How to Plant Rhododendrons in Your Landscape: Garden Tips | Early Season Garden Tour 

Haha, thanks Steph!

Yep, just slowly add more at a rate you can manage and you’ll have a spectacular garden in a few years.

To save money and get more identical plants, you can just trim faded flowers and remove lower leaves to root them in sand or fit bark like he uses. I filled a leaky birdbath with sand and peony cuttings this weekend and know I will have 20+ more bushes by the fourth of July

Thumbs up! 👍

Awesome! You can't go wrong with this plant. Enjoy your new rhododendrons and all the blooms they will bring for decades to come.

I have a new favorite every day at this point, lol

What are you up to?

Glad it was helpful. I made a video a few years ago in which I actually planted a new bed. Not sure you've seen it yet but here it is: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--kL8n0_cH2s.html Maybe there's more in there that can help you. Now, I actually mixed some wood chips in with the soil in this one and it worked out great, but the operative idea is that there's soil mixed in so it's heavier medium and I'm not just planting in wood chips. I just filmed another tour and showed this bed now and it's thriving. I planted a bunch of Loderi King George in it and mention that to you in the video so you can see how they look. I'll try to get that video up faster.

Yep, working on the mid season now. It's amazing how much is blooming right now! Lots of yellow and orange.

Awesome! I'm sure it will bring you joy for years to come.

Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Good luck!

You’re very welcome.

Thanks Glenda! Just wait until you see the next tour I'm working on now.

Thanks so much, glad you enjoy them Jesus.

Happy to inspire!

Thanks! Just wait until you see the one I'm working on.

Just wait until you see what I filmed last evening. We’ve got ten times the blooms now!

Yes they do!

Hey, what's up! Good to hear from you. Miss seeing you around but hopefully you've moved on to greener pastures. Glad you enjoy the videos. Yep, plants are my passion!

Sweet! They’re the king of landscape plants. Theres a reason they’re planted in just about every botanical garden around the world.

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for sharing your experience with them. I'd love to visit that part of the world someday and see all the well established gardens you guys have.

Haha, I believe it! Hope I live long enough to see that here.

@@MikeKincaid79 I think you will, your grass will be gone and you will have tunnels where it once was. You may need a tower to enjoy all the beauty. Those things spread wider than they grow tall!

Lol, funny you mention tunnels because the paths are already getting encroached upon and I've often thought that I'd be walking through tunnels of them someday. There is a rhododendron nursery a few hours north of us called Chimicum Woods (he has a website). His rhododendrons are really old and some are 30 feet tall!

@@MikeKincaid79 That nursery sounds really interesting! I will have to look it up. Just a thought, you could use cattle pannels to create arches to train the rhodies over when they are about 4' apart.

My day wouldn't be complete without a little wordsmithing from mark.

Definitely will make for some stunning backdrops.

They like to grow in lots of organic matter too, so mulch heavily around them after planting. The roots tend to be more shallow and are fine hair like roots, so they like growing into cool and moist mulch.

She's a nice one!

You're welcome! I'm working on the next tour video and it's full of yellows and oranges.

@@MikeKincaid79 😎

Yes! Lem’s Cameo is the parent of many rhododendrons. That Tahitian Dawn and the Horizon Lakeside are 2 I don’t have and now you’ve sent me on another mission 😂. I have to have them! I may have a Fire Rim in a 1 gallon pot if you’re interested.

They are! Wait until you see the current tour I'm putting together.

@@MikeKincaid79 😯

Always great to see you, Camelia. Just wait until you see the next tour. The blooms exploded with color really fast this year and there are a ton of oranges and yellows.

That is really cool and I’m glad you shared it with me. Gardening is a huge and amazing hobby. I aspire to create my own rhododendron crosses one day. Thank you and keep being an inspiration to younger gardeners like me.

The branches touching the ground isn't a problem, that's just nature. The branches on the ground will actually root and form new plants so that's really the only concern. Believe it or not, I pruned all of these beds up about halfway a few years ago. They've all grown back so much that you can't even tell. Pretty cool!

Nice! Lol

Right now is a perfect time, as long as they have good roots. They will have all summer to get established on their own roots. I like to prune back the top so that the new roots don't have as much plant to support in the beginning. Also, keep them in a shaded location through the first summer.

Thanks for your support! Rhododendron cuttings are best taken as semi-hardwood cuttings in August and then rooted on bottom heat outdoors all winter.

​@@MikeKincaid79 What soil temp do you aim for? I have some native rhododendron and flame azalea I'd like to attempt to grow.

Love reg wiggler worms

@@MikeKincaid79 Before I add the worms to a new setup, (worm bin) I add mushroom mycelium to the cardboard that is at field capacity and I let it incubate for a couple of weeks and the cardboard is covered in white growth. Every couple of days I will mix up the bin to insure good air circulation. At the end of the process I add my little buddies and then I stand back and watch at the results. (Amazing results in a few days of what the worms will do) . You will know something good is taking place, because you will see BSF in the area.

We'll get to it. I made one last year too if you want to see it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L8taTRdN_W0.html

I don’t have one but think I’ve seen it. Is that a dark maroon color?

Yes

Probably the closest thing I have is 'Black Magic'. "Black Widow' is fairly dark as well.

If I was able to root one easily... I don't have good luck even with your methods. I would send you one. If you were in Alabama I would say come grab you some clippings.

?

Milk Kefir Grains 6 minutes of reading Where does milk kefir come from? To reach us, this famous fermented milk has crossed the ages and many adventures. The First Traces of Kefir Milk kefir has been around for several thousand years. Its oldest traces were found in a 4,000-year-old tomb located in the Xiohe region of China. Kefir was therefore consumed in the ancient world! Throughout the ages, kefir has reportedly been prized and consumed by many cultures around the globe. However, according to several historians, milk kefir has reached us today thanks to its great importance to the peoples of the North Caucasus. More than 2,000 years ago, this region between Russia and Georgia was populated by nomadic mountain people, who raised herds of goats and cattle for their milk. We tend to forget it, but fresh milk has a very short shelf life. Without a refrigerator, the best way to store it is to ferment it. The nomads of the Caucasus fermented their milk in leather skins with kefir grains. Kefir was part of their daily life: when the shepherds took kefir from the bottles, they added new fresh milk to it, to make kefir continuously. This technique was passed down from generation to generation. Back then, kefir grains were very valuable and part of family heirlooms. Kefir Grains: a Divine Gift? According to legends, the kefir grains were given as a gift to the Karachai people by the Prophet Muhammad himself. It is no wonder that they are attributed a divine origin. Kefir grains, also called “seeds of the prophet”, have almost magical powers: they transform milk into a healthy, safe and fortifying product that can be kept longer than the original product. Kefir grains are true magicians! From a scientific point of view, kefir grains are said to have formed from adding and removing milk in bottles of animal skins. The microorganisms in raw milk and those in the bottles would, eventually, have formed a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria in the form of small gelatinous grains. Therein lies the magic of kefir grains: no one through the ages has succeeded in recreating kefir grains artificially. To create kefir grains, you absolutely need… kefir grains! The grains were born from chance, and then perpetuated through time. The kefir grains were long kept secret by the peoples of the Caucasus. According to their beliefs, the grains would lose their “magical” powers if their existence were revealed to outsiders. To talk about it, or worse, to give it away, was to commit a religious crime and to risk destroying an ancient tradition. Russia Wants to Unravel the Secret: Espionage and Seduction During the 14th century, Russian researchers began to take an interest in the remarkable longevity of Caucasian mountain people. Some doctors attributed this vitality to kefir, and they obtained it to test on patients. The earliest scientific studies of the time declared that kefir helped treat many illnesses such as digestive disorders and tuberculosis. However, it was very difficult to obtain kefir, and Russian scientists could not reproduce it. They lacked the “magic” ingredient: kefir grains. It was impossible to get their hands on it! A procession of doctors entrusted the mission of obtaining kefir grains to one person - Irina Sakharova. This young woman, barely 20, graduated with full honours from a renowned cheese school, and won awards for developing a unique method of making butter. And as a bonus: she was gorgeous. The young woman was sent to spy in the court of Prince Karachai, Bek-Mirza Barchorov. Her mission? To charm the prince, so he would offer her kefir grains and the secret to ferment kefir. Simple, right? Irina Sakharova and Bek-Mirza Barchorov Sakharova and Barchorov, May 5, 1908 The prince was indeed seduced. During her stay, Sakharova received flowers and gifts of all kinds, and the prince never took his eyes off her during the celebrations. The young woman took advantage of this attention and insisted that he offer her some precious kefir grains. However, given the religious ban on sharing kefir grains with foreigners, Barchorov refused to reveal his secret. Sakharova returned home empty-handed. However, on the way back, she was captured (!) by the prince’s men and brought back to her court. The prince wanted to marry her. Sakharova obviously refused the marriage. She contacted those who had sent her on espionage to try to get her out of this mess. The affair reverberated through the course of Czar Nicholas II. The rejected prince was forced to offer compensation for his actions, risking disturbing relations between the two peoples. He offered jewellery, gold and treasures, but Sakharova refused. She had a mission to fulfill, and did not intend to fail. Under the order of the Czar, and at the sustained demands of Sakharova, the prince had to hand over the kefir grains to her. In 1908, Irina Sakharova brought the first grains of milk kefir to Russia. After Russia, the World! Kefir quickly spread in Russia. At first, it was used in sanatoriums to treat the sick. By the 1930s it was marketed on a large scale and quickly became everyday food, as common as eggs or bread. Now, milk kefir is produced all over the world. It can be found under many names: Tibetan mushroom, prophet’s seeds, snow lotus, kewra, talai, galodium, tara, etc. Many cultures have adopted kefir and incorporated it into their diets. Mike, I hope you found this interesting. I could go on about Kefir for hours, but the North Caucasus people figured out how to take the fermented milk and mix it with the root of the Rhododendron and I'll let you research the results of drinking this mixture after the milk grains changed it's roots property's. Mike I was able to obtain my kefir grains in the UAE. Now you can obtain over the internet but beware of not getting the real white milk grains that look like cottage cheese .

I use the same fertilizer for all my plants. It's a commercial fertilizer that's specifically formulated for acid loving plants like azalea and rhododendrons. Here's a video all about it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F5BRZwFEe50.html And here's a video that's more in depth about the different types of fertilizers I use: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ob8tdCoi6kk.html

@@MikeKincaid79 Many thanks!

Yes! Plant lots of hosta and hydrangea. Flowering dogwoods (pink and white) are wonderful companion trees. The trees will bloom with the rhododendrons but the hosta and hydrangea will bloom the remainder of the summer. For more color, you can have a few dahlia gardens around and maybe some black eyed susans.

I'm in 8b as well, but I'm not familiar with your weather down there. If it's really hot and the sun is intense in the summer, then I'd plant them in shade and make sure they get plenty of water. I would think azaleas are more suited to your area than rhododendrons but, again, I'm unfamiliar with your area. And yes, azaleas are in the genus Rhododendron.

I’ll get you some. I take them in August so remind me. I can work on rooting some for you of if you have a propagation setup, send some cuttings.

@@MikeKincaid79 I don’t have full set up with (reliable) bottom heat. To cold outside, too warm/dry inside. And I practice the crud out of your techniques, but I won’t pretend I can do a Rhodie yet. I’ve set a reminder. 👍🏼

Yeah, just help me help you, lol. Remind me and I'll get some cuttings going.

Hey brother It’s August 1st. Just a reminder here. If you have a few minutes between your new home and the 3,791 other chores you do daily 😉 BTW, sent you a Facebook message with the same thing. But it came from my legal name.

There are several varieties with that fuzzy underside but they are unusual. Many of them descend from the species 'bureavii', which has the same fuzziness. I also have some with a silver fuzz underneath. You named off many beautiful varieties and I would agree that they are some of the nicest. You have good taste! As far as planting under big trees, the best advice I can give is to water well for the first 5 or more years until they get very well established and also much with a deep layer of mulch, like 6 inches. Try not to plant too close to a tree trunk. It would be better if it were planted out closer to the drip line of the tree.

You're in luck! We live in almost identical conditions. I live about 30 minutes east of Mt. Rainier, just below you.

Haha perfect..I will pay closer attention now !!

Yes, that will absolutely affect it. I have Dreamland and it's an absolutely gorgeous variety once it gets established and gets some size on it. I think it prefers a little more shade and needs to get established. Stick with it and it will be amazing in the years to come. I happen to have an example of what you're talking about right out my front door. I have 2 Yaku Sunrise planted (one on each side of the steps) facing west. They both get lots of shade but the one on the south side of the steps gets a couple hours more sun than the one on the north side. The north side plant is absolutely beautiful and is a perfect speciment. The south side plant doesn't look good at all and is struggling a little, even though they are the same plant, growing 5 feet apart. Sun makes all the difference and you may find that you need to move it to just a little more shade. When in doubt, move them to more shade. You'll find that they bounce back and perform much better.

Wow! Thanks for sharing that. We’ll I guess it’s good that I continue to call it by the name it was sold to me as. Now I’m more curious than ever and want to go back and ask Roger why it’s named Big Sam x Lem’s Cameo. Thanks again for the info.

Hi Again!! A few websites are showing Naselle's parentage as Big Sam x Lem's Cameo!!! The original breeding info I sent was from the American Rhodie Society! The plot thickens!!! All I know is Naselle is gorgeous and has terrific foliage that is slightly burnished when young. I love the Singing Tree website for plants! I 'll think about that 1 gal. Fire Rim...how much with shipping to CA??

Yes, I love that new growth when it comes out the burgundy color.

No, I haven't, but eventually want to get a few plants. You're referring to Kalmia, correct?

@@MikeKincaid79 Yes, I am. I recently learned that they are related to rhododendron. They are native to the North East and typically grow as substory in forested areas. I just planted one in a partial sun location in my yard in the St. Louis region. It gets quite hot here in the summer so I'm waiting to see if it can take the heat, I mulched heavily to protect the roots.

It may be too hot but I'm not as familiar with your weather. You may be able to grow azaleas though. The desert version of these would probably be something like oleander.

@@MikeKincaid79 you got it right. I'm in San Antonio and summer is HOT! I thought that I would ask though. We can grow oleanders. I'll stick with those. Thanks so much!

Not sure if you can grow it there but if you have more desert like conditions, I'd be growing a ton of Mexican Bird of Paradise. Love that plant!

I've found them at various nurserys all over the puget sound over the past 18 years or so. You can buy many through mail order though. Try Down's Rhododendron. I've purchased many from him at his nursery but he also does mail order.

Sounds like a wonderful planting you have there. I'm not sure what the problem could be. At first, I thought maybe the buds got zapped by the cold weather but then you said they are missing completely. That tells me a deer ate them possibly. We have a ton of deer around here and they don't generally touch the rhododendrons, only occasionally, but I do hear from people on the east coast that they deer devour their rhododendrons.

Ah, but we have had a deer fence around 3 acres for 20 years, so no deer. There would not be much of a garden without the deer fence. The buds were beautiful all Fall and Winter, and then started disappearing and were gone. We do have a bear that comes around each Spring, but he/ she usually disappears with our bird feeders and the suet feeders. Yes, pulls them down and leaves with them entirely. The bear has never eaten any of my garden and actually seems to very carefully avoid stepping on any shrubs. I cut the bitten off stems down to a viable bud area and they now on May 16, have buds for next year already. I do scatter used coffee grounds around the Rhodes, as well as other ericaceous shrubs

Yes, they will handle pruning very well. You can keep many plants at whatever size you want.

@@MikeKincaid79 thanks for the info! Your gardens are amazing!

Hard to say without more info but they will usually have a ton of blooms one year and then not that many the following year. The best advice is to mulch deeply right now, apply a slow release rhododendron fertilizer, and keep it watered through the summer. It'll probably bloom beautifully for you next year.

Thanks, never heard of it. I'll have to check it out and see what I can do about it.

Nancy Evans is very hard to beat. It's a low grower and nicely rounded shape that doesn't require any pruning and performs year after year. Many Moons has bigger blooms than Nancy Evans and is another great one for yellow.

@@MikeKincaid79 thank you!!

Absolutely! My mother-in-law has one that she prunes back every few years.

@@MikeKincaid79 thank you. I want to keep them bushy just like your's but then a 5 times smaller. Keep up the good work love your videos and especially the Rhodo tours

Got another one coming in a few days.

I use Apex: Cool Weather Special. It's a commercial fertilizer I get in 40 pound bags.

You can always replant them but it’s a serious job digging up a rhododendron that’s well established. Especially if you don’t have equipment.

You can plant them anytime if they’re in containers.

I don't at this time but plan to in the future.

You've come to the right place. I have lots of videos about it on the channel, plus a website with a paid video area for even more detail.

Nope, the genetics determine the color. I have massive amounts of native pollinators swarming the blooms in spring and the colors come out the same every year. You can breed them and create new colors but that's a different topic.

Sounds like it needs more sun but that’s all I can really say without more info. I have some varieties that get leggy regardless of where they’re planted. Pruning can also help it branch out more and fill in.

@@MikeKincaid79 thank you when do I prune them in the autumn or winter, and how far back should I go?

I like to prune in the winter. You can do light pruning early on in the spring after the plant blooms but don't prune in the summer or fall. Heavy pruning should happen in the winter though and the rule of thumb is to take off 1/3 of the branches every year for 3 years until you get it down to the size you want. Some rhododendrons can be cut to the ground all in one winter and will still come back stronger than ever. This is true of many of the old ironclad varieties.

@@MikeKincaid79 ok thanks you

You can grow many varieties in full sun but they won't look their best. If you do give it a shot then mulch really well and keep watered through the whole summer. Make sure they roots always have moisture.

❤​@@MikeKincaid79

​Thank you so much! You have one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and the vast amount of different colors, varieties, species, etc.. is absolutely amazing! I hope you are considering creating a book with all of the pictures, types, names, and the info. for each. I would definitely buy it! I am new so I will check your website out too.

No, Elizabeth is a true red. It's also a rhododendron, not a hydrangea. I'm not aware of any orange hydrangeas. If you're looking for a reddish melon rhododendron then you may want to check out 'Lem's Tangerine'.

@@MikeKincaid79 im sorry i meant rhododendron. My mistake and yes i am looking for a melon colored one. Or bright red. Lem's tangerine is little lite colored for what i am looking for.

I've never heard of this but just found some information about it: www.slef.org.uk/userfiles/file/slef-documents/rhododendron_poisons_the_soil.pdf Seems like it's an old wives tale that is only partially "rooted" in truth.

The deer don’t touch them, and I have whole families of deer wandering through my property on a daily basis. That’s one of the reasons I originally chose rhododendrons. Now the east coast is different. I get comments from New Englanders all the time that tell me the deer over there decimate their rhododendrons. No idea why the difference. All I can say is that every part of the rhododendron is poisonous and there must be a bunch of dead deer over there 😂

Nothing. It's bunch rot. Try again next year.

Yep, try again

Thanks 😊

Only if you live on the east coast.

Working on that but it will be in the future.

@@MikeKincaid79 I’m hoping in the near future 😃

LOL, me too. My challenge is the shipping and pricing of plants to make it worthwhile. It's so expensive to buy plants online and I don't want to turn people off. Maybe I just need to put it out there with competitive pricing and see what happens. Most 4 inch pot rhododendrons go for 30 bucks, which sounds insane but it takes a long time to get them to that point from a cutting. I just hate charging that much but it's the only way it would make sense from a business perspective, so I do nothing, lol. I wish there was a way to just ship plants to people for free and the revenue came in another way, cause we all have to eat. I keep trying to figure out how to do this like SB Mowing. He mows all those lawns for free, because he enjoys helping people, and gets paid by making videos about it. Now that would be ideal. I'd love to plant rhododendrons for free and film it for RU-vid. Just surprise people and make it happen. Wouldn't that be cool!

@@MikeKincaid79 that would be cool. Just now I’ll be one of your very first customers.

I've got answers!

Thanks for the tips. Right now, the bees are buzzing! I'm hoping those lady bugs and lace wings can do some damage first.

LOL, definitely forest under-story plants. If you've got a good shaded spot, that would be best.

Yes, that red is stunning when in full bloom. I've thought about lining the front of my property with them on the road side so that people driving by will have a show! Just wait until the next video. I have a full bed or orange and yellow.

I can't wait for that video I love the bright electric colours Your channel is so diverse and just so fun 🇨🇦🦩

Thanks Liz. I appreciate the feedback on the diversity of the channel. I like making all kinds of videos but sometimes feel like the diversity turns people off. I've thought about making cooking videos once we get this new kitchen up and running. That would fill out winter time videos while the plants are sleeping. I love to cook and took 2 years of culinary arts.