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Flower Bud problem Rhododendron

purplequeennlpurplequeennl Posts: 8
in Plants
Can anyone help me with why the actual flowers aren't opening on my rhododendron? The flower buds have opened but the individual petals have stayed closed. 

It's a new plant that I put in, in the autumn last year. I have several other rhododendron's that have all opened fine. Except this one. 


Posts

  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    I have that rhododendron and I suspect that yours has had a touch of frost. Mine is much worse than yours. Apart from that, your shrub looks lovely and healthy. See mine, taken just now.




    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    I planted a shrub last Autumn you would have thought with a good winter soak it would be fine this spring. January was very dry and I had to water it then and also again a few weeks ago. Nothing is normal about the weather and we need to be aware of watering new plants regardless of the season. Obviously not a good idea to water frozen ground, otherwise check it is not dry.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • purplequeennlpurplequeennl Posts: 8
    Uff said:
    I have that rhododendron and I suspect that yours has had a touch of frost. Mine is much worse than yours. Apart from that, your shrub looks lovely and healthy. See mine, taken just now.




    Yeah I think it must be the frost - although we didn't have much this winter - I'm in the Netherlands. Thanks for verifying though. 
  • purplequeennlpurplequeennl Posts: 8
    GardenerSuze said:
    I planted a shrub last Autumn you would have thought with a good winter soak it would be fine this spring. January was very dry and I had to water it then and also again a few weeks ago. Nothing is normal about the weather and we need to be aware of watering new plants regardless of the season. Obviously not a good idea to water frozen ground, otherwise check it is not dry.
    I have been watering regularly throughout Winter when we've had continuous dry weather. Unless the rain is a good long downpour I don't trust it. The last couple of months it has been almost every other day. Fortunately here in the Netherlands they never have water bans. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @purplequeennl I think you are absolutley right not to trust the rain unless it is a good downpour. It has been extremely dry here too. We had hardly any rain here in January.
    I hope you are enjoying the forum.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That's surprising @purplequeennl. I'd have thought your winters would be reasonably wet. Mind you, we had a very, very dry and warm winter here,  for this part of the world, so maybe that's how things could be shaping up in future. 
    I'm sure your rhodo will be fine though. It looks healthy apart from the problem with the flowers  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • purplequeennlpurplequeennl Posts: 8
    The weather here isn't much different from the UK (I'm British). But last year was cold & wet all the way through, especially in May & June. We only had a week or two in August that was dry & hot. Seems to be one extreme to the other. 

    The seasons have shifted. We're more likely to get snow & ice well into March now. I almost lost an Oleander to a sudden cold snap in March last year when it dropped suddenly to -12. I cut all the blackened foliage off & put it in a pot & by the end of the summer I had new sprouts. So this year I covered it when they said it was going to drop down & it's doing fine. 
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