I planted this rhododendren (catawbiense) on the west side of my house last june. It didn't look happy and had lots of burnt leaves so i replanted it into a pot last week and put it on the north side of my house. I trimmed out the brown leaves and in just this week it put out lots of new growth, lots of light green leaves but it only has one flower bud.

I'm in zone 5b, should i have use some winter protection on this rhodie? too much sun? Can i leave it in the pot or need to plant it into the ground? i dont have any flower beds on the north side of the house... i have west and south, and on the north side of the house my flower bed is against the fence, so technically south.

If i leave it in the pot, can i put on my porch so at least it gets some protection from the elements of winter?

thanks