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I'm sorry that happened to you. It would have upset me as well. I bet they do grow back though, and they'll be like new.
This spring, my husband heavily pruned my wisteria just before it bloomed. All those lovely blooms were decapitated. It wasn't the first time he did it, and it probably won't be the last. Some people just aren't gardeners.
But why do they seem totally clueless? Didn't he know how much you loved blooming wisteria??
The reason I did that is because of the boring ants that like our Rhododendron. Before the ants get into the ends of the limbs cut on yours; you might want to consider picking up and spraying the ends of the exposed limbs. Those borers can kill off leaves and whole limbs: https://extension.umd.edu/learn/ipm-...odendrons-hg51. Inspect the cutoff limbs for a hole in the middle. Sometimes you can shove a wire down the hole and crush the borer inside - but I would still spray the ends to prevent more from joining the party!
I'm really sad and need to vent a bit. I'm very into the many, many rhododendrons around my home.
He was supposed to wait until I was home so I could direct where and how much to trim. Instead, he just took off with shearing them all the way back.....all you can see are dead wood, bare stems etc. He only left the tops.
I am so disturbed, hope someone understands. And NO, they will not grow back...
Yes, I know someone will say "it's just shrubs" but they were my joy and he did exactly what I asked him not to do....
Just venting, I know of no solution.
My senior friend planted a very large Rododendron when they built their hosue in 1957. I suggested when she told me she was calling a arbour company that I should come by with YELLOW JOBSITE TAPE and mark the shrub. She passed.
She's in British Properties in West Vancouver, BC an area that USUALLY has arbor companies that know what they're doing, but employment in that industry is somewhat seasonal. Sure enough, whoever showed up didn't know the difference, nor was there the leadership, to explain what a Rhodo was compared to say, that 150 foot Fir over yonder. Crap.
Replacing that butcher job should have been a 10,000 dollar hit on the so-called company of clowns.
Next time, police dead person marking tape. Maybe THEN they'd grasp "the concept".
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke
They will grow back. That's not recomended pruning, but rhodies are tough. Have some patience and maybe don't have that gardener back again.
I had on in a place where I was going to do something else and cut it to the ground. As it turned out I didn't ever make the changes, and it sprouted back the next spring. It's now 4 years later and higher than the 6' fence.
Sad story about incompetent nincompoops. I owned the second house ever built in the valley. It had a dozen huge old historic apple trees.
I rented the house out and the tenant called me into the backyard to proudly show me that he had limbed those trees up so that a tall person could walk underneath them with plenty of clearance ( done without permission, of course)
Thanks a lot, now even the very lowest apples can't be picked without a ladder. There is a reason that fruit trees have low growing branches. Those limbs removed like that never grow back.
I'm really sad and need to vent a bit. I'm very into the many, many rhododendrons around my home.
He was supposed to wait until I was home so I could direct where and how much to trim. Instead, he just took off with shearing them all the way back.....all you can see are dead wood, bare stems etc. He only left the tops.
I am so disturbed, hope someone understands. And NO, they will not grow back...
Yes, I know someone will say "it's just shrubs" but they were my joy and he did exactly what I asked him not to do....
Just venting, I know of no solution.
I get it. I'm a gardener too.
Maybe call your homeowner's insurance company? Maybe they could be replaced? I'm sad with you.
Actually, if your rhododendrons looked to be thinning, it's proper pruning technique to cut them back significantly and they will grow back much fuller.
Actually, if your rhododendrons looked to be thinning, it's proper pruning technique to cut them back significantly and they will grow back much fuller.
But why do they seem totally clueless? Didn't he know how much you loved blooming wisteria??
Yes, he knows I love them, but he knows nothing about how plants work, and he doesn't want to learn. No matter how many times I tell him when and how to prune, he just whacks things off at random times. After 25 years of this, I've accepted that this will happen periodically, and I don't get too attached to my garden anymore. I have some horror stories to tell, but I'll keep them to myself.
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Since 1957
