Spring officially kicks off Saturday, March 20, and if you’re like me, every tree, shrub and perennial that starts to flower is an event. The subtle colors of winter are behind us. Bring on the colors of the rainbow.
Rhododendrons are one of spring’s showstoppers. Huge, rounded clusters of stunning blossoms in lavender, red, purple, white, pink and even yellow and gold clothe these shrubs with color. You can have flowers from February to late May by choosing different varieties, and rhododendrons are easy to grow if you give them what they need.
Because rhododendrons like air in the root zone, amend your soil liberally with organic matter — 50 to 60 percent is not too much. If you garden in clay, just plant them in raised beds or berms 1 or 2 feet above the original soil level.
Rhododendrons like moist soil, too, so top-dress around your plants with several inches of mulch over the root zone, making sure the stem is not buried. Pine needles, oak leaves or wood chips are good choices. Never cultivate around the plants, because this would injure the surface roots.
Finally, most rhodies thrive in partial shade or morning sun. The hot afternoon sun we get during the summer would burn even those varieties that tolerate some sun. Because leaves remain on the plant for several years, you’d have to live with burnt leaf centers and edges for a long time if they got too much sun.
There are thousands of rhododendron varieties. By planting early, midseason and late-blooming types, you can enjoy those huge, gorgeous flowers for months.
Cheer is one showy, early blooming rhododendron. Large pink flower trusses cover the 5-by-5-foot plant. It would be a good candidate if you have one of those gardens that receives an hour or so of afternoon sun.
For April blooms, consider Edith Bosley. Similar to Purple Splendor, it grows upright to 6 feet tall but only 4 feet wide — perfect for narrow spaces.
Other midseason bloomers that would make a splash in the garden include Golden Gate, a 3-foot compact orange hybrid, and the easy-to-grow, red-flowering Jean Marie de Montegue.
To extend your season, add some late varieties, like Lee’s Dark Purple. Growing with a spreading habit to 4 feet tall by 5 feet wide, you’ll love its blue-purple flowers. Anah Kruschke also blooms late in spring, with lavender-pink blossoms on a dense 5-by-5-foot shrub. A tough, undemanding larger variety is English Roseum. It grows 6 feet tall, with lavender pink flowers and blooms in May.
Rhododendrons are long-lived and deer-resistant in the woodland or shade garden. I’ve only heard two gardeners tell me deer ate some of their flower buds last fall for the moisture content. I guess those deer couldn’t read well enough to understand the deer-resistant list!
• Jan Nelson, a California certified nursery professional at Plant Works in Ben Lomond, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at [email protected].
