Well Miss Clean Up you certainly are a tidy gardener but don\'t blame your deadheading for a lack of blooms this year. Removing the faded flowers from rhododendrons and azaleas right after they are done flowering helps the plant to make more blooms. A rhododendron will flower less if it suffers from drought i late summer or fall when the blooms for the following spring are forming. If you did water in the dry months but still have less blooms it could be that your rhodie is taking a rest after a really productive spring. Some blooming shrubs and trees flower heavy one year, then rest the next. Do not wait until fall to deadhead or you will be removing all the flower buds. To get a heavy bloom use a mulch on the roots to keep them cool (but not too deep - rhodie roots are very shallow so just one inch of mulch) and water in late summer and autumn when the soil is dry. I think you will see a bountiful, blooming rhododendron next spring. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti