[jayneyredditch]

i love rhododendrons but also have a good supply of horse manure too....i have overdone it with digging in the manure and two bushes have died even tho manure well rotted....obviously not the best food for them?oh dear i have lots to learn

[Trillium]

Horse poo is pretty good for rhodos. If you had failure, then its more likely due to wind dessication of the leaves. They're very sensitive to that and cannot tolerate open, windswept locations. They prefer wind shelter and a bit of shade to make them happy. They're also somewhat acidic loving so I find applying sulphur powder twice a year to the surface and scratching it in helps. Rainwater is also better than tapwater for them. They are also prone to root rot if there's poor drainage and planting them in a raised mound helps a lot so that water runs off.

[SG6]

Quick search and it seems that horse manure should keep/add to the acidity. Rhododendrons like acid conditions so that should be OK.

The straw/wood chips that are often part of the horse manure will reduce the nitrogen in the soil. So that might be the reason. If adding horse manure it is advised to add a nitrogen fertiliser as well/later.

After that I can only think that adding the manure has been simply too much. Do rhododendrons really need lots of manure? Horse manure adds fertility whereas if left to compost it is often used to add structure.

[gobs]

'Digging it in' might be a clue to the answer. Wounding roots and applying manure too close to those, maybe, however, the answer might well be completely unrelated to this action as Trillium suggests.

I haven't fed mine for about 4 years... they are fine.

[Bombers]

I haven't touched my Rhododendrons or azaleas since we moved here 17 years ago, and they just get better each year. If it aint broke, don't try and fix it!