The same principle applies to shrubs that are too tall. Take the branches down to the beginning and make clean cuts. No ripping. Rhododendrons are practically indestructible so you can be very aggressive. I brought one down to about one foot off the ground that was blocking a window and it bounced back and was lush and full. Believe! When? Immediately after they bloom is the optimal time but you can prune later as well just try to avoid very hot weather and water well after pruning. If it's righ

Rhododendron Garden Tour

The best time to prune these is right after they flower. Where I am in zone 6b that's about now. However, most of us live in the real world and hitting just the right time is not always possible. Some might think this is too much but it’s a very small area and sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Plus, it works out. I pruned mine way back in August and they are pushing out all kinds of growth now. It actually started to create new growth within 3 weeks of pruning. These things are pract

See my original post about this (on August 21st). Rhododendrons are incredibly resilient and I was pretty confident this would bounce back quickly but it actually was a little more sparse than I was expecting. Still, the new growth came in 4 weeks later. Phew! I hate to let people down. To give the plant the best chance of producing new growth I advised giving it a lot of water right away, which these clients did. Fertilizer may also be a good idea with such massive carnage like this. This one w