rhododendron pests---need help

[phloxywis]

i planted a new rhodie last year about may 30th( i don't remember the name)--it's sort of a fuchsia/pink color. it was blossoming when we planted it. we had a harsh winter and a lot of it's leaves turned brown and curled up. this year it never blosssomed. i have treated it several times this year with miracid and am trying to water more frequently--especially when i see the leaves starting to droop. now i see that more leaves are curling up and turning brown or have yellow streaks. i checked the brown leaves---in most of them i found no sign of insects. in 1 of them i found a red spider mite and in several others i found fine cottony material looking like spider webs. does anyone have any idea of what the problem is? can i spray it with any thing? any help would be appreciated. this location does get quite a bit of sun. but a neighbor has one of the same color that thrives in full sun almost the entire day. thanks. phloxywis

[phloxywis]

i don't know how to edit the previous post----i found the tag for the rhodie--it's nova zembia.
phloxywis

[mooie]

Just a guess on my part, but it may be or has gone into what I call the 'famous rhodie wilt'. Sometimes it only affects a part of the plant, sometimes the whole plant is involved. Once the leaves start to wilt, in that classic downward mode, no amount of watering is going to make it better. The branch/plant succumbs to the disease. I forget the name of it, so I renamed it something I could remember! Also, it's always been my observation that most of the big leaved rhodies only bloom profusely every other year. The 'off' years, you will have a few blooms.
Don't know what the weather is like around you this summer, but if it's droughty like it is here, spider mites are having a field day. You can check with your local garden center for a suitable spray.
Another product you may want to use on it, would be one called Wilt Pruf. It's an anti-dessicant (sp?) that you spray on along about Thanksgiving that coats the leaves and protects them from drying out in the winter. I would think this would be readily available at a place that sells these broadleaf evergreens.
Hope that helped and didn't confuse you more!

mooie

[Old earth dog]

I lost a beautiful 6x6ft beauty about 3-4yrs ago from the same symptoms. I noticed one small limb was dead. Within a few weeks, the whole thing was gone. It was always an easy keeper for me till then. My small 2yr old 'Nova Zembla' is going the same route now. I wish I knew.
Mooie, if you deadhead the rhodys, they bloom great every year. Just watch out for the new growth coming up alongside the old flower. It's easy to break off.