Year-round caring schedule for Rhododendrons
Rosina Schmidt
October: Best time to plant Rhododendrons. Fall planting results in a better root system. Soil mixture: ½ of ground bark, ½ of existing soil. Water in Nematodes. Fall fertilizing around the drip line with 2-10-10 fertilizer.
November: Enjoy the foliage.
December: Apply dolomite lime around the plant.
January: This month is the best time to move a Rhododendron.
February: Time to fertilize with 6-7-5. Using one handful per foot of the height of the plant and sprinkling it around the drip line.
March: Enjoy the first blooms.
April: Enjoy the blooms.
May: Enjoy the blooms. Dead heading. Cut just below the last set of leaves that the plant has produced, which is just under the spent flower. It will make a bushier plant.
June: Fertilize with 6-7-5 and prune. Continue deadheading. Tip pruning and pinching off the new growth if needed. Hard prune where necessary.
July: Still OK to prune. Replenish mulch. Budding begins.
August: Eradicate weevils with poisons using a ‘tree and shrub insect control’.
September: Eradicate weevils organically by watering in Nematodes.
“Identifying, Treating and Avoiding Azalea and Rhododendron Problems” by WSU.EDU for downloading:
https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/identifying-treating-and-avoiding-azalea-and-rhododendron-problems-replaces-eb1229-physical
Meetings are held at 7:30pm on the second Thursday of each month from September through May at Beban Park, 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, BC