i have these plants in tubs and haven't had the time over the years to look after them properly..The leaves are turning yellow and the flowers have faded ..how should I be looking after them now for the rest of the year? solaara/

"solaara" wrote in message
...

i have these plants in tubs and haven't had the time over the years to
look after them properly..The leaves are turning yellow and the flowers
have faded ..how should I be looking after them now for the rest of the
year? solaara/

Water the plants well, preferably with Sequestrene, and wait a couple of
days for it to be absorbed. Remove the plants from the pots (with all the
soil). Carefully remove some of the soil from the top cm or two. Note that
rhodos are shallow rooted, and the roots will be very matted - you will
probably break some of them, but try to limit the damage. Even though
shallow rooted, it will not harm to remove the bottom half of the old soil,
as some roots will get down into it.

Replace the lost soil with John Innes Ericaceous Compost. Do NOT use
ordinary JI compost as it has chalk in it. Put the new soil in the tub, and
place the rhodo on top at the same height as it was previously. Carefully
spread new JI Ericaceous on the top and gently push down with your hand to
smooth it into the surface roots.

Water well with rain water until it comes out of the bottom of the tub.
Keep it well watered over summer. If you have to use tap water some times,
then do so - a yellow rhodo is better than a dead rhodo!

--

Jeff