Rhododendrons in the Garden

[Nimdof]

I like 'your' rhododendrons! Nice. : p

[hotismeb]

From Wa state, I say that you should not grow it unless you are willing to control it by pruning heavily or let it go wild in the wild. The new growth turns into a tree trunk.! Never grow it next to your house unless you want it to grow in your house. I say use it as any large growing shrub or tree as fencing.

[Fractalor]

I live in central wisconsin, and I just ( within the last week & 1/2 ) cut off the dead and yellowing stuff, but right now they are in full bloom. they are kind of spindely nearrer the top. What can I do this fall to ensure some good healthy growth? By the way, are they going to flower again during the summer? I don't quite rmemeber what they did years prior... I have a lot of vegetation here to take care of. Thanks for your time. I'm glad I looked this up, gardenmagik girl!

[gracekeown]

FINALLY! Gosh, I have looked all over for some footage of how to prune rhododendrons, and your clip is exactly what I want. Good close ups, heaps of info, and action! Before & after - it looks HEAPS better after the prune. I have a rhododendron in our front yard (rental property) and it's all leggy, the branches are crossing over each other, and it's just coming on summer here in Australia, so I just want to get some tips on neatening up the big monster the right way. Thanks for being so real.

[surajwild]

rhododron is nepal's national flower.

[mgray733]

I have some Rhododendruns that need serious attention. We have allowed them to grow way too tall and have some visible legginess to them as they seem to be top heavy with foliage. I really want to prune them back to abotu 3 feet even if I lose most of the leaves..then let them recover. Can they be pruned in the winter? I am not concerned about the flowering and would think that the act of flowering would take a lot of energy anyway. do they recover from being pruned back to just wood?

[gardenmagik]

Yes, they should recover nicely... I would prune them in early spring around end of March, (or before the flower buds swell and open), because this is when the plant expends tons of energy for blooms. The plant will put all its energy into growing new leaves instead of flowers this year.

Fertilize w/ an acidic forming fertilizer since you know you wont have flowers this year. (usually fert is done after bloom time). prune but leave a nice skeleton for new growth. Great question! Thanks !

[Praxxus55712]

I had rhododendrons when I lived in Seattle. Can't grow them up here by the Canadian border in Minnesota. The winters are waaaaay too harsh. Beautiful bushes though and I love the flowers. It's just amazing how much you know about green things Melissa. Great video of course. Thanks! :)

[gardenmagik]

You are so welcome - and Thank you for the compliment! Ive been in the business for 25 years now.. and i just love it!

[glvedio]

noww....i like your vid cz your glove...

[gardenmagik]

Thank you so much glvedio! Blessings to you!

[stymye]

I probably messed up , I used the hedge trimmer early in the summer and made it round(azelia), but's it grown out quite a bit since than so it's still alive, was that a little pot belly pig in the video? my neighbor had one.

[gardenmagik]

You might still get some blooms, dont get discouraged! But your plants will definitely benefit from the pruning...

And I had to laugh out loud! Its my Chihuahua Pedro and not a potbelly pig, even though he is a little fattyboy... still laughing....

[MadBadVoodo]

Kick Ass Video!!

Five Stars!!

[gardenmagik]

Thank you so much Mr Madbadvoodo!! You are always so generous with the great comments... and you know i love stars!

[Tinfoilhatlady]

I loved the Rhodos when I lived out on the west coast :)

[gardenmagik]

They are definitely a great and beautiful shrub!