Rhododendron - This charming ornamental plant for your garden. But it is not easy to grow in our area. The homeland of this flower is the Mediterranean, which speaks of its thermophilicity and poor frost tolerance. Therefore, in order for the plant to take root, it will be necessary to comply with all the conditions of the proper agricultural technology and to provide it with proper care. Today we will talk about how to choose the seedlings for planting rhododendron on your site, about the features of this process, and also pay attention to the subsequent care and preparation of rhododendron for winter. In addition, information on its use in landscape design will be equally useful.
The right choice of planting material
Two or four year old rhododendron bushes are best for planting. When buying, pay attention to the bushiness of the cuttings of the seedling (the most survivable branches immediately near the root collar), and on its leaves (must be without spots and swellings). Also, be sure to inspect the roots of the seedling, it is unacceptable that they were wet blotches and nodes. The place where you purchase seedlings is also important.
It is best to buy them in experienced gardeners or special nurseries, and it is not desirable in the markets, since they have significantly less chances (most sellers simply do not know which varieties and types of trade they trade).
Important! Beginners are recommended to start not with a certain sort of rhododendron, but with the planting of the species. Since the species is less whimsical and more frost-resistant than the variety obtained on its basis. Despite the fact that the varieties are very tempting in their wide variety of colors, the types are also distinguished by the diversity of colors.
Planting rhododendron in the garden
When planting rhododendron in the garden, it is necessary to follow certain guidelines, when and where to plant rhododendron, how to do it correctly, and how to prepare the soil.
Did you know? Woody rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. In this country, rhododendron is used in the form of pickled flowers, and in the form of juice.
When to plant rhododendron
It is recommended to plant rhododendron in the ground from early April to mid-May, and from September to November. But in fact, this can be done at any time during the growing season of the plant, in addition to the flowering period of rhododendron, and a couple more weeks after the end of flowering.
Where it is better to plant rhododendron in the area
Planted rhododendron better in a shady place on the north side of the house. The soil should be loose, acidic, well drained, rich in humus. When the groundwater in your area lies at a depth of less than one meter, the planting is done on a raised bed. When planting rhododendron is also important to pay attention to neighboring plants.
It is undesirable to plant rhododendron close to trees that have a shallow root system, because they will take all the nutrients from the plant. To undesirable neighbors should also include birch, willow, maple, chestnut, linden, alder, and the inhabitants of the site, near which you can plant rhododendron belong to apple, pear, pine, spruce, larch, poplar.
How to prepare the soil and plant rhododendron
- First of all, prepare a pit for landing. The pit is dug about 40 cm deep, and about 60 cm in diameter.
- Then prepare a mixture of eight buckets of top peat and three and a half buckets of loam (loam can be replaced with two buckets of clay). Stir this mixture thoroughly, pour it into a hole, and tamp well.
- After that, dig a hole in the ground the same size as the root ball of the seedling.
- Before direct planting, put the saplings of rhododendron into the water, and keep them there until the air bubbles stop emitting.
- Place the seedling in the hole and sprinkle the pit with the substrate to the very top, so that the root neck is at the level of the surface of the plot, tamping it down to eliminate all voids.
- Liberally water the plant, and grumble the soil around the trunk with peat, moss, sawdust, oak leaves, or pine needles, a layer of about 5-6 cm.
Important! If there are many flower buds on the seedling, it is better to remove them so that all the forces of the plant are directed at the rooting of rhododendron, and not at its flowering.
The combination of rhododendron with other plants and use in landscape design
Rhododendron will find its place in the landscape design of almost any style. The plant looks great in the role of tapeworm, and in group compositions, and in the latter case, it is excellently combined with conifers, and with other types of flowering plants. It is best to select such species with which rhododendron grows in its natural environment - pines, larches, ferns, junipers, and others.
Rhododendron is perfect for decorating rocky gardens and alpine gardens. For this purpose, stunted species of rhododendron with different flowering periods are suitable. Compose them, making out the rocky slopes, you can with gentian, mountain pine, heather.
Sredneroslye types of rhododendron, often used in group plantings in the form of living fences, with the selection of the desired shades of the plant. For example, rhododendrons with yellow flowers are perfectly combined with those shrubs that bloom with red and bright orange flowers, and rhododendrons with purple and pink flowers with plants that bloom in white.
Shrubs planted on the lawn or along garden paths and curbs look good, especially when decorating parquet lawn, although in this case only adult rhododendron bushes are suitable (for at least ten years).
Creating group compositions with rhododendrons, it is recommended to combine evergreen species with deciduous, while correctly “mixing” plants of different heights. In the center of the composition look better tall shrubs, and at the edges - stunted.
Proper care of rhododendron in the garden
Caring for rhododendron consists of the usual plant procedures: feeding, watering, spraying, weeding, pest and disease control, and bush formation.
Important! Loosening the soil around the plant is prohibited, let alone digging it up, because the roots of rhododendron are located too close to the surface. For the same reason, it is better to remove the weeds manually, without using choppers.
How to water
Rhododendron requires atmospheric and soil moisture more than other plants, especially when buds are formed and during flowering. It should be watered regularly, and in dry weather should be more, and spray the plants with water. Proper watering affects the tab on the flower buds of rhododendron next year. Water the plant need soft water (separated, thawed, or rain), which can be softened with the help of a handful of high-moor peat, thrown a day before watering.
The frequency of making a fluid is determined by the state of the leaves: for example, when they are dull and have lost their elasticity, then the plant is thirsty. When watering the soil should get wet at 20-30 cm depth.
Important! When watering can not pour the roots of rhododendron, because they are very sensitive to excess moisture. Learn about the excess fluid can be lowered and curled leaves.
How to feed a plant
The first feeding of rhododendron takes place in early spring, and the last - in late July, at the end of the flowering period, when young shoots start to grow. Can be used for feeding plants half-burnt cow dung, and horn flour. Rhododendron prefers liquid feedings, so the manure is poured with water (1:15 ratio), and left to stand for a couple of days. Before making fertilizer for rhododendron, it should be watered.
If we talk about mineral fertilizers, in order not to disturb the reaction of the medium (rhododendron grows in acidic soils), it is best to use superphosphate, ammonium sulphate, low concentration magnesium (1.2: 1000), and even less potassium fertilizer solution.
The optimal mode of fertilizing involves the introduction of organic or mineral nitrogen-containing fertilizers at the rate of fifty grams of magnesium sulphate and fifty grams of ammonium sulphate per square meter (fertilizers are applied to the soil in early spring), and at the end of the flowering period (in early June) it should be accounted for forty grams of ammonium sulfate and twenty grams of potassium sulfate and superphosphate. In July, only twenty grams of potassium sulphate and superphosphate are introduced per square meter.
Did you know? Honey from the nectar of some species of rhododendron, has hallucinogenic and laxative properties. Even the ancient Romans and Greeks talked about the side effects of honey from rhododendron.
How to prune rhododendron
Rhododendron requires minimal formation and pruning, because its bushes themselves form the correct shape. However, from time to time it will be necessary to cut too high, frozen or old shoots, which will help to rejuvenate the rhododendron. Pruned shoots of rhododendron in early spring, and the places of cuts are processed by garden pitch (but only where the thickness of the branches reaches 2-4 cm).
Within a month, the sleeping buds on the shoots awaken, and the process of renewal begins, which lasts for a year. Strongly frozen or very old bushes are cut at a height of 30-40 cm from the ground - one half of the bush in the first year, and the second - the next.
Important! Rhododendrons have a characteristic feature: they bloom and bear fruit quite generously in one year, and the next year they are much more modest. To get rid of such periodicity, it is necessary to break off withered inflorescences immediately after flowering. Then the rhododendron will use strength and nutrition to form flower buds for the next year.
Preparing for winter and shelter rhododendron
It is necessary to prepare rhododendron for winter in advance. To do this, from the end of the summer, you should stop feeding the plant with nitrogen, and switch to potash fertilizers (this will help the maturation of late growths). You can also add colloidal sulfur to the soil, which acidifies the soil and slows the growth of fungi.
Rhododendron shrubs can be treated with any of the available fungicides. In dry autumn, the plant should be watered before the onset of frosts, but in rainy autumn additional watering is not needed. Especially in moisture need evergreen species of rhododendrons.
As soon as serious frosts come, it is necessary to warm the root zone of the plant. This can be done by mulching with a layer (10-15 cm) of peat, pine needles, or dry leaves. This is done in late autumn. Low frost plant is not very dangerous, but too early shelter of rhododendron bushes can lead to root swelling of the neck and the death of the plant.
Now, actually, as for the construction of a shelter for rhododendron. First you need to make a frame of durable wire, and install it before the earth freezes. Its size should be 15 cm larger than the plant itself, so that the rhododendron branches do not touch the arcs.
When the air temperature drops to -10 ° C, the frame should be covered with protective material (polyurethane foam, polypropylene), and if the material is not too dense, then it can be folded in several layers (lutrasil, agrotex, spandbond and others). In the case when the coating starts to pass moisture, you will have to stretch the plastic film on top. The material on the frame is firmly fixed, and the bottom along the entire length sprinkled with soil.
No need to rush to remove the shelter from rhododendron, as soon as the sun warms. In March, the plant is still at rest, and can not independently absorb moisture from the frozen ground, and rhododendron leaves can burn with bright rays of the sun. Therefore, we will have to wait until the ground is completely thawed and the ground warms up, because only then can the shelter be removed from the rhododendron, and it is desirable to do this on an overcast day. In the first days after shelter removal, the plant is best applied to avoid the harmful effects of the sun.
Did you know? North America is considered the birthplace of rhododendron, and large-leaved rhododendron is the state symbol of Washington.With proper planting and subsequent care, this delightful ornamental plant will become just an integral part of the composition in your garden.
