"Charlie Pridham" wrote after
graham says...
I hope this is a suitable question for this group, but I could do with a
bit of help. I'm not much of a gardener, by the way.
Our house is 8 years old and has a rhododendron about 4 feet from the
South facing wall of the house. This area is shaded from the South by
next door, which is about 10 feet from our house.
The Rhododendron is about 10 feet high and has two trunks, one 5 inches
dia and on 4 inches dia at ground level.
The soil is Leicestershire clay. There is a drain 6 feet from the shrub.

The reading I have done so far on the internet indicates the shrub is
too close to the house, being the size it is.

But, my wife likes it, although she'll agree to it going if it's going
to cause damage.

So, two questions, please?
1) Do the panel concur with the predictions of doom?
2) What would be a suitable replacement plant that could be coaxed to
forming some sort of archway across to the house, bearing in mind the
shady nature of the location?

Rhodos have well behaved roots near the surface and I would be very
surprised if one 3 X the size you quoted would cause trouble, their only
fault root wise is that they are very difficult to grow something under!

I find that Aspidistra and the more robust yellow flowered Epimediums grow
well under our 15ft tall Camellia tree. Mind you, the crown has been raised
to 4 to 5 ft from the ground to allow more light in and it is a moist
corner.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK