Rhododendrons flowers are set in the summer after they flower. You will see the buds on the shrub all winter long. They are just waiting through all the cold and ice to bloom …next year. Therefor if you were to prune in the early spring, you would be cutting off all of your flowers that would be to come in the summer..
So, the time to prune is just after the flowers die off. Dead head the old blooms being careful not to damage the bud that is coming. This will help to keep your Rhoda healthy and keep the plant's energy from going to seed sending it back into the plant to grow foliage..
At this time also clean out any dead wood, just cut it away. On your branches you will see sprouts coming out, if you want to trim a branch, trim just a half inch or so above that bud..
I never did this maintenance and so my beautiful Rhoda became lanky and not to attractive. I had to do more major pruning, the consequence of which is that I missed a year of blooms. Sad, too bad I didn't know about maintenance pruning..
Souvrae Souvrae is a gardening enthusiast who only recently discovered the joy in this hobby. Now she is turning her suburban home into a green paradise growing flowers and vegetables. You can follow her blog soon to be up and running. A Blog Named Souvrae. (MORE)
It has been reported that the plant is of anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective functions against related diseases, which is probably due to its anti-oxidant efficacy sourced… from flavonoids, saponins and phenolic compounds. (MORE)
For a species rhododendron such as Rhododendron maximum, it is written: R. maximum. For a hybrid rhododendron such as Rhododendron 'Nova Zembla', it is written Rcv. 'Nova Ze…mbla' (Rcv. meaning rhododendron cultivar). For a selection of a species such as Rhododendron yakushimanum 'Koichiro Wada', it is called R. yakushimanum 'Koichiro Wada' although you may see it written Rcv. 'Koichiro Wada'. (MORE)
you gently cut thee auxiliary bud completely off. then you take the roots and soak them in vinegar. after that you dig a whole about half he height of thee plat and then gentl…y put it in and cover it up. (MORE)
Prune rhododendron soon after they finish blooming to avoid loosing flowers the following year. They start producing new flower buds for the next year several weeks after they… finish blooming. By mid summer most of these buds have been formed. Pruning then may remove all of the buds for the next years flowers. (MORE)
Rhododendrons are not heavy feeders. They like an organic source of nitrogen since chemical nitrogen can destroy microorganisms in the soil that help rhododendrons extract nut…rients from the soil. Other than that they need an acidic balanced fertilizer with trace elements such as iron, phosphorus, magnesium, etc. Liquid fertilizers are not a good choice since they contain high amounts of chemical nitrogen. Some good rhododendron fertilizers contain cottonseed meal as an organic source of nitrogen. (MORE)
Rhododendrons help protect the soil, but they are not heavy feeders and do not change the soil much. Their leaves help build up the richness of the soil after they fall off. R…hododendrons have very shallow roots, so the leaf litter on the ground is important to protect these shallow roots from heat, cold, sun, drought, and sudden temperature changes. That is why in cultivation, they do best when they are mulched. (MORE)