One of our rhodos was badly burned last summer. Should I remove the burned leaves or leave them on?
I can definitely relate, as some of our rhodos suffered with last summer’s heat too. My decision of whether to remove the leaves or not will depend on the overall appearance and health of the plant. In places were just a few leaves are affected, I might pick them off, or, if there are only a few spots on a leaf, I’ll probably leave them on. One of our plants was hard hit. I am going to wait to see whether it puts out new shoots from sites where the burnt leaf have died. If not, I will remove the stem back to a bud so that it can grow back.
2 Likes
Thanks for your input. From that I think we will have to wait, as it is not a few leaves, but just about all leaves exposed to the sun. Do we prune down to the round, or just the branches?
I am not sure what you mean by ‘the round’. However, rhododendrons can be pruned hard and will grow back. You can reduce the length of the branch as much as you like down to a bud. The buds are hard to see, but look like a brown bump on the branch. They appear along the branch right to the main branch. I plan to prune after the rhododendrons have bloomed. The buds might be more obvious by then.
1 Like