Rhododedrons and clay soil

 Will rhododendrons and azaleas grow in clay soil?

 
Not happily, they won't. Have you ever walked through the kind of forest
where your feet sink 6" into the amazing leaf mold that lies on top of soil
that's moist & fluffy? That's their favorite environment. Both things
contribute to this - the leaf mold *and* the soil underneath, so just piling
leaves on top of clay soil won't do the trick, at least not in the short
term. If you want to grow these things, you'll need to improve the clay
soil, which can take 2-3 years if you really work at it, or forever if you
make a half-hearted effort.

 

No, because clay soil does not drain.  Rhododendrons and azaleas need
three things, acidic soil, drainage and drainage.  The normal remedy is
to use a raised bed.  Rhododendrons and azaleas have shallow roots, so
the raised bed only needs to be 6 to 12 inches above grade. Create it by
creating a mound or berm, or a raised planting bed using a retaining
curb such as logs, timbers or rocks.  It is best if the base is a
material with good drainage like gravel.  Then at least 6 of 8 inches of
good acidic, well-drained soil above that.  If you use a lot of peatmoss
or compost remember, the peatmoss and compost will decompose over time
to 1Ž2 the original depth, so make the bed proportionately deeper.
--
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA  Zone 6

 
Some thought always needs to go into designing raised beds to keep the soil
from washing away in hard rains.

 
I have rhodo that does.  But depends on how much clay you are talking
about.  Nothing will grow in pure clay but, yes in clayey soil.