Post-turkey puzzler

I hope everyone had a great holiday yesterday!  Since I am NOT a shopper, I’m avoiding “Black Friday” and posting another puzzle instead.

Consider this photo:

This is a rhododendron in my own landscape.  The photo was taken in July, though the damage on these new leaves occurred earlier than that.  In Seattle, rhododendron leaf bud break generally occurs in April.

Now consider this problem.  Same plant, different year – and actually a different problem!

So what caused this damage?

Explanations on Monday!

Published by

Linda Chalker-Scott

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. Linda also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting The Informed Gardener (2008) and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again (2010) from the University of Washington Press and Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do from Timber Press (2015). Her latest effort is an update of Art Kruckeberg’s Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest from UW Press (2019). In 2018 Linda was featured in a video series – The Science of Gardening – produced by The Great Courses. She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Linda’s contribution to gardeners was recognized in 2017 by the Association for Garden Communicators as the first recipient of their Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award. "The Garden Professors" Facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheGardenProfessors "The Garden Professors" Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors Books: http://www.sustainablelandscapesandgardens.com

4 thoughts on “Post-turkey puzzler”

  1. The first I’m going to say is cold damage – didn’t you guys have a nasty (at least for the Seattle area) cold spring? The new growth was damaged as it was unfurling.

    Second one, looks like white speckling on the leaves – insect residue. Maybe insect damage?

    Reply

  4. In the first photo, didn’t you have 24 degree low on april 24th? Loer leaves are yellow and problems are moving upward. Second photo, opposite, something hot?

    Reply

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