lizzie Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 My rhododendron bush is blooming. Anyone else have blooms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipcat Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 It is flowering? Ours was done in spring. I do have a question though. When is the best time to cut them back. Ours is really big and covering the front of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Wow, how nice! Some plants that normally only bloom in the spring will bloom again in the fall if the conditions are really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I have two azaleas blooming now. I think it is the strange weather we had this summer with the wild fluctuations in temperature. Confused everything. Rhodys should be pruned in the spring right after they bloom. Don't take them down to far or they might not bloom in the spring. These bushes look best with as little pruning as you can get away with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsywannabe Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 If you do have to prune them, please don't prune them into ball shapes. Try to keep a natural shape to them by pruning the longest "arms" first to a length shorter than the short ones. Rhodos have a lovely shape naturally and those, like the forsythias, should never be pruned with hedge clippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 The little bundle of leaves at the tip of each branch is next year's flowers. If you cut them all off, you will have no blooms next spring. However, you could do as the last poster recommended and only cut off the longest branches, leaving the leaf bundles on the shorter ones to bloom. You willl only have half as many flowers, but you will also have a smaller bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracy96 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My mother in law had a problem with deer eating her Rhododendron bushes so she placed pieces of left over used bar soap around them. This has been working for years now. Just wanted to share this tip w/everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I've used soap and had it work. What kind does she use? It seems to me that there were only a couple of kinds that were supposed to work. Life Buoy (sp?) was one, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracy96 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I think she uses Dove. I use Irish Spring. I don't think it matters but the stronger scented is probably better I would think. I also heard you could use human hair clippings but don't know if it works. We just save our soap when it gets really small instead of throwing it away. It sure beats buying expensive products that may or may not work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Good to know. Life Buoy was had to find. We also use ammonia too. It works better on groundhogs and coons. I don't know about the hair. They sure aren't scared of it when it is on my head. ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My daffodils are up about 2-3 inches. Spring should be just around the corner down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracy96 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Haaaaa Lavender! That was funny! And to Snellma ...as soon as I decide to wade through the snow I'm gonna check my daffodils. Thanks b/c I would of never thought they'd be up yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I don't want to see daffodils until April! They had buds on them in the middle of winter last year. I'm pretty sure not much in that patch bloomed later. I should have picked them and brought them in. Lucky, Snellma! I don't think that spring is just around the corner in DuBois. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Punxy Phil will soon tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracy96 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Oh Snellma, Silly me...I forgot you're from SC. Good thing I didn't get the snow shovel out to take a look yet....LMAO There's probably about 4 inches of snow to dig through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Tracy - yours might be hiding under all that snow but I think it may be a little while yet. Me, on the other hand, has to start thinking about getting the garden tilled. Cold weather veggies have to go in the ground about mid Feb. down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Punxy Phil will soon tell you. Just so I don't see Phil in my garden he is OK. Miserable rodents eat everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Just so I don't see Phil in my garden he is OK. Miserable rodents eat everything! Get one of those trail cams so you can catch whomever in action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 And once I have the evidence I can have him arrested for veggienapping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Tracy, thanks for the tip on the soap. I'll give it a try this year. I'm wondering if it'll work around my hostas? Weird, I've had my hostas for probably 10 years now. They were planted on just one side of my house and the deer never touched them. Over the last two years we've been working on landscaping. We dug up the hostas and replanted them along the front of our house along with some other plants. Now, the deer are eating them to the ground! They also chomped down my Russian Sage. Little buggers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 The very best way to get rid of deer from a specific area is to install a motion activated water sprinkler. You have to raise it off of the ground about 4 feet, but deer hate surprises and this will work every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Tracy, thanks for the tip on the soap. I'll give it a try this year. I'm wondering if it'll work around my hostas? Weird, I've had my hostas for probably 10 years now. They were planted on just one side of my house and the deer never touched them. Over the last two years we've been working on landscaping. We dug up the hostas and replanted them along the front of our house along with some other plants. Now, the deer are eating them to the ground! They also chomped down my Russian Sage. Little buggers! If it keeps your deer away from other things it will keep them away from the hostas as well but deer do love hostas. They cleaned mine up every year just as they were flowering until I moved them closer to the house. They still eat the ones in front that are under an apple tree but so far they haven't found the ones to the side or the ones at the back. The back ones will probably be toast next year as we have a deer right up under the back window this winter. Too bad, they are my exotic ones. I ordered a new black one and a blue one last year from a co-op when we redid the Reitz. They were allegedly less expensive. Huh! Sum and Substance grows there too. It is my favorite and huge. Snellma, do hostas grow in South Caroline? We have relatives that say they won't grow in Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 If it keeps your deer away from other things it will keep them away from the hostas as well but deer do love hostas. They cleaned mine up every year just as they were flowering until I moved them closer to the house. They still eat the ones in front that are under an apple tree but so far they haven't found the ones to the side or the ones at the back. The back ones will probably be toast next year as we have a deer right up under the back window this winter. Too bad, they are my exotic ones. I ordered a new black one and a blue one last year from a co-op when we redid the Reitz. They were allegedly less expensive. Huh! Sum and Substance grows there too. It is my favorite and huge. Snellma, do hostas grow in South Caroline? We have relatives that say they won't grow in Texas. Well, I'm definitely going to give soap a try and cross my fingers that it works. If not, I'll look into the sprinkler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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