Rhododendron Problems
Padraigh Griffin
Posts: 48
in Plants
Hi,
My rhodo despite having some large promising buds the last few months does not appear to be opening to flower. (see pic). The buds, stalks are also very sticky. Any advice please?
0
Posts
I hope you get a response as i have the same problem..
I hope so too Clinton
Don't know what it is, but it looks quite strange
The three round flower buds in the picture look normal, and will probably flower soon (its still quite early for most rhodies). But the others look elongated and misshapen, and this is showing when they flower in a long line of flowers instead of a bunch. Have you tried looking on the RHS website for possible pest damage symptoms?
When plants become sticky they usually have a pest that sucks the sap, such as aphid or scale. It has been too cold for these things where I live, but it is well worth a really close examination to make sure.
If the buds die off, it's probably a fungus desease. It's a bug called the leafhopper. The female lays her eggs in the forming buds, that's why they don't open. I had a rhododendron like that, we got rid of it. We had other ones but it didn't affect them. It's very hard to stop it.
Thanks for replies. I have checked as much as I can online and none of the common Rhodo pests and diseases seem to match what is happening to this one. Very frustrating. The buds are opening but what is appearing is not flowers but the misshapen event that is in the picture above. The buds and what opens are extremely sticky which is weird!
My Rhodo usually brings gasps of delight from people but not this year. Loads of fat healthy flower buds which started to open as usual then disaster. The flowers are not opening properly with much smaller flower heads than usual and the petals seem stuck together and are only partially open.