How to Cut a Rhododendron Bush

Gardeners cut rhododendron bushes to maintain their shape, remove unhealthy areas and rejuvenate the plants. Rhododendrons that have become leggy or overgrown must be severely cut back. This requires gardeners to have a strong stomach for removing most of the branches and cutting the plant down to 6 inches from the ground. Unless a rhododendron hasn't been pruned in years, gardeners can employ maintenance cuttings without having to completely remove most of their plant.

Bypass shears
Denatured alcohol

Instructions

- 1
  Remove spent flowers with bypass shears. Spent flowers turn into seeds, which use up valuable plant energy. Make your cut where the flower is attaches to the branch 1/2 an inch above the emerging flowers.
- 2
  Cut any diseased or damaged areas off the rhododendron bush. Signs of disease include leaf curling, discoloration and leaf wilting. Dip your bypass shears into a mixture of 70 percent denatured alcohol and 30 percent water in between cuts to prevent spreading diseases. Make the pruning cut into 1/2 inch of healthy-looking branches at a downward 45-degree angle to remove the diseased portion.
- 3
  Shape the rhododendron by removing some of its internodes. An internode is a leafless stem located at the end of leaf whorls. Follow the leaf whorls until you get to the internode. Make your cut 1/4 inch above the topmost leaf in the cluster.
- 4
  Prune back any branches that are growing outside the growing location. Keep branches and foliage away from other plants. Dense foliage decreases sunlight and increases the instance of disease.
- 5
  Pick up all discarded rhododendron brush. Pests and disease harbor in debris.

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