On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 20:01:34 +0000, solaara
wrote:


I have a dwarf rhododendron which has flowered two years running, but
just after flowering this year, the some of the leaves went bright
yellow, some have little(what looks like bites in them) and the whole
plant looks very sick..what can I do?


It may be sick, it may be OK. Old leaves on rhodies do sometimes go
bright yellow before dropping and there's no cause for alarm. OTOH it
may be chlorotic due to alkaline soil or watering with hard tap water.
The bites on the leaf edges are insect damage, probably caused by a
leaf-cutter bee. Or it could be dying.

Has it made any new growth since it flowered in the spring? If it has,
that's encouraging. If not, it may mean the roots are diseased and the
plant is dying.

Is it in partial shade? Do you mulch it to keep the roots cool and
moist? Do you water it in hot dry weather? Do you use rain water or
tap water? Is the tap water hard? They don't like alkaline soil or
hard tap water. Use rain water from a butt if your tap water is hard.

Do you feed it occasionally? Most plants like it little feed now and
then. You could feed it with an ericaceous feed. Phostrogen do one,
obtainable from most garden centres or sheds. Give it one feed now,
but it's getting a bit late in the season for nitrogen-rich feeds.
Give it some tomato fertiliser (potash-rich feed) in early August, to
encourage bud set for next year's flowers. Also give it a mulch over
the roots, say a two inch thickness of leaf mould, composted bark, or
peat.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net