I recently bought a Rhododendron Praecox, which is a wild sort that's closely related to the japanese Azaleas. I received it in March when it was blooming beautifully and potted it into rhododendron soil on my balcony. It's a small shrub that doesn't become very big (1m max), so it's perfect for a balcony, or so I thought.
Already when I received it, it had some darker spots on the leaves, but I hoped it was merely an aesthetic problem, because the fungus photos I found online looked much different. Now after the bloom, it started shedding leaves like crazy. The older leaves are becoming even more spotted, start to yellow and fall off. It's a weird mixture of different colors. I thought maybe it's Chlorosis, but it doesn't have the typical pattern along the spine. And I did pot the plant in new soil that was fertilized. Because of the combination with the dark leaf spots I am unsure what action to take. The new leaves on top still look fine but I am worried about the fungus (?) or whatever it has to spread. But I don't want to kill off anything in case it might just be nutrition issues like the yellowing leaves suggest. The underside doesn't have any invasive 'guests'.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
Already when I received it, it had some darker spots on the leaves, but I hoped it was merely an aesthetic problem, because the fungus photos I found online looked much different. Now after the bloom, it started shedding leaves like crazy. The older leaves are becoming even more spotted, start to yellow and fall off. It's a weird mixture of different colors. I thought maybe it's Chlorosis, but it doesn't have the typical pattern along the spine. And I did pot the plant in new soil that was fertilized. Because of the combination with the dark leaf spots I am unsure what action to take. The new leaves on top still look fine but I am worried about the fungus (?) or whatever it has to spread. But I don't want to kill off anything in case it might just be nutrition issues like the yellowing leaves suggest. The underside doesn't have any invasive 'guests'.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
