Latin: Rhododendron Catawbiense 'Grandiflorum'
Swedish: Parkrododendron
English: Rhododendron Catawbiense 'Grandiflorum'
Purchased at Plantagen quite a few years ago
This plant requires sour soil and is therefore to be planted in peat. At the beginning we actually dug a hole and filled it with peat only. Reading about this plant, you are supposed to really only have peat in the area.
And the hole should also be rather large, otherwise the plant will grow well until the roots reach the "normal soil" and then stop feeling well. Which is more or less what happened here.
One other issue with this plant (and also this I found out the hard way) is that you really have to water it properly in Spring time. Being an evergreen plant that never looses its leaves, it has quite a large area (all the leaves) to evaporate water through. When it is not humid in the ground and maybe also is rather frozen in the soil, the sun will burn the leaves and for that matter also the blossoms/potential blossoms.
This year only a few rather small blossoms bloomed. But it was never how it should be. This is when the shrub had its maximum period of flowering this Spring. Not much indeed.
I will try again next year with watering at an earlier stage of the Spring. A lot of sources recommend covering the leaves with tissue to avoid evaporation. I personally do not feel it looks very good so I do hope watering will do it.
This year we have actually refurbished the area around the rhododendron as we felt it was not very practical as it was. The grass (especially the couch grass) could not keep away and grew in together with the plant all the time. In a few days after removal, it was there again. Furthermore, it is said that grass takes away nutrition from the plant itself. So we decided to do a whole flower bed for peat plants. We removed a whole deal of ground and refilled it with peat. The plant seems to have recharged its powers since then. Maybe with good watering, we'll have some enjoyable blooming next year?!
Producer's information
Normal watering and fertilizing
Distance to other plants: 3m
Height: 2,5m
Prefers half shady to shady location.
Blooms in May-June
Winter hardy up to Swedish zone 5
Swedish: Parkrododendron
English: Rhododendron Catawbiense 'Grandiflorum'
Purchased at Plantagen quite a few years ago
 |
| 7/6-2011 |
This plant requires sour soil and is therefore to be planted in peat. At the beginning we actually dug a hole and filled it with peat only. Reading about this plant, you are supposed to really only have peat in the area.
 |
| 7/6-2011 |
One other issue with this plant (and also this I found out the hard way) is that you really have to water it properly in Spring time. Being an evergreen plant that never looses its leaves, it has quite a large area (all the leaves) to evaporate water through. When it is not humid in the ground and maybe also is rather frozen in the soil, the sun will burn the leaves and for that matter also the blossoms/potential blossoms.
This year only a few rather small blossoms bloomed. But it was never how it should be. This is when the shrub had its maximum period of flowering this Spring. Not much indeed.
 |
| 31/5-2011 |
 |
| 2/7-2011 |
Producer's information
Normal watering and fertilizing
Distance to other plants: 3m
Height: 2,5m
Prefers half shady to shady location.
Blooms in May-June
Winter hardy up to Swedish zone 5
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