My rhodies look exactly the same. We've never pruned them. They are all natural and we didn't plant them....they chose where they wanted to grow. Or rather Mother Nature did. We've never disturbed them sprayed around them or done anything to change their environment. Several years ago, they were florabund, but last 2 years, this is all we've gotten. (same as your photo) However; the mountain laurel and the native flame azaela have gone crazy blooming this year and they thrive under the same exact conditions. It's a real mystery. The only thing I can think of is that the plants have gotten "too mature" or the trees around them have and are leeching the nutrients. We are talking about 100-200 rhododendrons on our property and all have the same problem. Yet, the ones just a few feet less elevation on our same road are blooming beautifully.

OK, here's the deal with Rhododendrons Direct, this is how it was explained to me, at least: Another wholesale nursery, Gardenscape Nursery in Gervais, OR, took over operations of R.D. and they are supposed to be fulfilling orders. I ordered plants last year but since I live in the area, I opted to pick up the plants to save on delivery charges. Leading up to, and on the day of pickup, I was unable contact Jim or figure out where to find my plants, but Gardenscape Nursery eventually reached out to me and I was able to get my plants the same day but in Gervais, not Albany. The plants looked good, but this is the type of place where you get fairly rare cultivars, not big plants for cheap! Then this year, I wanted some more hard to find cultivars, and they had them. This time I skipped R.D. entirely and set up the order with Gardenscape Nursery, and everything went smoothly, I once again picked up the plants in Gervais. And the plants looked good again. This is something I'm seeing a lot of in the Willamette Valley: wholesale growers hitching their wagon to an online retail outlet so they can sell direct to the home gardener, in addition to their wholesale clients.

@luis_pr: My plant does have flower buds, and I will try to take photos and post them here. Pam, Please come down here and explain to my 'Crater Lake' that all rhodies work great here, or I fear it might be dead soon! It has fewer leaves every year and barely grows. I've been blaming the dreadful, hard-packed clay in that particular spot. If it doesn't improve this spring I will dig it up, fill in the hole, place the root-mass on top of the clay, and cover with mulch. Perhaps that will be more to its liking.

Thank you, stillanntn! My white blooms do indeed bear a striking resemblance to those of Cunningham's White whose photos I found on the internet. Also, I found several articles by the American Rhododendron Society about grafting rhododendrons, and Cunningham's White was suggested as a good rootstock. So, it appears that it might be rare in commerce, but not unheard of. Since my disappeared rhododendron was yellow, perhaps the white blooms are rootstock left over from it - I will post on here when I figure out whether or not that is a plant standing on its own, and not a sucker from the larger one. If it is standing on its own, I think it must be either rootstock, or a seedling - so fun to have mysteries in the garden! Jackie https://www.rhododendron.org/v66n3p165.htm