Newbie with a question

Scrambles1

Hey there,

I'm new to this board, and I'm so excited that all the snow is gone...well sort of. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, because the previous owners have didn't do anything with the flower beds. The house is a little over 10 years old, and it's been overgrowing for about 5-6 years. It's a shame, because our yard is beautiful. Nobody ever took the time.

We just moved in last year and started on the front...now we're working on the back this year. 

DH and I have been planting and digging out crabgrass. UGH...I'm so sick of crabgrass and lambs ear. It's taken over the flower beds. Now that we've got them cleaned out, we're deciding what to plant.

Does anybody know if rhododendrons are easily grown in the Midwest (Wisconsin)? I think they'd look nice in the area behind our garage next to the flowerbeds, but I'm not sure if they'd work. It's on the East side of our house.

I was going to put knockouts there, because they grow so well and always look beautiful, but we need something that can be evergreen to cover up the ugly foundation.

These are the only flowering evergreens that I know of. So, if anybody else has any suggestions that would be great!

curlydoglover

Where about in Wisconsin?  USDA zones can range from 3a to 5b.

There are some varieties of rhododendrons that can grow in zones 4 and 5.  I don't know of any that can be grown in Zone 3...

Scrambles1

I'm actually a zone 5.

froggyp

I'm in Zone 5b and we have three rhododendrons.  Two are in the front of the house and those do really well as they get more sunlight.  The third is in a shady part of our backyard and I'm having issues with leaves turning brown right now, so it isn't as healthy looking as the other two.