Concerned..Badly sunburned Rhody struggling
 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/d6ae145e.jpg

As the photo shows,my Rhody has gotten very sunburned before I
had a chance to move or cover it so the last few weeks it's been
deteriorating health-wise,even though it's been moved into almost full
shade and kept moist..I have not used any additives or fertilizers. Any
ideas and suggestions will be appreciated.

Maybe this isn't the correct group to post plant health
questions..could someone direct me to another group please?

"maestro" wrote in message
ups.com...
Maybe this isn't the correct group to post plant health
questions..could someone direct me to another group please?


I don't know of another group you could try. I didn't post earlier because I
thought someone with more gardening experience would give you advice.
However, I'll give you my two cents if no one else will.
I've had rhodies burned nearly as badly as yours appear to be. They
recovered when left in place. Moving yours was probably an additional
stressor. Now the plant is dealing with settling into a new spot as well as
burned leaves. Let it alone for a while. Rhodies prove to be pretty tough,
in my experience.

This is an appropriate place to ask this question, yes. However, your
plant is not sunburned. It defnitley has some kind of fungal
infection, most likeley phytophthora. Unfortunatley at this stage you
really have no option other than removal of the plant. Since the
pathogen is soil-borne, I would not recommend planting another
rhododendron in that spot.

Toad

wrote:
This is an appropriate place to ask this question, yes. However, your
plant is not sunburned. It definitely has some kind of fungal
infection, most likeley phytophthora. Unfortunatley at this stage you
really have no option other than removal of the plant. Since the
pathogen is soil-borne, I would not recommend planting another
rhododendron in that spot.

Toad

Thanks all,

I didn't mention that it is in a very large planter so moving it was
simply a matter of sliding it into the shade. The temp here was in the
high 90's low 100's for about a week and that's when it started to show
what I thought was sunburn damage,my other Rhody which is in another
planter but always partially shaded shows no signs except where the
direct sun hit it so I'm hoping Toads analysis's is hopefully
misdiagnosed.

"maestro" wrote in message
ups.com...
Maybe this isn't the correct group to post plant health
questions..could someone direct me to another group please?



I didn't reply because I am way too far south to know about these plants and
have never owned a Rhodo in my life.
But it looked a lot like simple heat stress to me- and hearing that it is in
a planter box certainly doesn't change my thoughts.



--
Toni
South Florida USA
Zone 10b
http://ww.cearbhaill.com

"maestro" wrote:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/d6ae145e.jpg

As the photo shows,my Rhody has gotten very sunburned before I
had a chance to move or cover it so the last few weeks it's been
deteriorating health-wise,even though it's been moved into almost full
shade and kept moist..I have not used any additives or fertilizers. Any
ideas and suggestions will be appreciated.

The wilting and rolling of leaves is not sunburn, it looks terminal if
you are in the northern hemisphere. The browning can be sunburn or
winter damage.

The wilting and leaf roll can be one of the following:

Fungal disease
Lack of soil moisture
Too much soil moisture
Root damage from high root temperatures. If the sun hit the large pot,
it could have cooked the roots.

The actual damage is dehydration. The cause can be diseased roots,
damaged roots, or dry roots. Wet roots can cause diseased roots. High
soil temperatures can cause root damage also.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/rhody.html
Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/rhodybooks.html
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Zone 6

Thanks Stephen,I guess I'll just have to wait and see if it
recovers..maybe I over watered after the sunburning but it's been so
hot.

A neighbor said she'd read a large can of tomato juice poured around
the root base may revive it..she'd read it in an old-folk gardening
book.