Rhododendrons: Trying to Save Poorly Pruned Old Rhododehdrons

Discussion in 'Ericaceae (rhododendrons, arbutus, etc.)' started by sw8689, May 5, 2006.

  1. sw8689

    sw8689 Member

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    Vancouver, Canada
    My husband and I moved into a home last year with very old Rhododendrons (could be as old as the house, 37 years?), that were two stories tall.

    Last fall I had them pruned back as they literally blocked the view and we were told they would bush out and make them more healthy, but was told not to expect blooms this year.

    Well, we were left with long sticks with some foliage at the top and a very small number of leaves on the stems. Now we are wondering if we should have prune further down to force growth further down the wood of the Rhodo.

    They do not look nice at all the way they are, they look like tall, 6 foot sticks with some sparse leaves on top and a few leaves about a foot or two up the stick, and bare in-between.

    The good news is that there is, small healthy looking bumps up and down the wood, as if new branches want to break through, but I think the nutrients are all going to the few leaves six feet up.

    This is a very visible part of the yard actually a focal point... and I do want to save them.


    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. sw8689

    sw8689 Member

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    Location:
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    Oops, I just rec'd my answer from a thread further down...

    I am going to hard prune these right back and put some newer fresh soil around the roots. They have those green pimples up and down the stocks.

    This is a great site!
     

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