Rhododendron & Japanese Azaleas

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

The new neighbors that moved in started digging up their landscaping yesterday so I went over and took the plants they were throwing away. There were 3 sheared azaleas with the insides completely dead and one rhododendron (not sure what kind, never seen the blooms) had been sheared (what a crime against nature!) and had died back to the ground, re-sprouting from the stump. They actually managed to get a good deal of the root mass with all of these shrubs, so I gladly took them. I trimmed out dead wood and re-sheared to retain the round shape that I would like to keep. I have planted them, and they are looking ok so far. Here are my questions:

Can I shear without them dying out from the inside?

How much water would they need? (I gave them about 1 gallon each)

What is the likelihood that they will live?

The american azalea society says early fall is a good time to transplant them. The soil is a clay-loam mix, different than the rest of the yard. They are in part shade (about 7 hours of sun per day). I can provide pictures tomorrow if needed.

Featured Answer

bluesanne

9 years ago

Rhodies are usually fairly easy to transplant, at least in the northwest. Back in the late 50s, when my father was building our house (prior to my birth), a friend told him of some gigantic rhodies being torn out for the widening of the highway on Mt. Hood. They had been bulldozed out of the ground and left in a heap. My father got several and planted them in the new garden, which was at that time in full sun. They are now in shade, and are still thriving.

I rehabilitated a damaged, misshapen rhododendron when we bought our property. The first year I pruned 1/3 of the total shrub, removing bent and broken branches. The following year I removed another 1/3 for selective reshaping. I would have continued along this path the third year, but by then the shrub had a nice, natural form, so I let it be. It is now gorgeous.

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Comments (9)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A wholesale nursery in my town used to take plants with damage such as winter kill to the local dump AKA transfer station. We would bring them home and plant them. I think that about 3/4 of them survived just fine, so I would expect that more than half will survive, especially if the fine roots didn't have a chance to dry out.

I usually try to plant shrubs of the appropriate size for the spot so that they don't need pruning other than to remove the occasional crossed or damaged branch, and I don't think that aesthetically azaleas and rhodies are improved by shearing to a globe shape. If you decide to prune them, timing is essential to not remove the following year's flower bud. Any pruning should be done shortly after bloom ends.
Logan L Johnson
Original Author
9 years ago
Size isn't the issue, I just like the globe shape (for the azaleas, not
rhododendron). I have another that I have had for 2 years I usually
remove 1/4 of the growth when I shear into a rectangle. It always blooms
in the spring, but never fall. The root mass was almost the exact
amount as the crown, so I did remove some by shearing into the round
shape. I will take some pictures tomorrow. The roots had soil on them,
and sat from 7:00PM yesterday to about 4:00PM today. I watered them
thoroughly after planting.
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cecily
9 years ago
Shrubs that are repeatedly sheared over a period of years become hollow. The azaleas will probably live. Transplanting rhodies is a little trickier and I wouldn't bet on that one.
Logan L Johnson
Original Author
9 years ago
They are all looking good so far, not a droopy leaf.
Logan L Johnson
Original Author
9 years ago
I can't wait to see this one bloom, it looks like it is growing flower buds but it could just be more leaves. Regarding the shearing of azaleas, how can I keep them full (stop them from getting holes in them)?
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
9 years ago
Do as Bluesanne suggested pruning individual stems. Don't shear.
cecily
9 years ago
Any shrub that you shear repeatedly over a period of years will get hollow/holes. Trim individual stems. Bluesanne said it, Babs said it, I said it. Will you listen?
Logan L Johnson
Original Author
9 years ago
Ok, so by pruning individual stems can a gradually produce a round shrub? I thought these would go good with my loropetalums, burning bush, juniperus virginiana, elaeagnus umbellata,etc. It isn't exactly a "formal" garden so it doesn't have to be perfect.