Where is here?????

Hellikki is a very hardy rhododendron from the University of Helsinki in Finland.

Iowa Extension Service says: "Possessing a dense spreading habit, 'Hellikki' ultimately reaches a height of 5 to 6 feet. Flowers are dark violet-red."

Minnesota Extension Service says: "'Hellikki' is hardy to -29�F, has purple-red flowers, and grow upright (4 ft.). It prefers full shade"

Chicago Botanic garden says: "Dark, violet-red flowers on a compact, dense, spreading plant. 5-6'."

Sry, Im up in NW ontario.

Thats the one thing im having trouble finding is the sun requirements. The tag says "full to partial sun", but my limited knowledge of Rhodies, tells me that they usualy dont do well in full sun ( although azalea here likes it, so do the PJM hybrids of Rhodie.

I made the hole a foot wider then the pot, and 6 inches deeper, and put in a 2 ( peat moss) : 1 ( native soil), ratio into the hole. Packed it lightly, and put a small layer of used coffee grounds ( acidify the soil, and a slow fertilizer! ), and I piled on a 2 inch thick layer of pine needles ( my neighbor has an 80 footer, and were elated that i asked for the needles!!!).

It gets some direct sunlight, but is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. But it gets abour 4 - 6 hours of direct sun, in the early morning, and late evening. The area is going to eventualy be planted with acid loving/highly adaptable plants, that like some shaded roots.

Notice, the Minnesota Extension service says it prefers "full shade." Apparently that means it has some sun problems, either sun scald or lacebug. Your location should be OK.

Regarding coffee grounds, a rhododendron nursery in Portland, OR, uses them and reports:

Vicki Molina in Portland, Oregon, reported after using coffee grinds from Starbucks Coffee House for about 18 months that Van Veen Nursery was very satisfied with the results. 1) it helps to aerate their clay soil. 2) slugs don't like to go through. (So you can see they have both mixed in and put on top.) It does help to make the soil more acidic. But it does not replace fertilizer.

They suspect that by making the soil more acidic you are actually helping the uptake of magnesium. This in turn helps iron uptake and that helps to make the plant green. So really you are starting a process not fertilizing. Combine the coffee with horse mature and organic mulch and watch the amount of fertilizer you use decrease dramatically. As for how they apply it, when the plant is dry and just before it rains they sprinkle it on and around. The rain takes it from there. Otherwise they incorporate into the new beds. No exact rate, just cover the top and work it in. (Courtesy of Vicki Molina)

Thanks !

It seems to really like the spot its in. Other then the few leaves that got hit with late frost ( only 5 leaves, nothing big), its growing faster then I expected, although, the leaves arent as dark as I hoped so far ( probably the sun, itll be shaded very soon, im going permaculture style, and its only been 2 years since I really started planting things). IT gets mostly west sun in the evening, but when my blueberry bushes grow ( 5-10 feet!) itll be nice!

As for fert, im staying away from all synthetic fert. I dont have access to any manure ( yet), but im going to end up with 2 feet deep of fresh compost in a few weeks. Im going to put an inch thick layer onm top of the multch I placed at planting, then replaces the multch with leaves/pine needlesd to replicate its pine forest home ( and acidify the soil slowly)

Coffee apperantly releases small amounts of nitrogen as well. probably bot enough to concider it a fert. but enough to concider it an aid ( as u mentioned). I do usualy sprinkle it around my yard. The lilies seem to love it!

I put it directly on the soil, lightly worked it in ( with some pine needles), then put news paper on top of that, and multched with a inch thick layer of needles and other organic multch.

Ive never used any sort of fertilizer with my yard. Synthetic fert kills soil organisms ( which im trying very hard to encourage), not to mention about 70% of it leeches into the ground water, enabling algea blooms.

Thanks alot!

The nitrates in fertilizer are what reduce the beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Nitrates are NOT allowed in certified organic programs.

Organic, meaning from plant sources, and organic, materials permitted in certified organic programs, are two different things.

According to the National Organic Program the following inorganic materials are allowed in certified organic programs:

Bone meal

Rock phosphate

Dolomitic limestone

Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) is allowed

Gypsum (calcium sulfate)

Sulfates are allowed: Ferrous sulfate, magnesium sulfate, potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and sulfates of micronutrients are allowed in certified organic programs.

Sulfur

Here is a link that might be useful: What is organic?