I'm a newbie here, as I just registered today, although I've been visiting and learning from this forum for several years now. I have a couple of questions about sick rhododendrons. When I purchased one about seven years ago it was healthy but over the years it has shown signs of stress. For some time now, I’ve been searching for information and although I’ve found images of root rot and powdery mildew, they never look exactly like the damaged leaves of my plant. Today I took a few photos and then hit the internet again for some more researching. Maybe I overreacting but I found some info that concerns me. First of all, here’s a few shots of my plant. Here’s a link to a site about Sudden Oak Death which states that Monrovia, a grower in California, unknowingly shipped some plants including rhododendrons between 2003 and 2004 and that is not only when I purchased my plant but also that’s the name that was on the pot. http://buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu/content/ThreatofSuddenOakDeathPromptsTesting In the last four years my other rhododendron has developed the same problem and it’s only about eight feet away on the other side of a fence. Also, a twenty foot dogwood tree has started to suffer and none of these plants now bloom. What worries me is the photos of damaged leaves on the following site are strikingly similar to what I see in my garden, including the dogwood. http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/library/photos/plant-symptom-photos/ My question is, where can I go to find out a definitive answer as to what my plants are infected with? Once I find that out then I’ll have another question to find the answer to and that is, “what do I do to treat this?†Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Respectfully, Timothy
If P. ramorum infects and affects a Rhododendron, it isn't sudden oak death, thats when it infects and kills a Quercus ;) Usually you can contact agriculture canada to perform tests on leaf tissue to attempt to isolate the causal agent, if there is one.
Dear Paul, Thanks for the prompt reply. My mistake about calling it the wrong thing; now I know what to call it, if it is that, and will contact Agriculture Canada regarding testing. Timothy