Planting and caring for rhododendrons in spring

Very popular in the west, an ornamental garden plant - rhododendron - began to win the hearts of Russian summer residents. This is actually an unusually spectacular shrub (less often a small tree), whose flowers in beauty are quite capable of competing even with roses. Varieties of rhododendrons there is simply a huge amount. Most of them are preferably planted in the garden in April. About how this operation is performed, as well as what the rhododendron care is in the spring, read on.

Varieties of rhododendrons

This ornamental plant belongs to the heather family. The climate it prefers is humid, temperate. The main varieties of rhododendrons there are three: deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen. The ways of caring for them are practically the same. For the Russian climate, these three types are not bad. The only thing in choosing seedlings should pay attention to the degree of frost resistance. For orchards and gardens in the central part of Russia, it is worth purchasing only those varieties that can withstand a temperature drop of -30 ... -34 ° C.

Planting material

Before you start to figure out how to plant a rhododendron in the spring, let's figure out how to pick the right sort. Most Russian gardeners grow on their sites rhododendrons series Northern Lights, Rustica and KnapHill-Exbury. Very good for our climate is also suitable for Japanese species of this shrub. An excellent solution will be the choice of almost any sort of Finnish selection. Dutch rhododendrons for the Russian climate are almost not suitable.

Quite often in the gardens of domestic owners of suburban areas you can see plants from the group of Katevbin hybrids. The flowers of such rhododendrons are not too large and not particularly bright. However, there are a lot of them on the branches. Shrubs can reach a diameter of 1.4 m and a height of 4 m. The main advantage of such rhododendrons is unpretentiousness and resistance to low temperatures.

Land for planting

The question of how to properly plant a rhododendron in the spring, includes, among other things, the choice of the most suitable plot for him. When deciding exactly where this ornamental shrub will grow , it is necessary to take into account the fact that these plants:

• Do not tolerate direct sunlight. In particular, this applies to evergreen varieties.
• They love sour soils. On neutral rhododendrons will be ill and will not give abundant flowering. Alkaline soils these plants do not tolerate categorically. No, even the most careful care of rhododendrons in spring, summer and autumn results in this case will not.
• They grow well on moist soils, but they do not tolerate water stagnation.
• They can freeze out if in the winter the surface of the earth above the roots is not covered by a thick layer of snow.

Thus, to make the plant feel comfortable at the site, the planting of the rhododendron in spring or at any other time of the year should be carried out under the sprawling crowns of tall trees, in an unsupported place with a high snow cover during the winter period. Very often, these decorative shrubs are also placed next to the fence. Do not choose to plant a rhododendron open place or corner of the house. Strong wind this decorative shrub also does not tolerate.

Choosing the right site, you can grow lush beautiful bushes with bright, effective colors, which do not cause any unnecessary trouble. If the place was initially chosen unsuccessfully, you should not get upset. You can always perform such a procedure as a rhododendron transplant. In the spring, this is best done. But you can move the bush in autumn and even in summer. The transplantation of rhododendrons can withstand very well.

Preparatory work

Under the acquired seedlings in the selected area, dig a hole 40 cm deep and 70 cm wide. At its bottom, drainage is laid. In very dry areas, sometimes the pit under the rhododendron, on the contrary, is pierced with a thin layer of clay, which allows to retain moisture at the roots.

Ordinary garden soil for these plants is completely useless. The soil removed from the pit is removed. Instead, a mixture of top peat and fully decomposed cow manure (3: 1) is used. In this case, the question of how and what to fertilize rhododendrons in the spring, in the first 2-3 years before the owners of the site will not stand. To make top dressing it is not required.

You can also use a mixture of bilberry, half-pereprevshuyu pine bedding, coarse sand and sheet earth (1: 3: 1: 1). To increase the nutrient density in the latter case, when planting it is desirable to add a bucket of decomposed compost to the pit.

How to Plant a Rhododendron in Spring

If the seedling was bought in a container, it is lowered for a day in warm water. This is necessary in order for the root to get wet. Some sellers plant rhododendrons in too tight containers. In this case, a dense crust of dead roots forms on the surface of the coma from all sides. It must be removed or at least cut through in several places. Otherwise, the young roots will not break through it, and the plant will receive few nutrients.

The actual planting of rhododendron in spring is as follows:

• The plant is lowered into a prepared pit.
• Backfill is done in such a way that its root neck is slightly above the surface of the soil.
• The rhododendron planted in this way is mulched with peat or needles and abundantly watered.

The second way of planting

So, we have found out how to properly plant the rhododendron in the spring. The technique described above is used by Russian truck farmers quite often. However, it has one significant drawback. The soil under rhododendrons upon contact with the adjoining soil as a result of various kinds of natural processes begins to leach over time. And this is very harmful for plants. It is necessary either to take any measures to acidify the soil, or even perform an operation such as rhododendron transplantation (in the spring or autumn). Therefore, the owners of summer cottages often arrange special high beds for rhododendrons. On the selected site, the soil is removed to a depth of 30 cm. Further along the perimeter of the pit, wooden sidewalls are installed. Fill the bottom of the resulting "box" with a small pebble for the device of drainage. The highest seedbed is filled with a prepared acidic soil mixture. The actual landing is carried out in the usual way.

When to fertilize

Now let's figure out what to feed the rhododendrons in the spring. Fertilize this decorative shrubbery very carefully. For the first time, fertilizing is done for 2-3 years of plant life. Early in the spring, mineral fertilizers are added to the near-barrel circle - a mixture of ammonium sulphate and potassium with superphosphate at the rate of 2: 1: 1. About 80 g of this additional fertilizer should go to a square meter. Old planting can be further fertilized with organic. It is best to use rotted manure or compost in the amount of one bucket per bush. Mulch, most experienced gardeners do not recommend fertilizing rhododendrons.

Additional top dressing

In late May - early June, the second feeding of rhododendrons is carried out. In the spring, therefore, bushes are fertilized twice. The second time the same mineral mixture is used, but in smaller quantities (about half).

The next time fertilizers are introduced into the soil in the summer - in July. In this case, also phosphorus-potassium fertilizer is used. Nitrogen fertilizer in summer and autumn is not used. Such fertilizers cause an increased growth of shoots due to the development of flower buds.

Care for rhododendrons in spring

Remove the shelter from the rhododendrons after wintering immediately after a positive temperature on the street. You need to perform this operation on a cloudy day. Immediately substitute the shoots of this ornamental plant under the sun's rays can not. It is desirable for some time to leave the shelter on the south side.

To melt the ground, and the roots began to intensively absorb nutrients, the mulch from the near-trunk circle should be scraped out. It is not allowed to allow meltwater to stay at the trunk for a long time. It must also be scrapped. Further, according to the method described above, the top dressing of rhododendrons is carried out. In the spring, after the thawed waters come off, the plants begin to water periodically. Use only warm, sun-warmed water.

Pruning rhododendrons in the spring is usually not done, because they do not tolerate this operation very well. If you want to give a bush a round or oval shape, the branches in the right places are shortened in two seasons - in the first year on one side, in the second on the other.

In the evergreen varieties after wintering, some leaves can acquire a brown color. They need to be removed, since they will not be restored. Cut also the frozen shoots.

Rhododendrons - the plants are quite hardy, and even if you think that the bush is completely frozen, you should not rush it. The plant should be watered for a while. And then, quite possibly, new shoots will appear on it. The most unpretentious varieties after the unsuccessful wintering are completely restored by the fall. How to feed the rhododendrons in the spring, you already know. Pour a little mineral fertilizer under the bush. This will help him gain strength and cope with the damage.

Features of watering

Thus, the care of rhododendrons in the spring consists in abundant top dressing and watering. The last operation should be done correctly. If the soil under the rhododendrons is constantly moistened with ordinary water, after a few years it will begin to leach. To prevent this, use table vinegar (half a glass per bucket) or citric acid (4 g). In hot spring days, plants need not only watered, but also sprayed.

Transplant to a new place

Sometimes it happens that the plant withers and blooms for some reason. In this case, you can try to transfer it to a more suitable place. The question of how to transplant the rhododendron in the spring is absolutely not complicated. The procedure is as follows:

• The plant is undermined from all sides, trying not to damage the roots.
• Take out the bush and transfer it to a previously prepared pit.
• Sprinkle with acidic roots so that the neck remains on the surface.
• Mulch the plant, water it and shade it on the south side.

If everything is done neatly, the transplant rhododendrons may not even be noticed.

So, we with you have found out, how it is carried out for such plant, as a rhododendron, leaving in the spring. Feeding, pruning and watering - procedures at this time of year are mandatory. The plant is not particularly whimsical, but it is still necessary to observe certain rules when growing it. If you do not violate the technology (properly prepare the soil, make fertilizers on time and make watering with acidified water), the bushes will delight the eyes of the owners of the site with lush bloom for many years.