Time's Up: Back Stoop Rhododendrons - May 2022
Back in early 2018, one of the initial moves we made in developing our garden and landscape was to add a pair of rhododendrons on either side of our back stoop. Why rhododendrons? Because the plan called for them . PJM Rhododendrons to be precise. They were planted in summer. They bloomed and looked great . A tropical-looking evergreen that is cold hardy to Zone 5b? What's not to like. It was a couple of years that I mostly ignored them. They were watered and fed. But, that's it. At some point, they started to turn. And they started to deteriorate. By last summer, they looked shabby . What do the pair of Rhododendrons look like this Spring? Not great. See below for the evergreen shrub to the north of the stoop: And...here below is the other one - to the north. This one looks *better*, but not awesome. We've had a chipmunk that lived in these beds over the years. Or...maybe more than one...