Rhododendron advice

Can anyone tell me please whether this is a Rhododendron seedling and if not, then what else it could be?





I would also like to know the name of the Rhodo if anyone knows, I bought it from B&Q and it just said it was a yellow one. It didn't flower the first year, but had some limited flowering this year (not as profuse as I would have liked but have deadheaded it so hopefully it will flower better next year).



Also, I bought this Rhodo a few weeks ago when in full bloom, but now that I've deadheaded it, it appears to have some sort of disease. Can anyone tell me what it is and whether it's treatable please? Thankfully it has a five year guarantee on it.



Thanks in advance for your help

 

Merleworld, you would get more answers if you posted in the Identification Area forum. Your seedling doesn't look like a rhododendron to me, but I'm no expert, and I've no idea about the name or the disease in your other photos.

 

It looks like a sunflower to me, but I could be (probably am) wrong.

 

id agree sunflower

 

Hi there Merleworld

Your first pic definitely doesn't show a rhododendron seedling.

There are now so many different named rhodos that I really wouldn't like to hazard a guess about picture 2. It looks a little like one called 'Grumpy', but it's difficult to judge from a photo. It's very pretty, anyway!

For picture 3 we really need a forum member who is a rhodo expert. I'm not, by any means, but I'd say the discoloured leaves probably indicate a problem with the plant's environment, rather than a pest or disease. Rhodos are woodland plants which prefer a bit of shade and can sulk and even scorch is they're in a hot, dry position. They also like damp (but not waterlogged) soil, so make sure you're watering regularly. Soil is also an issue. They will not tolerate lime, so they must be grown in ericaceous compost and it helps if you can water them with rainwater rather than tap water if you live in a hard water area. Lime makes the leaves go yellow rather than brown, however - so I'd say look first at where your plant is growing and move it somewhere more sheltered if necessary.