**FULL QUESTION:**The leaves are falling off my rhododendron, and it doesn't look very healthy. Can you help?
*- Janet Giles*
**ANSWER:**
Hi Janet,
If you are losing only two-year-old or older leaves on your plant, don’t worry. That’s normal.
If you are losing more than that, your rhododendron might be in a spot that’s too sunny, too windy, too dry or too wet. Though not really finicky, rhododendrons have quite specific needs to grow well. They like being in dappled shade—under a high tree canopy, preferably oak— or near evergreens. When oak leaves and pine needles decompose, they make the soil more acidic, which rhodos also prefer. Also, they should not be planted too deeply, and the soil should be moist but well-draining—a waterlogged rhodo is a dead rhodo. Their root systems are shallow so don’t rototill or cultivate around them.
For more detailed growing advice, check out Hancock Woodlands website.
Good luck!
*Karen York, GL Botanical Editor*
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