How To Grow Rhododendrons - Rhododendrons Growing Tips
Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal as well as the state flower of West Virginia and Washington in United States, and state tree of Sikkim and Uttarakhand in India. Most species have brightly colored flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer.
Rhododendrons are generally slow-growing flowering plants and grow best in well-drained acidic soil Fertilizer needs are low. Some species need regular pruning.
They are planted abundantly as ornamental in the southeastern US, southern Asia, and parts of southwest Europe.
Both species and hybrid Rhododendrons are used extensively as ornamental plants in landscaping in many parts of the world, including both temperate and sub temperate regions. Many species and cultivars are grown commercially for the nursery trade.
Invasive species
Rhododendron ponticum has become invasive in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is an introduced species, spreading in woodland areas and replacing the natural under story. R. ponticum is difficult to eradicate, as its roots can make new shoots.
Rhododendron Growing Tips
How to Propagate Rhododendrons
Rhododendron can easily be propagated from mother plant cuttings, Mother plant cuttings can easily develop new root system using a proper root hormone.
Rhododendrons can be propagated by air layering or stem cuttings. They can self-propagate by sending up shoots from the roots. Sometimes an attached branch that has drooped to the ground will root in damp mulch, and the resulting rooted plant then can be cut off the parent rhododendron.
Rhododendrons are often valued in landscaping for their structure, size, flowers, and the fact that many of them are evergreen.
Rhododendrons can be propagated by air layering or stem cuttings. They can self-propagate by sending up shoots from the roots. Sometimes an attached branch that has drooped to the ground will root in damp mulch, and the resulting rooted plant then can be cut off the parent rhododendron.
Rhododendrons are often valued in landscaping for their structure, size, flowers, and the fact that many of them are evergreen.
The mortality rates of Rhododendrons cutting are moderate compared to other plants.
Choosing a Planting Position
Rhododendrons love acidic soil and thrive in acidic soil, though they are not that choosy about soil conditions, Rhododendrons develop root rotting problem if it is over watered or there is an event of water logging in the plantation area.
Choose a well drained area while planting Rhododendrons. They like shades and grow well under trees, but some Rhododendrons like full sun. Semi Shade areas are suggested while choosing a planting area for your Rhododendrons.
Watering
While planting Rhododendrons in the garden, we have to consider how they grow in their original natural environment. If we have taken the right measures in planting the plants, we will have to see what happens. I
In the nature the plants and trees provide themselves with the needed layer of mulch materials, thus keeping the soil moist and cool. In our garden the conditions as we started are different. Mulching and watering are coherent things,. Therefore we must take care of the plants in hot periods and in cold times.
In summer watering is an important thing to do. If we mulched well, the soil will be moist and relatively cool, but after a long period of dry and hot weather the plants can give a sign, that they need water.
It is necessary to water not just a bit, but so long, that the whole Root ball is moist, but not excessively, avoid that it is soaked with water and there is water logging under the plant. This will cause root rot diseases. In some regions fall can be very dry and the plants must be watered before winter to replace water lost from the leaves and be prepared for cold dry winds during frost periods in winter.
Building a mulch cover around the plants can prevent the water to soak away. The message is very clear - do not wait too long to take the right measures for watering and mulching.
Fertilizing
Especially in the growing season the Rhododendrons plants need to be fertilized. New Rhododendrons plants don't need too much fertilizer the first growing season. And if you mulch well, the mulch will provide the plants with what they need to a certain extend. Note, that over fertilizing can burn the roots which can cause diseases. So, be moderate in fertilizing; as long as the plants grow and look healthy, they don't need that much.
Apply inorganic fertilizer like cow dung , Vermi Compost in a mixed combination of NPK 12-10-18, a general fertilizer. Never fertilize first and then mulch. Always fertilize over the mulch. The root system of Rhododendrons is quite tender and fertilizer directly in contact with the roots will initiate root burn and root rotting eventually killing the lovely flower plant.
There are also special fertilizers for Rhododendrons, that's good to use. They also have magnesium, good for leave colour. The advantage of organic fertilizer is, that it contains mostly many trace elements, good for a good growth of the plants.
Understand that it is much better to apply in many times than everything in one time. Scatter the fertilizer in the droop line of the plants, not along the stems, where it hardly has sense and could damage the stem.
Mulching
Mulching is the best thing for a good Rhododendrons growth and fine flowers. If mulching for the Azalea plant is right way with the right materials, it has some great advantages:
1. It keeps the soil cool, especially in summer;
2. it keeps the soil moist, so you don't have to water so frequently;
3. It stimulates earthworms and micro organisms to do their work and decompose the mulch materials;
4. it allows the decomposed material to give the nutrients out of it;
5. it saves you a lot of work and time and a painful back;
6. it adds organic matter to the soil and the roots can grow into it.
You can use the following organic mulch materials:
You can use the following mulching materials for your Rhododendrons - Pine straw - pine bark (nuggets) - pine needles - wheat straw - peanut hulls - (decomposed) shredded oak leaves - wood chips - sawdust - grass clippings etc.
You can use all these materials, but you have to keep in mind the particular disadvantages of each. If the material is not decomposed, like wood chips, leaves, grass clippings etc. they rob nitrogen from the soil to decompose. So, it is better to decompose first. Using just any leaves means, that they can blow away with the wind and make a mess in your garden.
Shredded organic materials work better. Another important matter is how coarse or fine the material is. What we need, is a layer, thick enough to keep the burning heat of the sun away and prevent evaporation of the water. Besides, in the mulching material there must be air enough for the roots to breath.
Grass clippings can mat and make rain drains away form the shrub If you want to use grass, wheat straw, sawdust etc.
Pruning
Well, we have to distinguish between pruning to give the plants a better shape or make them more compact. Or we want a heavy pruning to resize the Azalea plants.
Heavy pruning is a different story. Sometimes it is better to replace the whole plant, when it has grown far too big or leggy. You have to consider what happens if you prune the shrub heavily. Doing this - early spring - in one time will face big consequences. Normally the shrub has a good cover of branches and leaves, giving the root ball shelter and shade. Now you are destroying this balance.
Disease
Rhododendron leafy gall can be particularly destructive to Rhododendron leaves during the early spring. Hand picking infected leaves is the recommended method of control.
They can also be subject to Phytophthora root rot in moist, hot conditions.
Major diseases include Phytophthora root rot, stem and twig fungal die back.
Rhododendron bud blast, a fungal condition that causes buds to turn brown and dry, and not open, is caused by the fungus Pycnostysanus azaleae, which may be brought to the plant by the Rhododendron leaf hopper, Grap hocephala fennahi.
In addition, rhododendrons can easily be suffocated by other plants or evergreen trees that grow up around them and block sunlight.
Toxicity
In addition to being renowned for its beauty, Some of the Rhododendrons are also highly toxic.
Rhododendron contains Grayanotoxin in both its leaves and nectar, including honey from the nectar.
Bees are deliberately fed on Azalea/Rhododendron nectar in some parts of Turkey, producing a mind-altering, potentially medicinal, and occasionally lethal honey known as "Mad honey".
According to the ancient Roman historian Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, an army invading Pontus in Turkey was poisoned with such honey, resulting in their defeat.
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