Keep Your Rhododendron Plants Happy And Healthy During Winter With These Tips

Every gardener likes to have plants that are thriving no matter the season. Even in the winter — especially in the long, dark, frigid months waiting for spring — gardeners love to see their plants hanging in there, which might be why evergreens like rhododendron are a nice addition to gardens. Being able to look out at a snowy landscape and still see something green is a wonderful pick-me-up for garden enthusiasts. It's all the more reason to keep your rhododendron plants happy and healthy during winter, and a few basic tips can make it a little easier, like ensuring it's able to retain its moisture.

Rhododendrons (Rhododendron L.) encompass a broad class of evergreen shrubs and grow across a wide swath of North America. Despite preferring some shade, rhododendrons are one of the best shrubs to grow in your yard for a colorful spring. They like acidic soil and normal amounts of water and humidity, but would rather not have wet roots, so soil amended with too much peat won't keep them very happy, especially in the winter when they would be cold and wet.

Choosing the right plants is always an important first step. What is the "right" plant for you? First, it should be one that will thrive where you live, so check your USDA plant hardiness zone. It also shouldn't be an invasive plant (ones that usually are not native to an area and often cause harm and/or aggressively take over a habitat). In general, rhododendron varieties are not considered to be invasive in the United States, but in other parts of the world, such as Scotland, one cultivar, Rhododendron ponticum, is not well liked at all. The evergreen shrub is considered to be quite cheeky. Its invasive status is spreading westward, however; Oregon also now considers it to be invasive. But for the many non-invasive varieties, which soar to 10 feet or more in height, you might find that they're ideal plants to consider when looking to add privacy to your yard.

If you added your rhododendrons along your property line for privacy, you may have also put them in an area that could have extra exposure to wind. While rhododendrons don't like to be too wet, they also don't enjoy being completely dry. Winds in the wintertime can be a big enemy of many plants, and the larger leaves on rhododendrons could lose moisture because of the chilly breeze. So, aside from making sure the plants receive enough water, you can keep your rhododendrons from being thirsty and otherwise protected throughout the winter by keeping them warm with mulch. You could also go so far as it install a screen to protect them from the wind.

To keep your rhododendron plants in prime shape throughout the cold winter months, you don't need to think much differently of them than you do for yourself. On cold wintry days, you like cozy blankets, and your rhododendron wants the same thing. Instead of fleece or flannel, however, think burlap or branches. It sounds like a lot of drama for one plant, but that's what rhododendrons do; they reward you with great dramatic displays of blossoms, which is why you can count on varieties like the Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) to be one of the 15 flowering shrubs that will bring drama to your yard. 

In addition, when protecting your rhododendron, be sure to avoid plastics, which could increase the heat too much. Another option to help your shrubs maintain their moisture in the drying winter weather is to treat them with an anti-desiccant, which helps slow the loss of water from plant leaves. A popular organic option is the Wilt-Pruf Organic Plant Protector, which can also prevent winter burn. And those Christmas tree branches or about-to-be-discarded door wreaths can be helpful, too. Use landscape pins to anchor branches loosely into the ground around the base of your rhododendrons to protect your flowering perennial from winter's worst.