Rhododendron is a shrub that has flowers like the azalea. It’s a perennial that is long-lived provided you plant it in a location that meets the plants growing needs.
Know that in
the past I planted rhododendron on the east side of my home. In an area that was too close to my home's
overhang and suspect that the shade was too much. The plant grew but never bloomed.
I
transplanted my rhododendron to the north side of my home in an area where
there was protection from wind and the soil had an acidic ph. As for the sun the plant received 3 hours of full
morning sun followed by 4 hours of the late afternoon sun. During the heat of the
day, the shrub was protected with partial shade and this shade did not seem to
hurt the rhododendron. (Rhododendron grow best when they get 6 hours of full
sun daily)
In May I did
weed the entire garden bed before applying a thick layer of hardwood mulch
around the plants. My summers are
extremely hot so hoping the mulch will keep the roots cool and aid in retaining
moisture.
Know that I
did soak the root ball in water for one hour then let it drip dry for another
hour before planting it in a hole that was 3 times the size of the root ball. I planted it high so that the rainwater
would drain off. I also amended the fill-in soil with peat moss. After planting I watered
well, then did not water for 3-days. The
soil around the rhododendron didn’t dry out because I watered every 3-days for
a month then only when water was needed.
The rhododendron
bloomed this year and the flowers were brilliant. Here are some photographs.
