If you were to order from a nursery a couple of dozen small rhododendrons and/or azaleas in the fall to grow in your garden for future landscaping purposes, how would you plant and prepare them for winter months ahead?
Although spring is the orthodox season for planting rhododendrons, they can also be set out early in the fall, provided the procedures outlined below are followed.
It is necessary to select a spot sheltered from winter winds for the nursery bed. An area with a slight slope to avoid “frost pockets” is desirable, and it is essential that the soil should be porous and have good under-drainage —a sandy loam is preferred.
The bed should be large enough to space the plants far enough apart so they may grow without crowding for two to three years, at which time they should be ready for transplanting to their permanent locations. Assuming that the plants, when received, are from 6 to 8 inches high, they should be set 12” to 18” inches apart.
The soil should be acid (pH 4.5 to 6.0) and the surface, to a depth of 1 foot, should consist of 1/3 humus-forming material such as partly decayed oak leaves or acid peat moss.
Warm Ground
Planting should be done while the ground is still warm. In northerly regions this might involve setting them out in late August or early September. Farther south, late September or early October would be timely. Be sure that the ball of earth containing the roots is moist before planting. If the soil of the bed is dry, set a sprinkler on it a day or two before planting and let it run long enough to wet the earth to a depth of at least 1 foot.
Avoid setting the plants any deeper than they were in their previous location. Thousands of rhododendrons have been killed by setting them too deep. If you are going to err, it is better to do so by planting them too shallow rather than too deep—the 2-inch mulch of moist peat moss, with which you will cover the bed immediately after planting, will ensure that the roots are not exposed.
Unless there are copious fall rains it will be necessary to resort to artificial watering. Keep this up in northerly areas until the soil surface is frozen to a depth of 1” inch. Then it is time to put on winter protection. In areas where the ground does not freeze, a winter cover may be put over the plants when drying winds begin.
Any material can be used which will not melt down and which will permit air to circulate around the plants and at the same time break the force of the wind and shade the plants from winter sunshine. You can use any of the following materials for this purpose: cut evergreen boughs, (pine or fir), cranberry or honeysuckle vines, excelsior, salt meadow hay, or lath screens made by nailing ordinary builders’ lath 1/4 inch apart on furring strips.
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