We had a wonderful talk a couple of nights ago with the very informative Chris Southwick, along with hands-on viewing of some very lovely samples of the very varied types of Rhodos. It was incredible to see the differences between the different varietals—particularly in the leaf forms. Most people think about the beautiful flowers of our Rhodos, but as Chris discussed, Rhodos should be also appreciated for their amazing greenery and bark (they are a relative of the arbutus tree!).
A couple of notes:
• Rhodos are easy to move as they are shallow rooted. If they don’t like a particular location, you can dig up the root ball, place on a tarp, and drag to a more favourable spot. Good drainage is critical and some sun is required for blooming.
• Deadheading (or pruning as Chris called it) is not necessary, but the appearance of the plant is improved and it will not try to make seeds, therefore putting more energy into next year’s blooms.
• Chris uses arborists wood chips for mulch (watch that you don’t ‘volcano’ the mulch up the trunk) and fish fertilizer, if feeding is required.
Chris will provide us with an information sheet shortly—look for this on the Forum soon.
Again, many thanks to Chris for this inspiring and informative talk!
