I suppose the hottest summer in recent record combined with the coldest and
snowiest winter wouldn't help. I had an azalea in the yard that perished
the first year in a similar manner. Maybe a little TLC this year will help,
I hope. Thanks-
Sonya
"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "thoranw"
wrote:

I inherited a yard with some good perennials. One shrub I have is an
Andromeda. Does it belong in shade or sun? It has never thrived in the
partial shade its in and this spring many of its leaves have brown
spots.
It's overshadowed by a Box Elder, is it unhappy with the leaves that
drown
it every autumn?

If you're speaking of Pieres spp, most of these want partial shade or
dappled sunlight, conditions similar to their cousins, rhododendrons, but
some people report them being somewhat more difficult than rhododendrons &
much shorter lived. Newly planted ones when qutie small will do well for
several years, then for no reason become fussy & weak just when they
should've been pleasantly matured. When grown in colder zones like usda
4-5, they need full sun, otherwise partial shade is right for it, & not
the reason it isn't thriving. What hurts them is hot summers, or windy
winters, so if they're the tallest thing in a bed of perennials, wind
alone may be causing dehydration of the plant in winter that it never
quite gets over come spring. I would've thought the overhanging elder
would give it some of the windbreak protection it requires.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/