rhododendrums

[sonsmum]

I have 2 questions:

• my neighbours rhodies are flowering nicely and our 3 are not in bloom at all yet. I can see buds but no blooms yet. What is causing mine to not be in bloom yet?

• we have been in our house for 7yrs and have never pruned the rhodies, as not really sure how. When we first moved in, the rhodies leaves were think, and glossy. Now the leaves are very thin and not so glossy. The branches look long and spindly. Is this due to lack of pruning? I have put down acidic mulch on 2 occasions and think they have enough water. The bushes are huge, need a step ladder to reach the top. Is there anything I can do to make them look healthier? I am convinced they will bloom, but not until mid-late May and the the blooms won't be as good as previous years. There is luscious dense foliage at the base of the bushes though.

You can also water-on acidic treatments, that livens them up, but may not catch up for this year. Does neighbour give a lot of care to his?

Look on a specialist rhodo site for pruning info, or on RHS or BBC sites.

They probably benefit from dead-heading after, if and when they do flower. A soil test kit will tell you if your soil is suitable.