Dh vs. the rhododendron

[Carolinamidwife]

For reasons unclear to me (because he never does any other yard work) my husband decided to "prune" one of our rhododendrons. We have several and they're all beautiful bushy flowering bushes... or at least they used to be.

Instead of looking up how to cut back a rhododendron he just hacked away at it with hedge clippers. Now it's dropping leaves and getting brown and cripsy all over.

What can I do???

[Owen'nZoe]

Oh no! I have no advice on saving the plants, but wanted to offer hugs. I'd be heartbroken.

[serenetabbie]

Oh no! There are a few things that could be going on with your poor plants. First I have to tell you that they most likely will not flower next year though

There are a few types of systemic disease that Rhodos get very easily when pruned incorrectly. Yours could have something like that... or they could just be stressed from hard pruning. Or, the leaves that had previously been sheilded from the sun could be getting sunburned.

The best thing for here would be if you could post a photo for us to take a look. The best thing for you to do at home would be to call or stop by the local extension office (with a fresh sample) and ask them what's going on.