Rhododendron Looks hurt after a hard winter

[backyard]

Several of my small trees seem to have been seriously hurt or killed over the winter. A 40 year old dogwood I've got looks dead, its showing no signs of life and has now dropped several large limbs, a small willow that's been here for ages also looks dead on the north side of the house, having pretty much snapped off a few feet above the ground with no new signs of life. So does a massive Rhododendron that took a beating in one ice storm. Its usually showing signs of blooming around this time, its usually in full bloom for Mother's day but it looks dried up and dead. Its over 25ft tall. One of the primary branches and part of another snapped off under the ice and had to be removed. What's left looks pretty rough.
It actually started to bloom back in March when we had a false spring for a few weeks but the cold that came after that pretty much killed off all the blossoms that were on it. Now the whole thing is covered in black spots or dead leaves.
I bound a few of the larger cracked branches back together in hopes they would heal but I have no clue if that'll work or not. Its been there as long as I can remember.

The long single digit cold snap we had all through January really seems to have put a hurt on a lot of plants here.
Things like two newly rooted forsythia bushes that I've been trying to get going have taken off like wild, with both exceeding the size of the parent plant after four years of doing almost nothing.
The very thorny flowering quince also has taken off like mad already, almost doubling in size in two weeks.
I'm also overrun with tiny red maple tree seedlings, millions of them everywhere.

 

[Sheal]

It's a shame when the weather does so much damage. Especially to older mature plants that we think will go on for ever.

I think it's safe to say the Willow and Rhododendron are dead, but I'd give the others a chance to re-shoot, possibly from the base. If there's no sign of life later in the year it will be time to think about replacing them.

 

[backyard]

The willow actually got destroyed once before, so bad that we cut it down and pulled out the stump. Then it returned in the form of a bunch of small shoots vs a tree trunk. That gave way to a twin trunk mess of a tree that never got larger than maybe two 4" trunks before getting toppled again by ice in the late 90's. I cut it down and left the stump. I had moved to FL for work for a while and wen I came back, it had resprouted again as a mass of tiny stems and branches. I had been cutting it back every fall because of its habit of gathering snow and ice and toppling over.

I was looking today and the Rhododendron has one part that's still got good leaves on it, its on the west side of the tree, down low. The trunk is about 14" across at the base, but it splits off into 18 smaller trunks that both rise vertical about 30 ft, or out to form a giant egg shaped tree on the north side of my house.

About ten years ago we had a late ice storm that hit when it was in full bloom. It toppled over into the neighbors yard with the root ball on top and the tree so covered in ice it was nearly completely solid and round. I was able to use a winch and a strap to roll the thing back into the hole that it came out of, I added several props to support it and it was no worse for wear for the last 10 years, even growing several feet since. It was planted back in the early 70's, around '71 or '72 when my parents lived here. It started out as an Easter gift for mom back then from a local outdoor center/florist in town. All of the trees that got hurt this winter were those that got here the same way around that time. Back when they were just making the place their own.

How long do Rhododendrons live? I've never seen one this big around here before. Most don't believe me till they see it.

 

[Meadowlark]

How long do Rhododendrons live?

According to "Whyfarmit" , most rhododendrons live several decades to over a century.

I personally have some about 50 years old and still going strong.

 

[backyard]

I am debating on cutting it back to the good parts and seeing what it does, but I'm afraid that if I prune back 80% of the tree it may finish it off. I really like how it blocks the view of the yard from that side. If its gone, I'll need to put up a fence or something. From the road, all that's seen is that tree on that side, between the willow and the Rhododendron they block the whole side of the property off from the street. There's a shopping center behind these houses and open yards lead to trespassers cutting through to save walking around the block. A huge bush or tree like that is cheaper than a fence or feeding a big dog. One neighbor put up a 6ft stockade fence but that's only 7 years old and its already rotting away.

 

[Sheal]

It's good that there are signs of life with the Rhododendron. I'd take the chance of pruning it back to the new shoots as it may well rejuvenate it.

You could erect something like this privacy screening mesh as a temporary fix while the shrub re-grows.

 

[dirty hands]

For the rhododenron I would prune off the broken branches to avoid further problems. It will heal faster that way. Tying it together could create a damp spot that could let bugs and diseases in. Consider it a topiary if its a lot to trim.

I wouldn't mess with the leaves. They will shed fast enough. It should bounce back soon.