Some plants and animals are selective in where they flourish.

Polar bears like a polar climate. That’s one reason they’re called polar bears. They blend in with snow and are built to swim in icy waters.

Other organisms flourish only in tropical waters, or in jungles, or in deserts, or in mountains, or wherever.

And some species — including rhododendren, which is the plural of rhododendron — flourish only in parts of the world such as this.

Depending on spring weather, rhododendren tend to bloom here sometime from mid-May to mid-June. So those who use summer homes here starting later in June often don’t get to enjoy their rhododendren.

Rhododendren tend to bloom for about three weeks. They tend to open up during the first week, fully bloom during the second, and fade during the third.

Especially as they head toward their third week, a heavy rainstorm can shorten their time.

If you like rhododendren, this week should be one of your favorite weeks in New York’s western Southern Tier.

Look around and you’ll see rhododendren in white or in shades of red or purple.

Head a little ways north or south. You’ll see that rhododendren don’t thrive as they do here.

There’s something about the climate and the soil here that allows rhododendren to thrive.

They do so well that a little bush easily carried out of a nursery by a medium-sized child today can, before too many years pass, become enormous.

Drive through any one of several local cemeteries and see for yourself.

Maybe those who planted rhododendren envisioned their getting so big.

Or maybe those who planted them kept them trimmed for years and are no longer able to do so.

Either way, they’re beautiful.

And not just in cemeteries.

Drive by many homes and you’ll see rhododendren in all their glory this week.

Once the blossoms fade, new growth will shoot forth.

Rhododendren are easy to keep in check by trimming them every year, and then significantly cutting into them every so many years.

And, no, don’t trim them as if you were trimming some variety of evergreen shrub or hedge. Instead, trim them with a clipper you can hold in one hand. If you’re cutting into woody branches, you may need something akin to a little saw.

Especially if you and bee stings don’t get along, it’s best to wait until the bees leave. That is, until the blossoms have fully faded. If you’re allergic to bee stings, you know that each episode can be worse than the previous one.

People, of course, aren’t the only ones who like rhododendren. Those cute little fawns that you see at this time of year are way more numerous than they were decades ago. And they grow up to eat some things their ancestors rarely touched.

They tend to munch on – no, obliterate – rhododendren when snow covers the ground and not touch them at other times.

Maybe they save rhododendren for when grass is harder to reach. Whatever the reason, deer can strip rhododendren of every leaf and bud.

So if you want blossoms next year, you may have to wrap your rhododendren this fall after cleaning up leaves.

Wrapping these and other bushes, and putting out Christmas lights, are good things to do before snow flies.

But that’s a long way off.

For now, if you’re from here or have lived here for a while, take time to enjoy this year’s version of a special part of creation.

If you’re new or relatively new to this part of the world, do the same. And welcome to rhododendren country.

Randy Elf likes to trim rhododendren after the bees have left.

COPYRIGHT ç 2021 BY RANDY ELF.