rhodedendrons, you are supposed to remove dead blossoms each year, who does it in the wild and does it matter

Answer 1

I wonder where you heard that. You aren't "supposed" to do anything. Rhodies do just fine with no help from us! Just remember, though, if you are going to prune, it's necessary to do it immediately after bloom finishes - otherwise you'll be cutting off next year's flower buds.

Answer 2

Yes, that is told to people. The idea being - if a flower has set a seed pod, the energy of the plant will go in to ripening that seed pod instead of the following year's flowers.
Same idea / theory as dead heading annuals.
However, most people do not remove the spent flower without damaging the new bud, so it is best to let Nature do it unless you are good at it.

Answer 3

You can dead-head rhododendrons if you choose; it may give you a slightly longer period of blooming if you remove the spent blossoms. In the wild, of course, nobody does it - they simply drop off after their work is done and they have set seed.

Answer 4

I have a huge purple rhododendron at my back door and I do nothing to it. The blooms are left to fall on their own (more natural) and in the wild they do the same thing.

Answer 5

Good question - I hate dead-heading the rhodies every year!