Marianne's Response

Broken Rhododendron

Hello,

Last week my neighbor’s beautiful maple was split in two in the wind overnight. It fell into my yard-it fit perfectly, the tops just touching our gate!- unfortunately he had to remove the whole tree.
It broke two branches off of a rhody in my yard. I wonder how to take care of the breaks. It’s a troubled rhody, I’ve had to cut branches back due to brittle parts. But it continues to grow and blooms beautifully although it often has dried-up brittle buds on several branches.
Thank you.

Suzette B

Posted by Suzbo on November 14, 2024

Marianne's Response

So sorry about that wind damage but the good news is your rhododendron should survive the damage just fine. I suggest you cut back the broken branches any time before spring and you will see a surge of new growth. Just make the cut with loppers to right below the damaged bark on the stem. One more thing - I tried to answer this question from you last week and for some reason the answer did not post. So my apologies for the time that has passed before you received the answer to this question. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti