Rhodo's wilting?
Question:I have some first year Rhodo's that seem to wilt in the heat of the day, in high humidity although they are not in direct sunlight but maybe 2 hours a day under a shade tree. I water in about 3 times a week. Do I need to enrich the soil or use and additive? This Rhodo is a dark red in bloom and rare in my area.
Answers:
The first answerer gave you some good advice about thinking about why this plant is rare in your area. I live in an area where rhodies thrive--we have acidic soil and a lot of rain.
What sort of soil do you have? Perhaps you could add something to the soil if it's not the right pH? (Around here, Starbucks gives away bags of used coffee grounds for garden use--that would increase soil acidity, wouldn't it?) Or you could consider growing your rhodies in pot so that you can control the soil and other factors.
Also, rhodies have fibrous roots close to the surface, so a good mulch would help a lot, especially if they are young plants that needs to establish themselves.
One final thing--could the roots be competing for water with the tree they are under? You might need to baby them along with extra water, especially since their roots are so shallow.
Good luck--they sound like lovely plants and worth the effort.
There's usually a reason that a plant as popular as a rhododendron is not common in your area. That's probably because there's something to the climate or in the soil that makes rhododendron growing difficult! I learned that the hard way. I live in central Michigan and the soil is just too alkaline to be successful in growing them. I'd check with your local cooperative extension office or garden center. They should be able to tell what to do to help you rhodo...Good luck!
More Related Questions & Answers...