Banded Shrubs & Evergreens (Continued) 
(About Rhododendrons) 
whether or not you use peat, is Rhododendron 
ryhzoctonia. (See photo). It affects some types of 
Azaleas and Rhododendrons quite alarmingly. A 
plant affected with rhyzoctonia begins to turn 
slightly yellowish in color, the leaves droop and turn 
a sickly green. Before long the plant seems to have 
just dried up, still maintaining this light green color. 
And of course it soon dies. 
The “old-timers” (and even today, many of the 
European growers) continue to use Bordeaux mix- 
ture to control rhyzoctonia as well as some other 
types of leaf and flower diseases, most of which 
might be classed as soil-borne. However, Bordeaux 
mixture is very high in Ph. Because we probably 
‘“‘Rhodie” with bad case of Rhizoctonia; 
it will kill ’em! 
dust and spray our plants more often than is neces- 
sary to keep them clean, this high Ph material has a 
tendency to bring up the Ph of the peat planting 
medium. Therefore there are serious objections to 
using Bodeaux. 
When Fermate was first introduced, it appeared that 
it might be the solution to the problem. However, 
Fermate seemed to have a tendency to dwarf the 
plants. Possibly the carrying agent, that is, the 
material in which the Fermate is mixed, is the 
dwarfing substance. And possibly another trial with 
. carrying agent of lower Ph would prove satisfac- 
ory. 
Aphids and mites have a picnic with these ericaceous 
plants. And if you have ever seen an Azalea badly 
12 
