Mid-Atlantic Gardening: PLANT ADDICT'S CHAT #1, 2 by Muddy1

Muddy1 wrote:

Sequoiadendron4 wrote:
Muddy, why do you have to cut back your Grandiflorum? A 12' tall rhodie is a good dream of mine :) I can't wait until my Rhododendron 'Maximum' gets that tall.

My short answer: because it's falling over! I was kidding about cutting it down to 6'. I'll probably cut one limb to 5-6' and the rest to 8-10.
I'm all for tall shrubs too - I never pruned as they grew, which was part of the problem! Here is the Rhodo in question. During its formative years, it didn't get enough sun, and so it grew towards it. It also started to lean over due to the torrents of water from our neighbors' yard (its base is about 8" below the fenceline). It gets more sun now and bloomed for the first time this year.

The second photo shows the big gap I'm dealing with. That's Doublefile Viburnum 'Mariesii' on the left. I cut down 4 Cherry Laurels that were the same height as the Viburnum and Rhododendrons...2 stumps dug up, 2 to go.

That's my 'Cunningham's White' on the far right. It grows taller than my house if I don't prune it, and that doesn't look so great; it throws off the proportions. The tag on this plant said it was supposed to grow to 4' tall - obviously it couldn't read!

This message was edited May 24, 2014 7:26 PM