Hiya.
My 25 yo rhodo really suffered from the drought. One is still huge and
absolutely COVERED with buds but fewer leaves than before. The other one
looks half dead. Green only at the tops of branches and several dead
branches. How severely should I cut it back? It is about 8-9' tall. 30%
of the green is from new shoots at the base of the plant. Can I just whack
it all back to 3' or so? In this particular instance, size does not matter.
They are back in a corner by themselves.
Thanks,
Jeny

The following link offers good advice:

http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_...es_too_big.htm

Now that I've 'broken the ice' with my trees letter, I may as well
continue. You should prune out any dead wood and then stop and think.
Anything you do beyond that is not helpful from the rhododendrons
point of view. What they have now is twenty-five years worth of hard
work. They would like to hold onto that wood they have grown and
those leaves that top it. The new sprouts will grow and fill in
below. It is expertly adapting to it's situation. If you prune it
severely you may or may not hurt it much, but it certainly won't help
it. However, it may (or may not) help it's appearance.

If those bare branches really bother you each time you look at them,
such that you can no longer enjoy the shrub the way it is, then it may
then be best to cut them back and take your chances. Just think it
over first. The first rule should be 'do no harm'. Thanks for
asking.

"David" wrote in message
om...
The following link offers good advice:

http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_...es_too_big.htm

Now that I've 'broken the ice' with my trees letter, I may as well
continue. You should prune out any dead wood and then stop and think.
Anything you do beyond that is not helpful from the rhododendrons
point of view. What they have now is twenty-five years worth of hard
work. They would like to hold onto that wood they have grown and
those leaves that top it. The new sprouts will grow and fill in
below. It is expertly adapting to it's situation. If you prune it
severely you may or may not hurt it much, but it certainly won't help
it. However, it may (or may not) help it's appearance.

If those bare branches really bother you each time you look at them,
such that you can no longer enjoy the shrub the way it is, then it may
then be best to cut them back and take your chances. Just think it
over first. The first rule should be 'do no harm'. Thanks for
asking.

David, what a PERFECT website! I've bookmarked the site for future
reference, too. My rhodos were big and gangly before the drought, but I
could live with them because of where they are located. Now one is just too
unsightly. I will definitely do some studying before I attempt any major
changes.
Thanks again,
Jeny

I missed the original "rhodos" post, but I second David's recommendation of
the PlantAmnesty website! Admittedly, it's been a decade or so since I had
any Rhodendron worth pruning (the only one I have done here is one I rescued
from being planted on a "hill" on my sloping, sandy front yard), but I
almost never touched the bushes except to "deadhead" after they bloomed.

As for pruning back the dead wood, there's a lot to be said for waiting
until spring to do this. (Again, this was a habit from gardening up North,
as there was no telling what might happen to a particular bush over the
winter. Also, pruning once in the spring was less time-consuming than fall
& spring pruning.)

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh

"David" wrote in message
om...
The following link offers good advice:

http://www.plantamnesty.org/pruning_...es_too_big.htm

Now that I've 'broken the ice' with my trees letter, I may as well
continue. You should prune out any dead wood and then stop and think.
Anything you do beyond that is not helpful from the rhododendrons
point of view. What they have now is twenty-five years worth of hard
work. They would like to hold onto that wood they have grown and
those leaves that top it. The new sprouts will grow and fill in
below. It is expertly adapting to it's situation. If you prune it
severely you may or may not hurt it much, but it certainly won't help
it. However, it may (or may not) help it's appearance.

If those bare branches really bother you each time you look at them,
such that you can no longer enjoy the shrub the way it is, then it may
then be best to cut them back and take your chances. Just think it
over first. The first rule should be 'do no harm'. Thanks for
asking.