Wonderful Azaleas...
Welcome back readers!
In the quest of adding more color to my garden, recently I have acquired two Azalea plants. Azaleas are a bit difficult growers. There are certain things that needs to be taken care of if we add Azaleas to our garden.
The first and the foremost requirement of an Azalea plant is the type and quality of potting mix that is being used to grow these plants. I went through a number sites and browsed various pages so as to conclude on the use of the best potting mix required for these plants. Last year I had killed one of my Azalea by choking its root in a poor quality soil. The characteristics that the potting mix should have is it most be porous so as to circulate enough air in between the roots and provide good drainage to the excessive water, at the same time the soil should be able to store enough moisture. The soil must have enough organic matter. The potting mix that I have used is half part of soil and one part each vermicompost, compost, cow dung manure, dried mulch (leaf mulch). Azaleas are acid loving plants hence the more the organic matter the more is the acid level of the soil. Avoid using inorganic fertilizer.
Secondly we need to take care of the water requirements of these plants. The soil must not be water logged and at the same time the plant should not be dry in between watering.
The third requirement is the sunlight. In the winter the plant is not much stressed in full sun but in the month of summer the Azaleas need some morning sun and afternoon shade. I have already moved them to shaded location for the upcoming summer.
The fourth point that needs to be kept in mind is the pest problems that these plants suffer. Remove all the dead parts of the plants including dead flowers. These dead parts attracts more pests. Hence once we remove the dead parts we reduce the chances of pest attacks.
The last but not the least is the kind of fertilizers that needs to be used. Keep some space in the pot to add layers of vermicompost, compost and dried leaf mulch from time to time. To enhance blooming I use a orchid fertilizer which is generally sprayed to the foliage and the growing tips of the plants. The orchid fertilizers are mild fertilizers and best suited for these plants. Avoid use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers as these tends to increase ammonia in the soil, thus reducing the acid level of the soil.
So far my Azaleas are doing well in my garden. I would like to share some of the snaps from my garden.
In the quest of adding more color to my garden, recently I have acquired two Azalea plants. Azaleas are a bit difficult growers. There are certain things that needs to be taken care of if we add Azaleas to our garden.
The first and the foremost requirement of an Azalea plant is the type and quality of potting mix that is being used to grow these plants. I went through a number sites and browsed various pages so as to conclude on the use of the best potting mix required for these plants. Last year I had killed one of my Azalea by choking its root in a poor quality soil. The characteristics that the potting mix should have is it most be porous so as to circulate enough air in between the roots and provide good drainage to the excessive water, at the same time the soil should be able to store enough moisture. The soil must have enough organic matter. The potting mix that I have used is half part of soil and one part each vermicompost, compost, cow dung manure, dried mulch (leaf mulch). Azaleas are acid loving plants hence the more the organic matter the more is the acid level of the soil. Avoid using inorganic fertilizer.
Secondly we need to take care of the water requirements of these plants. The soil must not be water logged and at the same time the plant should not be dry in between watering.
The third requirement is the sunlight. In the winter the plant is not much stressed in full sun but in the month of summer the Azaleas need some morning sun and afternoon shade. I have already moved them to shaded location for the upcoming summer.
The fourth point that needs to be kept in mind is the pest problems that these plants suffer. Remove all the dead parts of the plants including dead flowers. These dead parts attracts more pests. Hence once we remove the dead parts we reduce the chances of pest attacks.
The last but not the least is the kind of fertilizers that needs to be used. Keep some space in the pot to add layers of vermicompost, compost and dried leaf mulch from time to time. To enhance blooming I use a orchid fertilizer which is generally sprayed to the foliage and the growing tips of the plants. The orchid fertilizers are mild fertilizers and best suited for these plants. Avoid use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers as these tends to increase ammonia in the soil, thus reducing the acid level of the soil.
So far my Azaleas are doing well in my garden. I would like to share some of the snaps from my garden.
Hope the post was informative for you all and this might inspire you adding a Azalea to your garden. I will be soon back with my next post. Till then Happy Gardening!
Informative post. I haven't seen many plant nurseries selling these here in Bangalore.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vasudha for taking out some time for my post...
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