Sick Rhododendron ... :(
 

Since my father died two years ago, I'm afraid the garden has gone to pot
(pun intended), and I've only just acquired the bug (OMG another pun).

Seriously though, I've got a very sick Rhododendron and I'm clueless about
what to do.

There's an identical one on the other side of the garden, that's doing
fine, but the sick one looks very wilted, yellow and "burned" (black areas
on the leaves).

I dug it up and checked the soil ... which looked identical to the soil
the other one is flourishing in. The only difference, AFAICT, is that the
sick plant is slightly more exposed ... oh and I did find a few small
white grubs in the soil, although there was no visible sign of the roots
being munched on.

I bought some fertiliser that claims to be specifically for Rhododendrons,
but I suppose it might take a while to have any effect (if it works).

So ... what went wrong, and how can I fix it?

TIA,

-
[H]omer

Sick Rhododendron ... :(
 

On Thu, 13 May 2004 03:52:20 +0100, "[H]omer" wrote:

Since my father died two years ago, I'm afraid the garden has gone to pot
(pun intended), and I've only just acquired the bug (OMG another pun).

Seriously though, I've got a very sick Rhododendron and I'm clueless about
what to do.

There's an identical one on the other side of the garden, that's doing
fine, but the sick one looks very wilted, yellow and "burned" (black areas
on the leaves).

I dug it up and checked the soil ... which looked identical to the soil
the other one is flourishing in. The only difference, AFAICT, is that the
sick plant is slightly more exposed ... oh and I did find a few small
white grubs in the soil, although there was no visible sign of the roots
being munched on.

I bought some fertiliser that claims to be specifically for Rhododendrons,
but I suppose it might take a while to have any effect (if it works).

So ... what went wrong, and how can I fix it?

TIA,

-
[H]omer

This is mostly speculation, but....

Rhododendrons like an acid soil, and develop yellowing of their leaves
(chlorosis) if the soil is alkaline, e.g. caused by chalk. But if you
have another doing well nearby, it suggests your soil is OK and it's
not chlorosis. If the leaves are wilted as well as yellowing and
blackened, it sounds as though it's already died and you're seeing the
general deterioration of a dead plant as fungi etc take over the dead
tissue. As to why, that's anyone's guess. The white grubs may be the
cause. Rhodies have a fine fibrous root system. If the grubs have
eaten the fine roots and all they've left is the skeleton, then the
plant will become sick and may die. But equally well, the grubs may
have come in after death to feed on the decaying tissues. Some fungal
infections can cause rot in the stems of rhodies, cutting off the flow
of sap to the branches and leaves, and the plant dies.

As I said, mostly speculation. I suspect it's had it. If you get a
replacement, put it somewhere else.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net