(paghat) wrote:

(I wrote)
They are just steering you to easy to grow plants that will do well
Rhododendrons and Azaleas need some work.
1) They have shallow roots so need the maintenance of a good mulch to
keep weeds out. You cannot cultivate around them because of the
shallow roots.

Although this is "popular wisdom," really it depends on what "cultivate
around" means.

I was using cultivate in the sense that a farmer uses it when he
cultivates a field. He works up the soil to kill seedlings of weeds and
the keep the soil from desicating in the hot sun. Since you can't dig
around rhododendrons and azaleas to kill weed seedlings and to keep the
soil from desicating, you need to use a mulch.

I agree that you can plant companion plants around rhododendron and
azaleas provided they do not compete for moisture near the surface.
Either succulent or deep rooted plants are what is most commonly used.

I have lists of such plants on my website.

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