SEATTLE —
Seattle gardening expert Ciscoe Morris revealed a recent rhododendron failure.
“Okay, even a garden expert makes a dim-dim maneuver now and then. This little rhody is a really expensive rare variety, it’s lepidostylum. It's famous for having these blueish leaves it has these beautiful yellow flowers,” he said.
Ciscoe’s lepidostylum wasn't beautiful, it was brown and sad. He explained his mistake was two-fold.
"I put it in a spot that was too shady. It started thinning out," said Ciscoe. "So I thought all right, I'm going to stick it where it gets more sunlight. It got a little more sunlight than I thought it was going to. Oh, you poor guy. I am so sorry.”
Before moving this plant for a third time, he checked to see if it was still alive by scraping bark off a branch on the inside of the plant with his thumbnail. The wood beneath the bark was bright green, which meant the plant was still alive despite Ciscoe’s abuse.
“This guy's gonna come back like a gangbuster if I give it the right spot. And I’ve got a perfect place planned for it,” he said.
He dug the rare rhododendron up yet again and moved it to a place with indirect, morning sunlight. He amended the new hole with some organic rhododendron fertilizer. He also a pro tip for replanting a rhody.
“One thing really important when you plant a rhododendron is you never want it to go any deeper in the ground than it was in the ground before.”
He watered the rhody into its brand-new location, in hopes that the third time would be the charm.
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