Love it or hate it, rhododendron is important to many wildlife species and its leaves are truly Mother Nature’s thermometer.

When the weather drops below freezing, rhododendron leaves start to wilt. Below 25, the leaves start to curl. Rhododendron leaves curl up so tightly below 20 degrees, the plant looks practically bare!

Some plants, including New York rhododendrons, can tell you how cold it is based on the shape of their leaves!

You don’t need a thermometer to tell you how cold it is when the leaves of rhododendrons are curled up like they are now. They do that to retain moisture. Near some rhododendrons outside my ...

The leaves of the rhododendron bush often will curl up as a response to freezing temperatures. This is natural, and the plant ...