rhodedendron in my front yard

jbarlowjr

Folks.............

I have a rhodedendron in my front yard (one of seven) about 49 yrs old which has been deteriorating rapidly. I was cutting awat the dead areas and broke off one of the main branches from the trunk and it broke about 6" below the ground and it appeard to be infested by termites. I kept the hole and living tree open and exposed to the air and sun. what is the best way to treat this and save my bush?

Thanks........

John

Eric Frei

Sounds a little like that rhodedendron is cactus, maybe some-one from a cold climate area may know more about them bushes and how to deal with it.

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jbarlowjr

The rhodendron is closer to a tree. It is actually a domesticated variation of Pennslvania's state flower, the mountain laurel. Aside, I need the best and most effective way to deal with the termite (if that's what they are) infestation wihout killing the bush. Since I have 6 others nearby, I'm very concerned.

Thanks again............

John

Eric Frei

Around here most termites only eat the deadwood, and as any tree is comprised of a cylinder of deadwood with a living shell on the outside there could be problems alright.

So a termite (pest control guy) man can perhaps ID the termites, see what they're eating and try to treat. Treatment could include putting down a probe and making a perimeter barrier around that tree or others.

As the activity is in the root crown there will be stability issues. Decay will continue even if termites are killed.

Just thinking out of the box you might be able to do some reduction and box dynamic cabling to hold the tree together.

You can only improve the trees vigour, you know, soil conditioners, mulch etc so it's strong and healthy. Definately lay off the fertilizers so it doesn't grow much.

MAybe also consider an application of Cambistat to reduce growth, increase root mass and general defence capabilities.

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