Hi, rina. I know wood chips are different than bark, but I saw a nursery that was using these mixed with some alder saw dust. In about a year it turned to this incredible black, rich "soil". The guy as the nursery said it breaks down better and more nutritious for the soil and depletes less nitrogen in the process. The wood chips I was seeking are about the size of medium bark in nurseries. In retrospect, I am glad I didn't try that. Works great outdoors, not sure about containers! The black bark is essentially composted evergreen tree bark. I say evergreen because it could be a mix of a number of different types here in the Pacific NW --- hemlock, fir, ceder, spruce, etc. I didn't screen it, it seemed plenty loose initially; small to medium size in comparison to bagged nursery store bark. It would have been o.k. had I added the peat and perlite per the formulas given here. Screening would have left just the larger pieces, but that would be quite a chore for the volume I was using! I repotted some of the plants using the 5:1:1 formula with my black bark and those are doing much, much, better. A gardening friend said "Think of it...bark is like big saw dust. If you pack it down it gets as hard as a board". That is essentially what happened when I used the black bark alone without the the perlite and moss. ;(

Kelly, with all what you did to the plant, I would not doubt the plant has suffered. But, strange things happen..and plants can adapt to hardship.....and without going into too much detail about how you cared for the plant, you might nick the stem...or a branch and see if there is any sign of moisture remaining. Now....let's assume there is something there....and you are right, the light levels of Indiana and most of the United States, is at their lowest. The winter solstace begins on Wednesday...the 21st....and then the sun begins its long voyage back til June 21st If you have a coldcellar, or a place in your basement...or an old unused refrigerator that you can set the temperature to about 40 - 50 degrees....then your plant can be looked on as one that wqill come back to how you saw it a couple months ago. If you have such a place where your plant can go...and remain...untouched by human hands, your plant WILL COME BACK. But, you must not water it, you must not give it any light, you must not give it any increased temperatures. The plant will dry out.....completely. You might think to sprinkle it....DONT....the coming back can only be done if you leave the plant alone...in the coolness and in the dark. Round about mid February to mid March, you then bring the plant back out into the light, clean it up, tear the roots apart, cut it back (yours wont need much if any), into a clean pot (clay is nice), with some fresh potting soil.... (have something in the pot to keep the soil up away from the drainage hole...shards, or stones ...whatever... make a hole in the soil, put your plant in, firm it up...and water. Water it til drainage is seen in the saucer below. Allow full drainage. Then take it to the best sun you have....but north will not do...and do not water again until new leaves form. When the leaves begin to show, you can begin to feed your plant...1/4 rate 20/20/20...every 3rd or 4th watering. When you water, always water until drainage is seen...and dump the excess. Never leave your plant sitting in that drainage water. As the leaves come on, you can increase fertilizer. Depending on the amount of available light, the plant will begin to produce flower buds....and you should not be alarmed if they are slow in coming.....even to the day you put it outside. Bloom will come. That's all there is to it....but it depends on you not pushing it to do something until mid February. The other way is to treat your plant like a houseplant...pot it up...(make sure it drains well), water til it drains and give it the best sun...west or south. No other exposure will do....not at this time of year. Wait until new leaves form before watering again...and feed as above. This method can work for a plant in good health...yours may not have sufficient energy to do anything....and I suggest you seriously consider doing the "dry" method. It is safe, and it works.

Personally, I'm not a great fan of most of the Rhododendrons that you see in garden centres and prefer the large-leaved types such as R. sino grande and R. macabeanum. However, the only pest species is R. ponticum and it is unfair to tar all of them with the same brush. Many of the Hardy Hybrids such as 'Pink Pearl' 'Scintillation', 'Cynthia' etc. do not seed themselves about. The smaller Yasimanum hybrids together with the compact forms derived from them pose absolutely no threat whatsoever, nor do the other ornamental species. The explosion of Rhododendron ponticum in moister parts of the coutry is in part due to it being mass planted on country estates during the mid and late Victorian times. It is probably the most aggressive of all of the Rhododendrons and is highly opportunistic where conditions allow. Although a large plant is capable of producing many millions of tiny, wind-borne seeds every year, The main method of spread is by the layering in the wide-spreading branches, since the seeds need fairly specialised conditions for them to germinate (poor, acid moist soils with little or no established, competing vegetation). The layering of lower branches enables a plant to 'frog hop' many metres in almost every direction and develop into a huge, impenetrable mound in relatively few years. R. ponticum should never be planted I agree, but that does not mean that there should be a moratorium of the planting of all Rhododendrons. As to the toxins in Rhododendron, it is true that all parts are toxic in those species that produce them, however a great number of garden plants are toxic to a greater or lesser degree, so that needs to be put into perspective. The jury is still out as to whether the toxins, when built up into the soil inhibit the growth of other nearby plants. The answer is to rake up the dead leaves periodically and burn them (making sure you stand upwind of the fire),since they do not decompose readily, taking several years to break down.

Although they're not native to me I grow a little pot filled with hosta, fern, and blue geranium in full shade. It started blooming a month ago and looks lovely in that dark corner. I also grow them under blackberry with varegated Solomon's seal. Those only get winter sun so no flowers. But the leaves are evergreen here so its green in the winter when the berries and Solomon are gone. These geranium would grow under your ferns as they don't get tall so I think a spot where you can enjoy them is best.