Rhododendron Pruning Instructions
- 1). Remove dead flowers by pushing on the side of the cluster with your thumb and snapping them off. You can also cut them off with pruning shears.
- 2). Cut off all dead branches and stems. Cut these back to their points of origin.
- 3). Shear the overgrown rhododendron bush by cutting the primary branches to 6 inches from the soil. Primary branches are those that are growing from the plant's crown, at the soil level. Make the cuts 1/2 inch above a bud. Buds are tiny bumps on the branches, sometimes pink. This severe pruning will rejuvenate the rhododendron.
- 4). Cut diseased wood last. Any diseased branches should be completely removed back to the point of origin, bagged and disposed of.
