{"id":2045,"date":"2013-12-19T09:22:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T09:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bostonzest.com\/?p=2045"},"modified":"2013-12-19T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-19T09:22:00","slug":"how-cold-is-cold-enough-to-curl-a-rhododendron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bostonzest.com\/?p=2045","title":{"rendered":"How Cold Is Cold Enough to Curl a Rhododendron?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"-tell-temperature-by-Rhododendron-leaf-curl-\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>How cold has it been in Boston lately? Cold enough for the rhododendron leaves to begin to curl. And, cold enough for some of our readers to dig out a post from 2008 to learn about it. So, here's a bit of that readers' choice for those of you who have discovered BostonZest, in more recent times.<\/p>\n

Rhododendrons can be used as a natural thermometer,<\/strong> if you learn the signals their leaves are giving you.<\/p>\n

This photo (above) was taken mid-winter as the leaves were beginning to tighten into their most protective roll.<\/p>\n

Garth Wedemire over at The Amercian Rhododendron Society<\/a> says, "Leaves of rhododendrons respond to cold by first drooping…then curling up.<\/p>\n