I have noticed almost without fail that a rhody purchased and planted when full of blooms will produce exactly nada (OK maybe one or two) the following year. My guess is that the rhody does not produce flower buds when adjusting to its new surroundings. Indeed sometimes it takes two springs for the plant to bloom again but usually after missing out on one years spring flowers you should be A OK.

That is sometimes because they use a lot of fertilizer in greenhouses after the buds are set to force lots of growth. This fertilizer inhibits bud set the following year. I get all of my plants from friends and local nurseries where they don't overdo the fertilizer and I never see this problem.

my rhodo is 3m tall. the buds are small and lots of them are blackish

It sounds like the shrub got stressed for some reason and aborted some of them. While I would be tempted to prune them, I would just let them be. After the blooming period is over & all the ones that could bloom bloomed, you can prune any stragglers left in the plant.

In the meantime keep the soil moist, not wet; maintain 3-4" of mulch; do not overwater; do not fertilize now as the plant seems to be stressed; check for fungal infections and insects; and hope there is no bad weather with wildly fluctuating temperatures.

If there is some green, the bud is still viable and should be left.

If the bud is brown or black and covered with hair like structures, it is diseased and should be removed and destroyed.

If the bud is brown but not hair like structures on it, it is frost damaged and can be left or removed.

When removing buds, try not to damage the new growth that is just coming out, or the buds at the base of the flower buds that will be the new growth.

This is my third year with two rhodies and they have great foliage but have not bloomed. I planted them on the east side of the house and they do not get any direct sun. I live in Arkansas where we have mild winters and HOT summers normally. Help! I really want them to bloom. They were purchased at a large home improvement store.

No sun; no flowers. Most rhododendrons and azaleas need about 5 hours of sun each during the summer to set flowers for the following spring. You may notice that when we have a summer with lots of cloudy days, the following year, the number of flowers is drastically reduced.

You can either remove the branches causing the shade or move the rhododendrons to a sunnier location. The best location for rhododendrons is where there is high shade. Then the sun filters through all day long. If there isn't enough sun for grass to grow, then rhododendrons won't bloom.

Some rhododendrons will set buds in moderate shade: Boule de Neige, Nova Zembla, and PJM.

Hello! My rhodos get direct sunlight 10.00-14.00, is that too much? I have Jaku Polaris and Nova Zembla, zone 5-6. I planted last summer and this spirng no buds, I guess that is normal..

That sounds ideal. If you are getting flowers, you have enough light. If you get Rhododendron Lace Bugs, you have too much light.

By the way, Yaku Polaris is more commonly called 'Hachmann's Polaris' and is a cross of degronianum ssp yakushimanum 'Koichiro Wada' x Omega where Omega is a R. catawbiense hybrid.

Thank you for your replay, I am checking my plants every day. Last year after planting buds did not develop (only three), I hope it will be better this year. Something ate all the new leaves also.

I purchased 3 year old rhododendrons last year so mine are now 4 years old. One of them has whole stems dying off and have turned brown. There are some stems that are still forming leaves and appear to be ok. What could be causing this? Should I trim off the dead stems? This happened to a younger rhod that I placed in the same spot the year before and it ended up completely dying.

There are several infections that cause branch dieback in rhododendrons. There really is no practical cure once the branches begin to show the symptoms. Best thing to do is prune out the dying branches, disinfecting the pruners between cuts and disposing of the prunings. I have had some success (I think) using AgroFos as a preventative spray. There are similar products with different brand names and they are very safe. Keep plants well watered, but not soggy - provide good drainage - and as stress-free as possible during the growing season. Many rhododendrons are capable of growing and blooming by outgrowing the infections, but others are highly sensitive and can eventually die.

Hi Jessica,

I don't know where you live, but here in Pennsylvania where I live we had a very dry winter and not very cold. This resulted in a lot of drought damage which usually manifests itself as dieback. When the plants become stressed lesions form which cause dieback. As akamaine said, the best solution is a healthy plant. Yes, do cut the dead branches off to keep the infection from spreading. A certain amount of dieback is almost unavoidable unless you can water during a drought, even a winter drought.

I'm in southern Ohio. We had a mild winter this year. We had pretty normal amounts of rain but I'll keep an eye on them now that I've cut them back. To my surprise, they are blooming. First photo is the one struggling and the other is one that is healhty next to it.

Hi all, it seems some are still replying to this old thread, so I can definitely use some help! I have a sort of hedge of 6 very well established rhodies, at least 20 years old, if not much older.

The plants look very healthy and get tons of new green foliage, but of my 6 plants I only get about a dozen blooms. It's so frustrating because I look around the neighborhood and everybody has wildly blooming rhodies. My hedge is south facing under 3 65 year old maple trees, so they get filtered sunlight most of the day. I just use rhodie/azalea box food, as I have little gardening experience and have no idea what else to do. Every spring and fall it looks like I'm getting flowers covering the plant, but instead it turns into leaf. We prune once or twice/year and live in Oregon, zone 8. Thanks in advance for any help.

Vigorous vegetative growth with sparse flower buds and bloom is usually the result of excess nitrogen. If you're fertilizing every year (almost certainly unnecessary), you're encouraging green growth at the expense of flowers. Too little light/sun can also reduce bud set, but I'd bet on too much fertilizer in this case.

In order to bloom, rhododendrons need several things:

1) Flower buds, if you are pruning them after July 1, you may be pruning off the flower buds. Rhododendrons set buds on new wood soon after the spring bloom finishes. These buds must stay on the plant until the next spring to produce a flower. [no flower buds]

2) Sunshine the previous summer. If they are in shade or you have a summer with mostly cloudy days, bloom will be reduced or nonexistant. We had a very cloudy summer a couple years ago and everyone complained the following spring that their bloom was very poor. Some varieties will bloom in moderate shade, but many varieties need 6 to 8 hours of sun each day to set flower buds. [no flower buds]

3) Very little nitrogen fertilizer. Lawn fertilizer is notorious for having lots of nitrogen and lots of nitrogen forces lots of leaf buds and discourages flower buds. Great if you like a green rhododendron with no flowers. It is best to just use a good rhododendron fertilizer just before bloom in the spring. Apply at half the recommended rate and just once. [no flower buds]

4) You need a plant that produces cold hardy buds that will survive your winters. Every rhododendron has a rating, a temperature that is considered safe for not destroying flower buds over the winter. In Pennsylvania where I live, I choose plants that are hardy to -10F to be save. [flower buds don't open]

5) Seasonal weather is important. This past winter we had some hot spells in the middle of winter and very cold spells in early spring, a bad combination. The warm spells can cause the flower buds to break dormancy, and the cold spells can kill any flower buds that are breaking dormancy. If a bud opens enough so that you can see color, it can be destroyed by freezing conditions. [flower buds don't open fully]

6) Spring rains. A spring drought can cause a rhododendron to stay dormant to conserve moisture and basically abort blooming. Drought also causes some branches to die back, reducing bloom. [no flower buds]

7) Protection from critters. Deer love rhododendron buds. Rabbits and squirrels are often reported to dine on rhododendron flower buds. This varies considerably from region to region depending upon what food sources are available. [no flowers]

Akamainegrower, I've actually only fertilized twice since we've lived here in six years, so that probably isn't the cause...and I do so because of this problem. Of note, azaleas won't grow at all on my property. I believe rhodies and azalea like the same conditions. Perhaps it's worth a soul check? In years past, when my mom owned the house, the rhodies bloomed like crazy. She said she did nothing at all with them. I'm thinking they maybe just don't get enough sun with the trees over head. But perhaps the soil has excess nitrogen. Is there something I can add to counter that? Thanks for your help!

Unless you are applying it, soils never have excess nitrogen :-) Shade can certainly have an impact on flower production - all flowering plants need some sunlight to flower well. Also, in my area we have very dry late summers/early falls - the time when rhodies are setting flower buds for the following spring. Inadequate watering during this time period is often the cause for the buds not to form properly so lack of flowers the following season.

Would also like to know why and when you prune these. You may be cutting off any potential flowers if done at the wrong time of year. Rhodies generally need little to no pruning unless grossly overgrown or very leggy.

We prune once or twice/year

Stop that ;0) I'm not sure how you could prune rhododendrons that regularly and have any remaining flower buds. As gardengal has pointed out, flower buds for the following Spring are set late summer. Leave them alone this year other than providing water when we've had no rain - I suspect you will have flowers next Spring.

After reading about the problem with no flowers, I found that excess nitrogen is likely the problem, especially if you have a lot of green leaves. I fertilized mine heavily, and added some topsoil because the leaves were very yellow and the roots were exposed. Leaves are now nice and green, but no flowers. I read that bone meal (which adds phosphorous) would help them bloom. I will be trying this.