One of the most beautiful shrubs you can have in your own garden is the rhododendron. Is your shrub having problems flowering? Does it have buds that aren't opening or hasn't there been a flowering phase for quite some time? Why is my rhododendron not blooming?
Aside from its gorgeous flowers, it also decorates our outdoor area every year with its beautiful leaves and is particularly effective as a solitary plant. Nevertheless, with all the care you naturally want to be rewarded with flowers. What can you do?
Most often it is a care error or unfavorable location conditions that prevent the plant from producing its flowers. Check the following points to find out what might be the problem in your case.
Is it actually blooming season?
Are you sure the shrub should even be blooming right now? Depending on the variety, the flowering time can vary relatively significantly. Some bloom at the beginning of April, others not until June and others sometime in between. So, do some research on this before you worry. Maybe you're just in too much of a hurry.
Clay soils make it difficult for the shrub
Rhododendron bushes have very sensitive roots that are unable to fight through heavy soil or at least have a very difficult time with it. Is yoursGarden soil, however, clayey, this could be a reason for the lack of flowers. Even if you have always had flowers in your garden in previous years, they can suddenly stop working.
A rhododendron enjoys more permeable, sandy soil, which ideally also contains a little humus.
How do they solve the problem?
Either you find a more suitable place for the plant or youimprove the soil. To do this, plant the rhododendron, work enough humus into the soil around the planting hole and the excavated soil and reinsert the plant.
Why is my rhododendron not blooming – It could be due to lack of light
As you know, full sun is no picnic for the flowering shrub. But that doesn't mean you should turn it dark straight away. In order to be able to form flowers, sufficient sun and light are still necessary. Additionally, too much shade leads to an increased risk of fungal infestation.
Watch the sun move on a day off. Does the shrub get a few hours of sunshine?Partial shade is optimal, but if it turns out that the lack of flowering is due to lack of light, you should fix the problem.
What can you do?
Replant the rhododendron! To do this, choose a location that allows a few rays of sunshine to fall on it either in the morning and/or evening or, even better, a place under a light shade (e.g. under a tree whose branches and twigs allow the sun to shine through).
If you prune incorrectly, the plant will not produce flower buds
What beginners in particular sometimes don't know is that there are plants that develop their buds in the previous season. If you cut them off in autumn or spring, the flowers are also gone for the new yearMy beautiful gardenexplained.
How do you proceed from now on?
This year there is nothing you can do to save this year's flowers. But maybe you're lucky and a few of the buds still remain on the bush. But from now on you shouldcut at the right timeand this is immediately after the flowers have faded and before the plant has set its buds.
Lack of nutrients robs the rhododendron bush of strength
And that not only makes it more susceptible to disease and pest infestation. Flower formation also comes to a halt because it ultimately demands enormous strength from the plant. Is your rhododendron no longer blooming even though there were no problems before? Then the earth may be exhausted by now.
What should fertilization look like?
Nitrogen stimulates the growth of the green parts of the plant, but disadvantages the formation of flowers. For this reason the shouldselected fertilizeralso contain sufficient phosphate and potassium, which is found in special rhododendron fertilizers. Other slow-release fertilizers that contain these nutrients are also suitable.
The rhododendron does not bloom despite buds
Have you enjoyed flower buds that made you look forward to the flowering phase even more, but they still didn't bloom or even died? This cannot be due to the above reasons, because then there would have been no buds in the first place.
There's a pest,the cicada, which targets the buds and infects them with a fungal disease. You can recognize the infestation when the flower buds turn gray and dry out. At the same time, at a certain point they are also covered in black mold.
The solution to the problem?
The blooms probably can't be saved this year, but they can reduce the risk of future infestation. To do this, remove the affected buds, but throw them awaynotin the compost, but in normal household waste. Next season it is best to hang up yellow panels to prevent an infestation by luring the pests away. The use of a control agent for prevention is also recommended. However, this should not be harmful to crops and livestock.
All of the possible causes mentioned also apply if a rhododendron in a container no longer blooms and can be remedied in the same way.
