HELP!! My Rhododendron may be dying.?

Question

Some of the leaves have already turned brown. The remaining have yellow lines/spots in them. The plant is planted against the back of my house. It has a little morning sun but is mostly in the shade. Thanks for any ideas ;o)

Answer 1

It is perfectly normal for rhododendrons to drop the OLDEST LOWER leaves each year in late summer or earlier during drought conditions - not an indication anything is wrong.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/azalea/msg0818595222396.html?1

If this happened much earlier in the growing season or includes all the leaves:
"Most common reason for yellowing of rhodo leaves is: shortage of nitrogen. Solution: add fish fertilizer 5-2-3 or Miracid 30-10-10.

Yellowing can also indicate a shortage of magnesium. Solution: use Epsom salts...15 milliliters to 4 liters of water. If this doesn't solve the problem, use chelated iron."
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/brown/sciscan/rhododendrons/ran0401/plants.htm

Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

check out www.gardenweb.com

Navigate to the section about Rhodo's and read some of the posts. If you don't find an answer, the people there are very friendly, just sign up and ask a question. I usually gett a response within 24 hrs.

Sounds like it may be getting too much water or needs more space. Or maybe someone dumped chemicals near it. (like soapy mop water, or car wash soap)

good luck!

Answer 3

I just went to our special garden store in town two days ago to get advice. Mine is acting a bit odd this year. They told me to sprinkle an acid based fertilizer around the base of the plant. You can get it anywhere. Same as used for azalias. Water to soak it in. Now is the only time of the year to do this. It is making its buds for next year. They said they are falling dorment now so some change is expected. Happy gardening to you. I love all of the beautiful things in my yard. Good luck.