Garden Centre, who passed away on 8th April at the age of 91.

Peter was born in  February 1934 in Dundee Scotland. His father Euan Cox was a well-known horticultural writer and plant-collector who owned a garden at Glendoick, Perth, Scotland.

After studying horticulture at college in Edinburgh and working for a year at Notcutts Nurseries, Woodbridge, Peter and his father Euan founded the rhododendron nursery ‘Glendoick Gardens Ltd’ in 1953. 

Peter married Tricia Sherrard in 1963. They met when she came to buy rhododendrons for her family garden, Maryborough House, Cork Ireland. Their sons Kenneth (born 1964) and Raymond (born 1966) and their parents lived at Sandyhall farm across the fields from Glendoick.

In 1972 Glendoick Garden Centre was opened, largely under the management of Tricia Cox while Peter ran the nursery. Over the years Glendoick became a centre for excellence in all aspects of the culture of, hybridising of and publishing books on rhododendrons. 

Peter Cox – Plant Hunting

Peter Cox has probably seen and studied more species of Rhododendron in the wild than any one else at any time. Peter and his best friend Sir Peter Hutchison went on 18 major plant-hunting expeditions and his eye for good garden plants brought back from his travels range from Ulex gallii Mizen from S. Ireland to Rhododendron coxianum which he discovered in India in 1965. He has collected thousands of seed numbers from many parts of the globe, all carefully documented as to altitude, aspects, growing conditions etc. Both the seed itself and many plants grown from it have been distributed to Botanic Gardens and collections in many countries. Cox and Hutchison, one of the world’s most durable plant hunting partnerships, returned to China, Tibet, or the Himalaya almost every year, until they retired to write their memoirs the mammoth book Seeds of Adventure.

Peter Cox – Plant Breeder

One of the most successful and important rhododendron hybridisers, in the 1960s Peter Cox that the future lay in developing cultivars for the small garden. His dwarf rhododendron hybrids were named after birds such as ‘Chikor’, ‘Curlew’ and ‘Ptarmigan’  and his evergreen azaleas named after animals, such as ‘Panda’ and ‘Squirrel’. Hybridising in the 1980s focussed on rhododendrons with coloured foliage and new colour breaks. Compact Hybrids Wine and Roses ['pinkros'] and Evered ['85/1C'] are protected by Plant Breeders rights and have become best sellers worldwide. 

Peter with Tricia after receiving the MBE. (AP credit)

Peter Cox – Honours and Awards

• Victoria Medal of Honour, Royal Horticultural Society 1992
• Gold Medal, American Rhododendron Society 1993
• Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, Gold medal
• Honorary Degree University of St Andrews 2005
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Nurseryman & Garden Centre Awards 2002
• MBE 2013 Buckingham Palace
• Book Seeds of Adventure written with Sir Peter Hutchison won the Garden Media Guild Award Inspirational Book of the Year 2008.

Peter Cox – Glendoick Bibliography

Peter Cox’s books are widely recognised as the definitive works on the genus Rhododendron, there is a book to suit every level of interest from the complete beginner to the keenest collector.

Modern Rhododendrons, Nelson 1956. Euan H.M. Cox and Peter A. Cox.

Modern Shrubs, Nelson 1958. Euan H.M. Cox and Peter A. Cox.

Modern Trees, Nelson 1961. Euan H.M. Cox and Peter A. Cox.

The Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Handbook Rhododendrons,  Peter Cox. A beginners guide. (5 editions-first published 1971.)

Dwarf Rhododendrons, Batsford, 1973, Peter A. Cox

The Larger Species of Rhododendron, Batsford, 1979, 1981, Peter A. Cox. Cultivation information and species descriptions.

The Smaller Rhododendrons, Batsford 1985  Peter Cox- cultivation information and species and hybrid descriptions.

The Larger Rhododendron Species Batsford 1990. Updated version of The larger Species.

Encyclopedia of Rhododendron Hybrids- 1988. Peter & Kenneth Cox. 1800 hybrids described + many photographs. A critical guide to choosing from the multitude of hybrids on offer.

Cox’s Guide to Choosing Rhododendrons 1990. Peter & Kenneth Cox. A 'which' guide to making a rhododendron collection. An excellent  aid in choosing the best plants for different conditions. Lots of fine photographs.

The Cultivation of Rhododendrons P.A. Cox. Batsford  1993. This well-illustrated book summarises the author's lifetime's experience in cultivating rhododendrons.

The Encyclopedia of Rhododendron Species Glendoick Publishing 1997 Culmination of a lifetime's work. 415 pages, an illustrated guide to all the temperate species of rhododendron illustrated with 1500+ photographs. 5 years in the writing, this is the definitive book on the subject of rhododendron species. 2nd Edition 2000.

Seeds of Adventure Antique Collectors Club 2008 (with Sir Peter Hutchison). Lavishly Illustrated account of 20 plant hunting expeditions.  Winner of Garden Media Guild Inspirational Book of the Year 2008

Peter Cox wrote 13 books and 100s of articles for specialist publications, Country Life and many other journals.

Peter Cox – Gardener

Peter served for many years on the Gardens Committee of the National Trust for Scotland and on the Board of Trustees of the Dundee Botanic Garden.  Peter Cox was a modest and shy man, who had a pronounced stammer and preferred to be gardening at Glendoick or climbing Chinese mountains in search of plants to being the centre of attention. And yet he truly was the world’s ‘Mr Rhododendron’. It is doubtful that anyone has ever known as much or achieved so much in this field and it is doubtful anyone ever will.

Peter and Tricia Cox celebrated their golden wedding in 2013. Peter loved dogs, (black labradors), table tennis, bridge, shooting, wild birds, cricket and talking horticulture and plant hunting with fellow enthusiasts. 

Peter Cox died on 8th April 2025, aged 91.