Rainwater vs Irrigation: Why Plants Always Prefer a Natural Drink
Rainwater vs Irrigation: Why Plants Always Prefer a Natural Drink If you’ve ever walked around the garden after a good downpour and thought everything looked greener, brighter, and somehow happier, you’re not imagining it. Rainwater really is the best drink your plants can get. While well water, bore water, and treated town supply certainly keep…
A Colourful Six Weeks at RhodoDirect
Although the weather has been wildly unpredictable this season — snow, severe hailstorms, late frosts and everything in between — the rhododendrons have still managed to shine. They’ve taken every bit of extreme weather in their stride, and honestly, I think this year they’ve proven just how tough and resilient they really are. Over the…
Lisa is Going Potty Potting Up!
🌿 Lisa is Going Potty Potting Up! If you’ve ever wondered what happens before a rhododendron ends up ready for sale at RhodoDirect, let me take you behind the scenes. There’s never any downtime here in the nursery — it’s a constant cycle of growing, potting, pruning, and re-potting again! And now that we’ve added…
Stop and Smell the Rhodos – Discover the Fragrant Rhododendrons
Stop and Smell the Rhodos – Discover the Fragrant Rhododendrons One of the questions I often get asked at the nursery is, “Are there any rhododendrons that are fragrant?”The answer is a resounding yes! And once you’ve grown a few of these beauties, you’ll find yourself seeking them out again and again. While colour often…
Hot Winds, Cooked Flowers, and Resilient Rhododendrons
Hot Winds, Cooked Flowers, and Resilient Rhododendrons What a windy start to our flowering season! Initially, our display garden was at least two weeks later than normal, but then one hot, windy Saturday arrived and everything seemed to change at once. The warm blast encouraged the flower buds to open — and at the same…
Fighting Thrips the Natural Way
Fighting Thrips the Natural Way 🌿 If you’ve ever noticed silvery patches on leaves, distorted flowers, or tiny little critters hiding inside blooms – chances are you’ve met thrips. These tiny sap-sucking insects might be small (less than 2 mm long!) but they can cause a lot of damage in the garden, especially when numbers…
Taking RhodoDirect to the Next Level
If you’ve been following RhodoDirect for a while, you’ll know we’re always looking for ways to grow (pun fully intended). This year has brought one of our biggest turning points yet — the moment we stepped into the world of wholesale. Earlier in the year, we had the chance to take on the wholesale side…
Cold? What cold? Early Rhododendrons Laugh in the Face of Winter!
There’s something magical about the very first rhododendron flowers of the season. When the mornings are frosty, the air still has that winter bite, and most of the garden is quietly biding its time, these early bloomers jump the gun and deliver splashes of colour long before spring officially arrives. Here at RhodoDirect, the hard…
The Cold Truth About Rhododendrons: Why Frost is Their Favourite Mixer
When it comes to winter, some plants hunker down and hope for the best — but not rhododendrons. These hardy shrubs have evolved with some clever cold-weather coping strategies that make them true connoisseurs of chilly conditions. You’ve probably noticed the droop. Rhododendron leaves curl and hang in the cold — and it’s not out…
A moment of reflection…
What a wild ride the last 6 weeks have been! We’ve just wrapped up a massive construction blitz — and the results are seriously exciting. We’ve installed 10 kilometres of slats on the roof of our brand-new lathe house (yes, we measured!), rammed in 112 posts, and clocked up some serious muscle. Let’s just say…









