Some years back, one of the local Walmarts stocked rhododendrons in their gardening department, and I saw a number prominently planted in yards around town. Every single one was dead by midsummer. I spotted these for sale this past weekend. (It is possible to keep some species of rhododendron alive in Kansas in the right spot, but it’s not easy, and they don’t flourish.)
My good camera is in the shop at the moment, so I visited Botanica with my toy camera yesterday evening.
This is the reward tulips get for their spectacular display earlier this year.
On the way home I came across a paulownia in full bloom. All the flowers on the tree were at least ten feet high, out of close-up range. This one fell while I was trying to find a shot.
What problem do Rhodies have in that area? (They flourish like weeds here in the Willamette Valley.)
They like acidic soils and good drainage in a wet environment. Around here, wild rhododendrons are a mainstay of the mountain forests. Appalachian climax forests tend to have them as undergrowth under oaks and the like. I’m guessing that Kansas is too dry?
Kansas winters are too cold for most varieties. Those that can survive the cold find the summers too hot, dry and windy, and the unamended soil insufficiently acid. The only rhododendron (other than azaleas) I know of that has survived more than a year here is in the “woodland” area at the botanical garden, where it is sheltered from the blazing sun and desiccating wind, and where it gets regular watering.