I recently rescued an unloved, untended rhododendron from a demolition lot near my home. The basic subsoil should be the same, so I'm assuming it will tolerate the general conditions. I've put it in my front yard, in the middle of an established lawn, with compacted old soil. I did dig a fair sized hole for it, but the roots were splayed out - no tidy root ball! I gave it copious water when I planted it. The plant is happy - it bloomed fully, and after very few brown leaves, it has started producing new ones. I went online after the fact and read pages & pages about how you must prepare peat and loam in a broad spread around the roots for the plant to thrive. I don't necessarily want the plant to get bigger (it's an uneven 3' x 3' now, and not a youngster), but I do want it to survive and thrive. Do I need to dig back down and under the roots and amend the soil surrounding them? Or is it okay to just wait and let it tell me how it's doing?? The front yard is on the high end of our property, so it drains fairly well, even though the subsoil is clay. Thanks for any and all advice!!!!
Mir, okay so far! If your rhodo bloomed and has new growth, it sounds like you're off to a great start. No, don't dig out your hole and rework it. Very few of us have ideal soil from the surface to the center of the earth. We make a nice hole, plant it, and hope for the best. You can't dig up your whole lawn (well I guess you could) and replace the dirt as far as the roots might go. Water it lots this summer if it's hot and sunny, and you'll know for sure by next spring. You did good. ;o)
Thanks so much! And thanks for the reminder about the water - I was told that rhodos do NOT like to dry out!!
If you ever get days in summer near 92 degrees F / 33 degrees C, or higher, consider tossing a white sheet over the plant mid-day. Sometimes even established Rhododendrons can get some browning, especially if not irrigated. But with a newly transplanted plant, the leaves could get a bit crispy in spots. ...
