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Do Rhodadendrons from The New England Area shed their leaves every several years?
I live in the North East, and my father-in-law has a Rhodadendron bush that's about ten feet tall or so. This Year starting in the spring, about half the leaves turned brown, and now they're falling off.
About half the leaves are dead, maybe a little more than half, and we've been trying to convince my Father-in-law that the thing is dead, but he said that it did this several years ago and all the leaves grew back.
I've been trying to find specific information on a leaf shedding cycle for this particular species, but no luck.
Is this normal?
3 Answers
- ?Lv 77 years agoFavourite answer
Shedding leaves is a rhododendron and azalea response to really cold temps. It would be prudent to hold off on cutting away branches that may releaf. If you bend a branch and it bends without snapping, the branch still has life and may make a comeback. If you prune a tip and the cross section is green, that's a further indication that you shouldn't prune right away. If the cross section is not green, then it's probably a dead branch. If you bend the branch and it snaps, then the branch is dead and you don't have to wait. Cut back on the branch until you either reach live tissue or you arrive at the plant's crown.
A little fertilizer would be good and water thoroughly but not frequently. If the plant survived last Winter, it would be a shame to kill it now with too much water or too much fertilizer.
- Mr K DilkingtonLv 67 years ago
I am in New England and have the same problem with my mature Rhody. As far as I know, this is not a natural occurrence and those sections of the plant are dead and need to be cut away (leaving the branches with green leaves). We had a very cold winter in New England this year and I think it just overwhelmed some of our plants.
I will keep an eye on this question because I'd love to learn that those dead sections might regenerate (I haven't cut them away yet).
