SPOTLIGHT ON
SPRING PATIO
Let’s face it, January and February can be pretty grim – just long dark nights, cold dull days and nothing doing down the garden.
This is why it’s worth looking out for some cheerful flowers that brave it early, so instead of thinking of winter gloom, you will be seeing early spring.
If you’re looking for a way to brighten up your patio in early spring, rhododendron praecox is just the ticket for instant glamour. This is a miniature species that only grows to about the same size as an indoor azalea, a maximum of 2ft 6in x 2ft 6in. It has rosy-mauve, funnel-shaped flowers that bloom throughout February
and March.
Like most of the rhododendron family it hates lime, so in most gardens the answer is to grow it in a tub of ericaceous compost. It will be quite happy to stay in the same container for two to three years, then shortly after it’s finished flowering, repot it into a slightly bigger tub and it should be fine for another three years. Water with rainwater if possible to avoid a build-up of chalk from tap water, and give it liquid tomato feed every two weeks from April to the end of August.