Rhododendron and azalea flower power for next spring!

Do you have Rhododendrons or Azaleas in your garden? When spring comes do you find they haven't flowered that well? If so, now’s the time to make sure they flower amazingly next year. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas all set their flower buds for next year now. They can soon become short of water and then the flower buds don’t set properly. This means that next spring the buds will either fall off or not develop properly. Therefore, make sure you give them a really good soaking before the soil starts to dry out. Mulching the plants with bark, composted bark or similar will help too. Don’t forget to feed with a rhododendron (ericaceous)fertiliser. Liquid ones act quicker and are a better bet in dry weather. It also helps to deadhead this year's flowers. At the base of the flower heads you will see a ring of brown around the flower stem, this is a handy marker of where you should cut the flower head off. It's usually just above the first leaves you come to from the flower head.