Rhododendron not flowering

mandy153 · May 2020

For two years in a row, one of my rhododendrons has failed to flower. It showed great promise with loads of red/pink buds...but they all formed into new leaves rather than flowers. It was planted 3 years ago and for its first year it was covered in beautiful peach blooms. Please can anyone help. (My other adjacent rhody is fine!)

Fairygirl · May 2020

Probably not enough water in late summer. That's when the flower buds form.
Common problem for many people in the last couple of years.
Sometimes, they'll flower well first time round because they've had exactly the right care, and have been in a pot. Once in the great wide open, they're spending time establishing and maturing, so flowering can be held back. Not enough water will mean they can grow, but not enough to form the flowers well enough. I'm assuming it's in suitable ground etc too.

Also - if it's more exposed than the other one, the ground can dry out more quickly. Some varieties also cope better than others.
Pruning will also prevent them flowering, but I'm assuming you haven't done that.

Pauline 7 · May 2020

I totally agree with @Fairygirl . I have had a rhododendron I planted 3 years ago and for the first 2 years got buds that didn't open. I read on hear about the lack water so I gave it a good drenching every evening throughout the year and this year I have 3 flowers. Not a lot but a definite improvement.

Fairygirl · May 2020

They are quite slow growing [on the whole] so it can take them a while to really take off.

I'm assuming that they're planted appropriately and in the right location etc etc.

Pauline 7 · May 2020

Not in the 'perfect' position, but as good as possible in my garden. I am pleased to get some flowers and it appears to be happy. Thanks

Fairygirl · May 2020

Sorry @Pauline 7 - I was really meaning the OP, but it applies to yours too!
Glad it's doing ok though. Hopefully it'll carry on doing that

Some of them can benefit from some slow release food. I don't really bother with that, but I do give mine a sprinkle of B,F&B in spring. A mulch also helps after watering if you don't do that already.

mandy153 · May 2020

Many thanks all. I’ll try more water...however we live in the Lake District, so we get plenty of rain 😆. The rhododendron is planted on a beck side too, so I would have thought it would have sufficient underneath. But, I’ll keep a close eye on it and fingers crossed for next year. I also fed it with rhododendron feed earlier this year. It looks very healthy...just no flowers.

Fairygirl · May 2020

It sounds like it just needs some time @mandy153

I expect it most certainly gets plenty of the wet stuff

Just a thought - is there a lot of 'stuff' round about it too? That creates a bit of extra competition.

mandy153 · May 2020

Not really. It’s planted on an area we’ve recently created. We dug it over really well and added lots of fresh soil and compost to the whole bed. The soil was tested and good for rhododendrons. We also mulched with bark chippings to try and add more goodness into the soil. Everything else is growing well (astilbes, acers, Choisyas, hostas), although a couple of pieris don’t look too good.

Fairygirl · May 2020

That's good then @mandy153 .

Sounds like you've done a really good job. It'll look good when everything establishes well
I always ask the question, because you'd be surprised at how some things get planted!

Funny about the Pieris though. They should have been happy there too. Were they quite small on planting? The variegated ones are always a bit iffier - are they any of those?

Rhododendron not flowering

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