On 07/05/2020 17:20, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 7 May 2020 16:27:10 +0100, RobH wrote:

I have had this for coming upto to 3 years now in a 12inch pot on our
patio, and the picture on the label shows loads of blue flowers.
For the first 2 years there were no flowers at all,and this year there
is just one solitary purple ish flower.

Is this normal or have I missed something, like putting it in a border??
Thanks

Several questions: What soil is it in - ericaceous compost or one of
the standard garden centre multipurpose composts? Rhodies like an
acid, ericaceous compost, which most multipurpose composts aren't.

Is the soil nice and open and fibrous, or dense and clayey/claggy?
Does it drain well? Rhodies like a fibrous compost that holds moisture
but is free-draining. One of the best ericaceous composts I've found
in the last few years is Humax ericaceous compost
https://tinyurl.com/y8km7z9c but it's peat-based, which you may object
to. Some garden centre own-brand ericaceous composts can be truly
appalling!

If it's in a 12" pot on a patio, does it get too hot in Summer, and do
you keep it well watered? The Millais web site says of Rhododendron
calostrotum keleticum "they hate too much heat, so do avoid reflected
heat from South facing walls and patios, particularly if planting in
containers." https://tinyurl.com/y9tbqgcp



The said plant is in bog standard type compost which I've used forother
potted plants, but it wasn't stipulated what type to use either.

So should I buy some ericaceous compost and repot it.

Thanks