While it's still early January, I've started to watch for Rhododendrons in bloom. Here in the Pacific Northwest, there aren't many yet, but I've seen a few brave trusses of what I think are 'Christmas Cheer' and 'Nobleanum'.  Since the plants I see belong to someone else, I have to guess at the varieties.

The pale pink flowers of 'Christmas Cheer' look so delicate, but this is a tough hybrid.  With mild winter temperatures, the flowers last for weeks although one hard frost will damage them.  On the plant that I think is 'Nobleanum', the flowers are rounded balls of deep rose pink.  I can't get close enough to the plant to see if there's a flush of white in the flower centers, but this would be typical of the variety.  'Bo Peep', another very early hybrid I see, is also just about to bloom.  This small yellow flowered plant won't win prizes for showiness, but how can you not like anything that is in flower now.

In my own garden, 'Seta' is the earliest of my rhododendrons to bloom.  I just love this hybrid.  The flowers are tubular: light pink inside with dark pink backs.  'Seta' is loaded with flowers every year, and blooms reliably for me by mid-March.  I have one 'Seta' in a large container that I move onto the deck when it's in bloom and I like this variety so much that this past fall, I planted another one in the garden.

'Snow Lady' is another of my early favorites, and it also blooms for me in mid-March.  In addition to lovely white flowers, the leaves are hairy, adding another interesting dimension to the plant.  The leaves are particularly pretty when there's a bit of dew on them.  I grow 'Snow Lady' in a container, and it looks great when placed next to 'Seta'.

Both 'Seta' and 'Snow Lady' tend to get leggy, but who cares!  They're great harbingers of spring.  I could pinch them back a bit after blooming, but I like their open habit.

If you like the look of these varieties, another variety to look for is 'Cilpinense' (photo right).  Another of my favorite early bloomers is R. mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink'.  I like the pale pink flower color, but many people in our area prefer the more intense fuchsia-pink flower of 'Crater's Edge'.

Some of the species that bloom early for us in our area are super plants.  R. dauricum, R. moupinense, and R. strigillosum all bloom in late winter or very early spring.  R. dauricum covers itself in small flowers of either intense fuchsia-purple/pink or pure white flowers.

R. moupinense is a hardy pink flowering rhodie.  The species has white flowers with small, red blotches.  If you like red, then R. strigillosum is for you.  This is a stunning early bloomer.  In addition to the lovely flowers, R. strigillosum has hairy bristles along young stems, which are very pretty, especially when backlit.

To give yourself the longest possible chance for blooms to persist, you need to locate early blooming plants in an area where they receive some overhead protection from frost.  My neighbors actually cover their 'Christmas Cheer' at night with a blanket if hard frost is expected during blooming time.  By doing this, most years they are able to keep the plant in bloom until mid to late March.

"Appalachian Spring", the 2012 ARS-ASA International Convention takes place May 4 – 7, 2012 in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, in the heart of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains where native azaleas and rhododendrons burst into bloom every spring.

Visit the event's enormous plant sale. Over 3,000 plants are being grown for the sale, featuring the hybridizing efforts of local plants men James Harris, Velma Haag, George Beasley, Augie Kehr, James Todd, Don Johnson, Kelly Strickland, and Earl Sommerville.

Four fabulous days of tours are planned for your enjoyment and wonder. We will be visiting a variety of beautiful gardens in Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, and just across the border in South Carolina.

Tours include the Biltmore Estate and Gardens, this Frederick Law Olmsted designed estate has the largest single family home in America, the Charles Dexter Owen Garden, with a large collection of Dexter hybrids, the North Carolina Arboretum, whose 65 acres of cultivated gardens pay tribute to the region's rich cultural heritage, and the Ed and Mary Collins Garden, featuring dwarf rhododendrons, evergreen and deciduous azaleas, dwarf conifers and may perennials, wildflowers, and unusual trees.

Other gardens open for touring include the James and Mary Ann Stewart Garden, previously owned by Dr. August "Augie" Kehr, with one of the largest collection of magnolias in the U.S., the Bob and Audrey Stelloh Garden, with many native wildflowers, mountain laurels and thousands of choice azaleas and rhododendrons, and the Doley and Melody Bell Garden with an estimated 3000 rhododendrons, including Dexter, Haag, Leach, Kehr, Gilkey, Delp, Van Veen, Richardson, and Lee hybrid rhododendrons, and Glenn Dale, Back Acre, Exbury, and Girard hybrid azaleas.

Guest speakers at the event include: Don Hyatt - talking about plant diversity in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, Nicholas Yarmoshuk and Christina Woodward - discussing cold-hardy rhododendrons for diverse locales, and Dr. Thomas Ranney - talking on how the unique azaleas found on Gregory and Wayah Balds in the Appalachian Mountains evolved from complex hybridization among the native species.

Both members and non-members are welcomed at the 2012 ARS-ASA International Convention. We hope to see you there!

We are all looking for that blue rhododendron, but last time I looked all of the ones with "blue" in their name had purple flowers.  'Blue Admiral', 'Blue and Gold', 'Blue Angel', 'Blue Baron', 'Blue Bird', 'Bluebell', 'Bluebird', 'Blue Blood', 'Blue Boy', 'Blue Chip', 'Blue Cloud', 'Blue Crown', 'Blue Danube', 'Blue Dawn', 'Blue Diamond', 'Blue Effect', 'Blue Ensign', 'Blue Flame', 'Blue Frost', 'Blue Girl', 'Blue Hawaii', 'Blue Haze', 'Blue Heaven', 'Blue Horizon', 'Blue Ice', 'Blue Jay', 'Blue Lady', 'Blue Lagoon', 'Blue Light', 'Blue Mist', 'Blue Monday', 'Blue Moon', the list goes on and on.  It is obvious that the hybridizers wanted blue, but alas, the blue gene is not to be found in the genus Rhododendron.

Mind you, some of these rhododendrons are nice plants, but their flowers are definitely not blue colored.  I am even responsible by naming a hybrid 'Amiblue'.

So, let's look beyond the flowers, they are only visible for a short time anyway.  How about foliage?  There are many rhododendrons with blue leaves, well almost blue, closer to dark greenish blue, but quite evident in the garden among the other shades of green.

My favorite blue rhododendron species are: R. campanulatum ssp. aeruginosum, R. clementinae, and R. lepidostylum.  I am sure there are many other also, but those are the ones I have in my garden.  These are generally not found in your local garden center, but are available from many specialty rhododendron growers, such as the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden.

I am sure some of you may have other blue rhododendron ideas, and I welcome your comments on this blog.

A couple of years ago on one of our bus tours to visit local Rhododendron gardens, I got talking to the man sitting next to me, about, guess what - Rhododendrons.  He was considered one of our local "rhodie" gurus and was quite a character.   As our conversation progressed, I told him how much I liked deciduous azaleas, and tongue in cheek, he said that nice Rhododendron people didn't do azaleas.   Well, I guess I'm not a nice Rhododendron person, because I just love them.  This spring, my azaleas were late because blooming didn't start until the very end of May, but they put on a wonderful show throughout June.  This fall, I'll get a second show from them when their leaves turn red before dropping.

With deciduous azaleas, there are flower colors to meet everyone's tastes, from intense, "in-your face" oranges to soft pastels.  As an added bonus, most varieties are fragrant.  Among my plants, I've got pure white 'Oxydol'; a gorgeous strawberry pink of unknown variety, as it was here when I moved in; 'Western Lights' which has pink flowers; a few yellows, including 'Northern Hi-Lights', 'Old Gold' and 'Apricot Surprise', and deep orange 'Mandarin Lights'.  And then, there's gorgeous 'Irene Koster', which is a fragrant R. occidentale hybrid whose flowers open soft pink then fade to white, and 'Daviesi' which has fragrant, cream colored flowers.  These last two plants are in a semi-shaded location and while happy enough, would benefit from having a bit more sun.

My plants are scattered throughout my garden, with most growing in sites that get full sun, and in the summer, these sites are hot and dry.  One of the reasons I'm so fond of deciduous azaleas is that they are tough, low maintenance plants.  I water them about once a week, but that's all the care they get.  They also seem to tolerate heavy soils better than many plants.  Deciduous azaleas are winter hardy, and for anyone living in cold areas, look for varieties that were developed by the University of Minnesota, as some of their hybrids are hardy to -40 degrees (and that's -40 in both the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales) - look for names that include the word "Lights", as in 'Northern Hi-Lights', 'UMinn's Lilac Lights', 'Lemon Lights', 'Golden Lights', etc.  Most of these will be from the U. of Minnesota breeding program.

So, if you don't have any yet, consider adding some deciduous azaleas to your garden: they're adaptable, hardy, have fall color and gorgeous, fragrant flowers.  Not a bad choice even for those of us who aren't nice.

Welcome to a new blog devoted to the topic of Rhododendrons.  The blog is sponsored by the American Rhododendron Society, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage interest in and to disseminate information about the genus Rhododendron.  Whether a seasoned-pro or growing a rhododendron for the first time you will find many articles of interest presented in this blog.  Reader comments are solicited.

As a Master Gardener, I am often asked about pruning rhododendrons.  There are several reasons for pruning with different timing and methods.  The main reasons are;  1.) removal of spent flowers (deadheading), 2.) removal of dead, diseased, or damaged branches, 3.) shaping of the plant, and 4.) plant rejuvenation.

Deadheading
Removing of the flower after it starts to fade not only improves the look of the shrub, but focuses the energy to making new growth versus producing seeds.  On most rhododendrons deadheading is accomplished by pinching the truss at the base with a slight twist.  It can also be accomplished with a small pruning shears such as a long nosed grape shear.  There will be new buds emerging just below the truss, so be careful not to damage them.  It will be easiest to deadhead early before the new growth has started to grow.  If the plant doesn't set seeds, it is not necessary to dead head.  Small-leafed rhododendrons rarely need deadheading.

Maintenance Pruning
Removal of dead, diseased or damaged branches can be done at any time, the sooner the better after it is recognized.  Depending on the size of the branch, it may require the use of pruning shear, loppers or saw.  Be sure to make the cut below the diseased part and burn or send it away in the garbage.  Broken or dead branches should be cut just above a dormant bud.  There may be inside branches with buds that do not see the sun that can also be removed because they will eventually die.

Shaping
Pruning for shape enhances the rhododendrons form and habit.  Depending on the landscape, the rhododendrons shape is important.  For instance, tall rhododendrons should not be placed where they will obstruct the view or other landscape features.  All rhododendrons can be pruned to maintain their natural habit, but to try to keep a tall growing rhododendron small or low growing is not practical.  Pruning for shape should be accomplished in early spring to early summer, but not after July 1.  Later pruning will encourage new growth which may not be hardened off prior to first frost and subject to damage.  I prefer to prune for shape before the new growth emerges, in February or March. Early pruning will most likely remove some flowers the first year, but will assure more blooms the following year.  Pruning after the flowers fade is another alternative, but reduces the flowers the next season.

Rejuvenation Pruning
As rhododendrons age they lose vigor and often become open and ungainly.  As a consequence, they lose much of their value in the landscape.  Rejuvenation pruning, sometimes major, can solve the problem.  The larger-leafed rhododendrons have many dormant buds that can be forced into new growth.  However, on very old wood, the dormant buds may have atrophied and are not viable.  So there is some risk that drastic pruning may not be successful.  But, by pruning just above viable dormant buds, new healthy growth can be directed to obtain the desired shape.

Some nurserymen recommend cutting back one third of the branches over a three year period.  I prefer cutting the entire plant back to the height desired early in the season before new growth emerges.  That may result in a loss of blooms the first year, but will result in a better shaped plant in less time and will have added blooms the next year.  A word of caution however, the plant will have a large root system and may produce excessive new growth.  To counteract this, I use a spade to chop off 50% of the roots at the drip line.  This will balance the uptake of nutrients to the now reduced branch and leaf structure.

It may be difficult to see the dormant buds of some varieties.  For these plants prune the branches back to the desired level and after the new growth emerges, prune off any stubs that remain.