Ericaceae (rhododendrons, arbutus, etc.) Rhododendrons, heaths, arbutus, and other members of the heath family. Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:47:18 +0000 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:47:18 +0000 UBC Botanical Garden Forums https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/ericaceae-rhododendrons-arbutus-etc.131/ HELP Sun, 13 Jul 2025 21:52:12 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help.105230/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help.105230/ invalid@example.com (colleend) colleend 4 rhododendron pruning Sun, 06 Jul 2025 21:23:51 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-pruning.105225/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-pruning.105225/ invalid@example.com (Otto Bjornson) Otto Bjornson In this video I prune two large ( over 30 years old ) plants. We initially purchased them in one gallon containers back in the early 90's
]]> 1 The indoor arbutus Fri, 04 Jul 2025 22:32:34 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-indoor-arbutus.42171/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-indoor-arbutus.42171/ invalid@example.com (Urban Legend) Urban Legend
The indoor arbutus]]> 18 Double-flowered rhododendron Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:09:27 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/double-flowered-rhododendron.91141/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/double-flowered-rhododendron.91141/ invalid@example.com (wcutler) wcutler Rhododendron 'Fastuosum Flore Pleno', said by one site to have red dots on the upper petal, but other pages show beige dots, or Rhododendron 'Fastuosum Plenum', or maybe those are similar names...

Double-flowered rhododendron]]> 2 Arbutus unedo dieback Sat, 10 May 2025 00:47:15 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-dieback.105155/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-dieback.105155/ invalid@example.com (Bill Maclachlan) Bill Maclachlan
Dies back started in the upper crown after the 2023-4 winter.

This spring there has been little if any new growth. Existing leaves are dry and crumbly.

Bark has peeled away easily from sunken areas on the trunk, showing heartwood surrounded by living tissue.

Tree is in a large well drained planter; watering and fertilizing regime has been unchanged for at least four years.

My hunch is that there is some fungal infection...

Arbutus unedo dieback]]> How do I treat a large Arbutus tree with brown spots on all the leaves? Fri, 07 Mar 2025 13:37:59 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/how-do-i-treat-a-large-arbutus-tree-with-brown-spots-on-all-the-leaves.105044/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/how-do-i-treat-a-large-arbutus-tree-with-brown-spots-on-all-the-leaves.105044/ invalid@example.com (MarnPad) MarnPad 3 Rhododendron too established to cut down to half size? Tue, 24 Sep 2024 05:21:36 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-too-established-to-cut-down-to-half-size.104776/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-too-established-to-cut-down-to-half-size.104776/ invalid@example.com (Neal) Neal
I was wondering if it would be possible to cut this Rhododendron down to about half its size? It is very well established and has quickly grown out of control, now above my roof line. Some of the branches (pictured) on the inside don't have leaves on them.

I have cut down some other overgrown bushes and have been amazed at how quickly they have grown back, but since this Rhodo is so large and branches so thick, I wanted to check and see how much I can cut it down.

Thank you!]]> 2 Arbutus menziesii has black spots on leaves Thu, 23 May 2024 05:08:27 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-menziesii-has-black-spots-on-leaves.104399/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-menziesii-has-black-spots-on-leaves.104399/ invalid@example.com (Simon Vallee) Simon Vallee
I'm new to the forum here and hoping for some advice with my arbutus menziesii tree. I got this tree from a nursery in Langley last summer, and it seemed happy in its new Kitsilano home at first. Sometime over the winter however I noticed that it was developing black spots on its leaves. There now seems to be more of these black spots, and the tree has been wilting some leaves. Even the healthier-looking leaves have curly edges and seem dehydrated to be untrained eyes.

Is it...

Arbutus menziesii has black spots on leaves]]> 3 Ladies Mantle and a Sad Rhodo Tue, 21 May 2024 06:53:15 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ladies-mantle-and-a-sad-rhodo.104454/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ladies-mantle-and-a-sad-rhodo.104454/ invalid@example.com (Lil_beach) Lil_beach
I am not sure whether to try to save it, because it is so close to the rhododendron next to it. (Recommendations welcome!)

I assume if I do want to save it, that I need to clear out this ladies mantle from the base, but I’m not sure if there is a reason why it was intentionally planted there, or is it just spread from elsewhere. (Thoughts welcome!)

The plants:
View attachment 254370
Context of where they sit:...

Ladies Mantle and a Sad Rhodo]]> 1 My Rhododendron is not blooming Mon, 20 May 2024 05:28:26 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-rhododendron-is-not-blooming.104445/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-rhododendron-is-not-blooming.104445/ invalid@example.com (Ssbbaa77) Ssbbaa77 This year and has grown larger but instead of blooming it’s turning into leaves .
We had one week of a very cold winter in a Seattle . Could that be the cause?
Will it blood next year if I add fertilizer?

Please see attached photo.
Thank you​
]]> 3 Rhododendron "Canadian Sunset" Fri, 17 May 2024 02:16:54 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-canadian-sunset.25464/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-canadian-sunset.25464/ invalid@example.com (WesternWilson) WesternWilson
However, although this was a Maple Ridge area show, when I look up this cultivar, it says it is not hardy in our area?

Well? Anybody got this one growing in a Lower Mainland garden? How is it doing?

Regards,
WesternWilson]]> 13 Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden including some unknowns for ID Mon, 13 May 2024 07:58:34 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ted-and-mary-greig-rhododendron-garden-including-some-unknowns-for-id.99992/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ted-and-mary-greig-rhododendron-garden-including-some-unknowns-for-id.99992/ invalid@example.com (wcutler) wcutler Appreciation: - Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden - the Parks Board 50 is proving a little more ambitious than I was even expecting. I will collect in this thread plants that I think are not in the Parks Board 50.

There is another brochure that includes...

Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden including some unknowns for ID]]> 39 Too old to reshape? Wed, 01 May 2024 23:59:30 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/too-old-to-reshape.104384/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/too-old-to-reshape.104384/ invalid@example.com (Pansy Power) Pansy Power It is located on the cusp of a hill and in full sun. I have attached some photos taken today as it currently looks. How do I prune it this year to try and reshape it, get rid of more...

Too old to reshape?]]> 2 King George Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:03:19 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/king-george.104377/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/king-george.104377/ invalid@example.com (MagJay) MagJay 1 Blooming Now Mon, 22 Apr 2024 03:47:47 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/blooming-now.104347/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/blooming-now.104347/ invalid@example.com (Bill) Bill 1 A very blue rhododendron Sun, 14 Apr 2024 11:57:23 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/a-very-blue-rhododendron.104310/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/a-very-blue-rhododendron.104310/ invalid@example.com (eric_r) eric_r 2 Arbutus Unedo disease? Sat, 06 Apr 2024 19:58:05 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-disease.104281/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-disease.104281/ invalid@example.com (Hoff Boyle) Hoff Boyle Planted in Duncan, BC about 3/12 years ago. They developed these spots and dying leaves in their second year and it seems to be getting worse.]]> 2 Rhodo Trocadero disease? Tue, 20 Feb 2024 01:00:25 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhodo-trocadero-disease.104115/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhodo-trocadero-disease.104115/ invalid@example.com (Sabrina Yeudall) Sabrina Yeudall
In Comox Valley.]]> 2 Deciduous Azalea: which one is a flower bud Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:17:57 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/deciduous-azalea-which-one-is-a-flower-bud.103614/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/deciduous-azalea-which-one-is-a-flower-bud.103614/ invalid@example.com (PatriciainVancouver) PatriciainVancouver 6 Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden - the Parks Board 50 Tue, 18 Jul 2023 06:42:56 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ted-and-mary-greig-rhododendron-garden-the-parks-board-50.98089/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ted-and-mary-greig-rhododendron-garden-the-parks-board-50.98089/ invalid@example.com (wcutler) wcutler @Nina Shoroplova, whose new book Legacy of Trees - Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver's Stanley Park (Heritage House, June 2, 2020, 278pp) has a brief chapter on the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden, with her own map of the trees from the Park's Board's https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/ted-and-mary-greig-garden-50-rhododendrons-of-interest.pdf document, with the trees listed in order by walking tour. Thinking...

Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden - the Parks Board 50]]> 62 Rhododendron 'Nancy Evans' Wed, 05 Oct 2022 17:03:39 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-nancy-evans.100347/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-nancy-evans.100347/ invalid@example.com (pmurphy) pmurphy
These images were taken over 4 days starting on April 27th of this year, with the last taken this morning (April...

Rhododendron 'Nancy Evans']]> 2 Rhododendrons Sat, 24 Sep 2022 09:32:29 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendrons.102798/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendrons.102798/ invalid@example.com (Elisabethgr) Elisabethgr 2 Rhododendron leaves dying Sat, 10 Sep 2022 23:22:04 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-leaves-dying.102803/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/rhododendron-leaves-dying.102803/ invalid@example.com (Stacia Leech) Stacia Leech I've been watering it regularly during the latest drought, the leaves do not show any signs of lack of moisture.]]> 2 Arbutus unedo showing signs of stress Sun, 21 Aug 2022 18:20:37 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-showing-signs-of-stress.102712/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/arbutus-unedo-showing-signs-of-stress.102712/ invalid@example.com (Daniel Cordero) Daniel Cordero
Any guidance is much appreciated.]]> 1 Pruning a rhodo that is now in sun Tue, 12 Jul 2022 02:48:33 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/pruning-a-rhodo-that-is-now-in-sun.102566/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/pruning-a-rhodo-that-is-now-in-sun.102566/ invalid@example.com (SueJ) SueJ
Pruning a rhodo that is now in sun]]> 2