Garden azaleas, or, as they are commonly called according to the modern classification of species, rhododendrons, are a huge family of beautiful flowering shrubs that can seriously differ from each other in size, shades and shape of flowers and even lifestyle.
Numerous varieties and varieties of cultivated rhododendrons can:
- be evergreen and deciduous plants;
- reach a height of 3 meters and rise above the soil by only 50–60 cm;
- differ in flowering times.
But all these plants also have common features. Garden azaleas have rather elegant shoots, covered with light bark and slightly elongated oval leaves. The leaf blades are small, dense, with noticeable pile. When the time for azaleas to bloom comes, from late April to almost mid-summer, flowers with flat or funnel-shaped corollas appear en masse on the tops of last year's shoots.
Depending on the type and variety, you can enjoy a lush cloud of white, yellow, pink, lilac or purple flowers from three weeks to 2.5 months.
Deciduous varieties of garden azaleas have been successfully grown in Russia since pre-revolutionary times, and at the beginning of the last century they were actively used for landscaping and decorating parks near Moscow and St. Petersburg. Today, the selection work of botanists around the world has made it possible to easily select plants that, with good care, are very winter-hardy, bloom luxuriantly, and grow in the middle zone.
On topic: azalea care at home after purchasing video!
The importance of pruning for indoor rhododendron
For this plant, pruning is simply extremely important. This is not only from an aesthetic point of view, first of all it is necessary for its proper growth and flowering. If Rhododendron is not trimmed on time, the flower will have too much green mass , which, in turn, will prevent the appearance of new flower buds. If the pruning period is long, then be prepared that your favorite plant will turn into an ordinary shrub.
In order for the plant to bear fruit, it must be pruned after each flowering.
Description of the plant
Azalea is the collective name of a large group of beautiful flowering shrubs from the genus Rhododendron. It is difficult to characterize the varieties of garden azaleas with general characteristics, since the cultures have many differences:
- grow to a height of three meters or barely rise above a 50-centimeter curb;
- lose their leaves annually or are classified as evergreen;
- bloom at different times.
Garden azalea (azalea)
However, each azalea growing in the garden has a number of characteristics that distinguish the shrub from other plants. Thin shoots with light brown bark are covered with green dense leaves of a vague elliptical shape. The surface of the leaf blade is covered with small hairs.
The root system is located close to the soil surface and is highly branched. During flowering, the tops of the shoots are covered with a scattering of colorful funnel-shaped flowers.
The duration of flowering depends on the variety and growing conditions of the bush: some delight with flowers for a little more than three weeks, others decorate the garden for more than 3 months.
When is this necessary and is it possible after flowering?
Azaleas need to be pruned first after flowering .
Often this period occurs in early spring. If you begin to notice that for some reason the plant has withered leaves or twigs, cut them off immediately. You should not prune during the early flowering period, when the buds are just beginning to form, as there is a risk of hurting them. Monitor the density of the leaves and, if necessary, adjust them by releasing new shoots. Visually, after all the pruning manipulations, your bush should have an even, rounded shape.
Replanting a faded azalea
Annual transplants help the bush to grow actively and enter the growing season in a timely manner. The root system also grows and increases in size, so it is necessary to change the cramped container to a more suitable one.
Gloxinia has faded - what to do next, how to care
Be sure to purchase a special nutrient substrate for rhododendrons in advance. But flower growers advise not to waste money on this and to make the soil mixture yourself by mixing loose pine soil, river sand, compost and humus.
Step-by-step transplantation of a bush into a new container proceeds according to the following scheme:
- Expanded clay or brick chips are placed on the bottom of the pot or bowl in a 4-5 centimeter layer. You can use coarse gravel or small pebbles.
- Carefully remove the azalea from the old container and place it in a container with slightly warm water for half an hour.
- When the roots get wet, carefully wash them from the old soil - the main thing is not to damage them and not leave scratches or cracks.
- If there are dead or rotten areas, they need to be cut off and the bare areas treated.
- Sprinkle a light layer of substrate over the drainage in the new container. No need to press down the ground.
- Place the bush on top and carefully straighten all the roots.
- Holding the azalea in a vertical position with your hand, gradually fill in the entire root part of the bush, leaving the root collar on top of the ground. You need to make sure that there are no voids left. Then compact the soil around the stem with your hand.
- To prevent the bush from drying out, be sure to water it with clean, settled water at room temperature.
Since azalea is very sensitive to the transplantation procedure, it is necessary to carry out all the listed steps very carefully.
At first, watering should be carried out only after the top layer of soil has dried.
Attention! Immediately after transplanting, it is better to place the flower pot in a shaded place to avoid direct sunlight.
How many times a year should the procedure be performed?
This process can be done more than three times a year, provided that you did everything correctly. Namely, we thinned out the density, after the flowers have faded, then the next steps can begin at the end of summer. Observe, if the shoots have grown by more than 5 cm, then do not wait, but immediately take the scissors and get rid of the excess length.
Don't overdo it. Netto, instead of helping “Your green friend” renew itself and reveal a new color, he may simply get sick. Be careful and check the length of the shoots and the color of the leaves .
Reproduction
The most common way to propagate Azaleas is by cuttings. To do this, choose young shoots that have not yet become woody. They are separated from the main trunk and planted in the ground. When the first shoots appear on them, they are pinched, forming the crown of the future flower.
Azalea propagation
Sometimes the branch method is used for propagation. To do this, the lower shoots are already selected and carefully taken to the ground. Part of the stem is buried and wait for roots to appear (usually takes at least six months), and then the seedling is separated and transferred to another pot.
Algorithm of actions at home
In order for the flower renewal to be done according to all the rules, it is important to know what tasks you face. If you are simply going to thin out the Azalea, then you need to use one tool, but if you fundamentally get rid of the roots, then a completely different approach is required. In this case, everything is individual; the main thing is to correctly analyze the state of the flower. At the same time, any pruning begins with the choice of tool.
Preparing tools
If Rhododendron only needs superficial cleaning, that is, getting rid of dried leaves, then you can use ordinary scissors.
When pinching and shortening shoots, which occurs just at the time of flowering in the summer, you will need pruning shears. Since work must be done quickly, the tool must be well sharpened and hygienically clean.
The main thing is that the tools are clean and moderately sharpened. You shouldn’t “saw” them; with this type of care, just smoothly walk through the necessary places.
Choosing a cutting location
The cut must be made correctly, otherwise you may not wait for new flowering buds. The main task when cutting is to ensure that the plant can reproduce again.
The cut must be made at such an angle that the Azalea shoots grow outward, not inside the crown. By the way, this rule exists for almost all “green” households.
Treatment
If necessary, treat the choice of cut location with charcoal. Or, replace charcoal with Ranet paste.
For those who are interested in whether it is possible to prune at the root, we will answer that in this way it is worth shortening only those shoots that are denser and grow extremely upward. The remaining shoots are cut to 5 cm. Do not forget to create a visually correct plant shape .
Temperature
Azalea, like any northern plant, is very capricious. Even after traveling from the store to the house, it can wither away within a couple of days. The main component for its successful growth is the temperature regime. Azalea loves cool rooms, with temperatures around fifteen degrees Celsius. Yes, it is extremely difficult to create and maintain such a temperature, but there are a couple of tricks:
- A pot of Azalea can be covered with ice.
- Water and also spray with cool distilled water.
In winter, Azalea can be placed in a closed loggia until the temperature there drops below five degrees. It is in the fall - from October to December, that the plant begins its flowering period, which means that the temperature should not exceed seventeen degrees for the flower buds to form normally.
Photo
In the photo you can see the plant after pruning.
Top dressing
It is best to feed Azalea with mineral fertilizers with a high content of potassium or phosphorus. But you need to be careful, because fertilizers with chlorine can destroy the plant.
For the flower, it is recommended to choose “Uniflor-bud” or “Kemira-Lux”. Excellent compatibility is expected with special mineral fertilizers from the “Azalea” series.
Most often, feeding is needed in spring and summer - up to weekly cycles. In winter, there is minimal intensity; it is enough to fertilize the flower once a month.
Basic mistakes
- The first and most common mistake is failure to comply with the time interval for pruning the plant . Azalea is a rather whimsical “green”; if you rush or overexpose it, it will be difficult for it to bloom.
- The second mistake is neglecting the tool, or lack thereof . Often housewives, having noticed a dried leaf, try to get rid of it using improvised means. And often they pull it out by the roots with bare hands. This is strictly prohibited.
- The third mistake is ignorance of the basic rules of care after circumcision . The cut areas must be carefully processed.
Watering
Azalea should be watered frequently in summer, every 1-2 days, but with small portions of water. It is better to moisten the soil in small doses; water for irrigation must be settled and “softened.”
It won’t hurt to get a small sprayer and regularly lightly moisten the air and leaves for your Azaleas. But this procedure will have to be stopped during flowering, otherwise the flower petals can quickly be damaged.
In winter, the flower is watered a couple of times a week.
Spraying an azalea
First care after the procedure
Post-procedure care is simple. After treating all cut areas, it is necessary to give the plant a day to “heal the wounds,” otherwise, with the first watering of the Azalea, rotting may begin (how should it be watered and what are the consequences of incorrect actions?). After this, carefully water the leaves using a spray bottle. The water should be clean and if you use tap water, then let it sit for 2 hours.
It is best to use melted, slightly cool water after pruning. This way the flower will quickly “come to life”.
Thus, it is necessary to strictly follow the rules of care for this plant. It requires attention, so watch it grow. Do not neglect the instructions, otherwise, instead of beautiful buds, you may end up with dried out ikebana.
In this case, it is worth monitoring the external condition of the plant. Since this flower does not tolerate warm places well, after pruning it is best to move it to a dark, cool room. There the flower can quickly “come to its senses” and delight you for many years to come.
The main thing to remember is that weak and diseased shoots are cut off first , since they have the most negative effect on the practical growth and reproduction of the flower. Then start shaping the appearance of the plant.
Read about the intricacies of caring for azaleas at home after purchase here.
For azaleas, it is very important to create the right environmental conditions. You can read about them in our articles; we also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the application of fertilizers.
Crops for the garden
Of the several hundred species of Azaleas, only a few varieties are suitable for growing in the garden. Gardeners' favorites are hybrid varieties belonging to the Pontic or Japanese azalea.
Pontic
“Pontine azalea” (A. pontica) or “Yellow Rhododendron” is the most interesting species for Russian gardeners. A shrub with a height of 1-2 m and the same diameter. The color of small flowers depends on the variety: white, sunny yellow, red, pink, orange. Flowering begins in early summer, with buds opening before the leaves appear or at the same time as them. The green, oblong-lanceolate leaves turn orange, red or yellow in the fall. The garden plant overwinters quietly in open ground at temperatures down to -30°C.
