Rhododendron Plant: Rhododendron Care In Your Garden

If you love to grow attractive plants then rhododendron will be a perfect choice for you. It is a beautiful plant which will make you feel good with its blooming and attractive outlook. A rhododendron plant is something that you will love for sure as it is beautifying blooming species. Rhododendron care is also easy and it does not ask for much attention. Devoting some of your time on this plant will give you great results in terms of beautiful flowers. 

You can grow this rhododendron plant in the spring. If you want your plant to grow faster you can prepare the soil for this in autumn. When you think of planting, select the suitable place where it can get proper sunlight and shade. If you do proper rhododendron care it will give the best benefits with beautiful stems and flowers. 

The physical properties are very stunning of this plant; it has large blossoms in the tone of pink, red, purple, and white bloom on each spring. Rhododendron plants do not likes insects. This rhododendron plant is a member of the Azalea family, ensuring that it is an ornamental plant which requires little care and gives you beautiful flowers. It is one of the best low maintenance outdoor plants you can grow.  

Generally, it does not require pruning often, but it is not prone to insect infection, so, during that time, it may need some little care of pruning.

When To Plant Rhododendron

The beautiful plants get planted in its favorable conditions when it can grow properly with best suitable climatic conditions. Plant the rhododendron bushes during the time of spring to protect from the danger of frost. Soil also plays an important role during the plantation of rhododendron, acidic soil is considered to be the best soil for the plantation.  

You can purchase the rhododendron bush as the containerized plant from the nearest plant shop. The root ball should be soaked before planting it in the soil. To provide adequate amounts of moisture to the plant, you need to provide regular watering to rhododendron. You can place your plant in a tub or bucket where it can soak better. 

If you want your plant to look beautiful and attractive, you can add some artwork around your planting area. If you place these plants indoors, you make these flower plants more beautiful, and you can put some colorful glass bottles near them. You can also use them as front door plant decor. 

Rhododendron Care 

It is a basic thing that whenever you place a plant in your garden, you need to take care of it. When the plant starts growing, it requires little attention towards its soil positioning and watering purposes. Once a plant comes to its good growing conditions, it will grow and not require much attention. To help with this problem, we will provide you some basic tips for rhododendron care in this article. 

Rhododendron Planting Tips

• Sunlight is necessary for every plant; similarly, a rhododendron plant also needs an adequate amount of sunlight. Please choose a suitable area for planting where it can receive enough sunlight. 

• Direct sunlight is not ideal for this plant. It would be best if you filtered the sunlight for rhododendron. You can make a shade to receive filtered sunlight, which will be ideal for its proper growth. 

• Rhododendron plants prefer acidic soil type with an adequate amount of pH in the soil. 5.5 pH is ideal for this plant. Acidic soil with this pH is the simple solution for rhododendron care, and it is easily available at your nearest garden shop. If you use another soil type, it may hamper the growth of your plant. The acidic soil has long term benefits and is suitable for this plant. (source)

• Now to place the plant in the soil, you have to dig a hole that should be 2-3 times larger than the root ball and deep enough to place it easily. Place the ball inside the hole to get fully covered but make sure it will not cover the stem of the root ball. 

• Finally, place the plant in a dug hole and water it well before covering the root ball with soil. Gently compost around the top of the root ball so that it can get adequate moisture. 

Rhododendron Maintenance

Giving proper maintenance to your plant is important for healthy growth; if you do not provide adequate resources to your plant, it will not show you the results as per your expectations. 

• Daily watering is the most important rhododendron care. These plants require regular watering through the season so they can carry moisture for a long time. The moisture is required much for this plant because of its properties. After one year, you can water the plants twice or thrice a week, as they will start keeping the moisture. 

• Winters are not suitable for rhododendrons, so you have to take care of these plants during the winters. Small rhododendron shrubs need protection from heavy snowfall in winters. In context to rhododendron care, wrap the branches gently in a cloth and secure them with twine before the first snowfall. 

• You can build an A-frame style covering, or you can make a box shelter to give protection to the newly planted small rhododendron plants during the snowfalls in harsh winters.  

• Rhododendron care also includes fertilization sometimes. You have to give them yearly fertilization feeding, which is best applied for their proper growth. Use the fertilizers, which are acid soil friendly otherwise; they will not work on your soil. However, the previously used fertilizers may also affect your plant growth, so make sure you properly use the fertilizers.

•  You have to prune your plant yearly, so the unnecessary leaves or the parts can get removed. Cuts the one-third part of the branches each year to maintain the beauty of your plant. Pruning is one of the important rhododendron cares to keep them attractive. 

Modifications In Rhododendron Care 

Rhododendron plants are widely spread worldwide; you can easily find various varieties of these plants in different areas. The species’ origin can be found in the Northern Hemisphere, and fewer plants are found below the equator.

The environment also plays a major role in modifying the species of the plants. Some of the plants adapt themselves according to the environment and grow accordingly. So the environment may modify or change the characteristics of the plant species. 

The modification in rhododendron is popularly known as the variety. To maintain the variety of itself, rhododendron care is important; otherwise, they have to struggle to survive. 

Rhododendron bushes have two different varieties:

• Catawba Rhododendron
• P.J.M. Rhododendron 

The present world should understand the natural beauty and help in preserving them so you can see the popular varieties of this plant in the future. 

Final Words

Beautiful plants give a positive vibe to you, which makes your mind stress free and relaxed. If you love gardening and plants around yourself, then having a rhododendron plant in your garden will make you feel great. Rhododendron’s beautiful pink color with glorious shine makes it an amazing flower plant. Rhododendron care is not difficult; it requires very little attention. 

You can also use this plant as an ornament in your home because of its beautiful leaves and textures. It attracts everyone towards itself, and if you place this plant in your home, it will look attractive and eye-catching. Your guests will also greet you for having this beautiful plant at your home. So now you know how to plant and care for rhododendron, then hurry up and have one for yourself soon.