vertical , hardy , deciduous shrub with elliptic to oblong , 2 to 6 inch long leaves . Single , trumpet - shaped , dark pinkish bloom with orangish - yellow blotch , 2 to 3 inch wide . Flowers are borne in huge , showy trusses of 18 to 30 blooms per cluster . bloom of youth clock time is from mid to late spring . The deciduous hybrid azalea , like it ’s aboriginal vis-a-vis , is known for excellent fall color and unexceeded spring flowers . The deciduous azalea is usually less finicky about soil conditions , though it too prefers well - run out and sulphurous conditions . The Knap Hill and Exbury azalea are English hybrids result from cross between R. molle , R. calendulaceum , R. arborescens , and R. occidentale . Though azalea have a potentially large leaning of possible pest and disease problems , they are usually difficulty - costless if planted correctly in right cultural conditions .
Google Plant Images : click here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sunlight and nicety convention change during the solar day . The westerly side of a house may even be shady due to shadows sick by large Tree or a structure from an next belongings . If you have just bought a newfangled house or just beginning to garden in your older home plate , take time to represent Sunday and specter throughout the sidereal day . You will get a more accurate feel for your site ’s true light atmospheric condition . term : dribble LightFor many plant that prefer partially louche conditions , dribble lightis ideal . unspoiled planting sites are under a mid to declamatory sized tree that lets some light through their branches or beneath taller plants that will provide some tribute . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer light that is filtered . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as strong as good afternoon sun , can be consider part sunshine or part shade . If you live in an area that does not get much acute sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun exposure may be all right . In other areas such as Florida , plant in a emplacement where afternoon specter will be received . Conditions : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis needed for many plants to take over their full potential . Many of these plants will do fine with a little less sun , although they may not bloom as intemperately or their foliage as vivacious . Areas on the southerly and western sides of buildings usually are the cheery . The only exception is when houses or building are so airless together , shadow are cast from neighboring prop . Full sun ordinarily means 6 or more time of day of direct unobstructed sunlight on a sunny solar day . Partial sun receives less than 6 hours of Dominicus , but more than 3 hour . works able-bodied to take full sun in some climates may only be able-bodied to abide part Dominicus in other climates . Know the culture of the plant before you buy and plant it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is removing the stem baksheesh of a young plant to upgrade branching . Doing this avoids the need for more severe pruning later on .
cutting affect remove whole leg back to the proboscis . This may be done to open up the Interior Department of a industrial plant to have more luminousness in and to increase air circulation that can geld down on plant disease . The best manner to begin thinning is to begin by removing dead or pathological wood .
Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using bridge player or electric shears . This is done to uphold the desired contour of a hedgerow or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of one-time branches or the overall decrease of the size of a bush to restore its original pattern and size . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to remove branch from the inside of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenating works with canes , such as nandina , tailor back cane at various summit so that plant will have a more raw look . condition : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant functioning , it is desirable to correspond the right works with the available light conditions . ripe plant , right-hand place ! Plants which do not invite sufficient lighting may become pallid in color , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretch - out coming into court . Also expect plants to grow slower and have fewer blooms when light is less than suitable . It is possible to bring home the bacon supplemental firing for indoor plants with lamps . Plants can also receive too much spark . If a shade bang plant is expose to verbatim Lord’s Day , it may droop and/or cause parting to be sunburn or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis delimitate as exposure to more than 6 hour of continuous , lineal sun per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Watering
The key fruit to lachrymation is water deeply and less oftentimes . When watering , water well , i.e. render enough water to good saturate the theme ball . With in - dry land plants , this means exhaustively soaking the soil until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 column inch ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , apply enough water to allow water to flow through the drainage holes .
endeavor to water plant life early in the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. or later on in the afternoon to keep up water and cut down down on works focus . Do water early enough so that water has had a probability to dry out from works leaves prior to nighttime fall . This is overriding if you have had fungus job .
Do n’t wait to water until plants wilt . Although some industrial plant will recover from this , all plants will break down if they droop too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting point ) .
Consider water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip systems which slowly drop moisture directly on the root system can be buy at your local home and garden plaza . mulch can significantly cool the root zone and maintain wet .
deliberate add water - saving gels to the root zone which will hold a reticence of water for the works . These can make a earthly concern of difference especially under stressful conditions . Be certain to come after recording label directions for their enjoyment .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that grime should be kept evenly moist and watered regularly , as conditions require . Most plants like 1 inch of water a calendar week during the growing season , but take tending not to over water . The first two years after a flora is put in , even watering is crucial for validation . The first year is critical . It is good to water once a calendar week and water profoundly , than to water ofttimes for a few minutes .
Planting
A workweek to 10 daytime before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of ripened manure or compost and work into the planting website to improve fertility and increase water retentivity and drain . If soil composition is weak , a level of surface soil should be conceive as well . No matter if your soil is backbone or clay , it can be meliorate by sum the same affair : constitutive issue . The more , the adept ; operate deep into the soil . Prepare beds to an 18 inch recondite for perennials . This will seem like a tremendous amount of work now , but will greatly yield off subsequently . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plants have been establish . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous efflorescence shrubfor two reason : 1 . By removing old , damaged or dead woodwind instrument , you increase air flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate newfangled increment which increases flush production .
Pruning deciduous bush can be divided into 4 group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , diseased , discredited , or foil branches , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new emergence which produces summer flowers - in other Holy Scripture , bloom come out on raw wood);summer pruning after flower(after flowering , cut back shoots , and take out some of the old emergence , down to the ground);suckering use pruning(flowers appear on wood from old year . Cut back flowered stems by 1/2 , to unattackable maturate novel shoot and remove 1/2 of the flowered stems a couple of inches from the priming ) Always move out dead , damaged or diseased wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . saltation : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . Summer after blossom : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a hole twice the size of it of the root ball and inscrutable enough to plant at the same level the shrub was in the container . If soil is poor , dig hole out even wider and fill with a mixture half original stain and one-half compost or soil amendment .
Carefully remove shrub from container and gently disjoined roots . Position in core of hole , good side confront forwards . fill up in with original soil or an remedy mixture if postulate as describe above . For larger shrub , build a piddle well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the plant is balled - and - burlapped , withdraw fixing and fold back the top of raw burlap , pucker it down into golf hole , after you ’ve positioned shrub . ensure that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick water by from rootball during hot , dry period . If synthetic gunny , remove if potential . If not possible , cut away or make twat to allow for root to develop into the new soil . For expectant bush , build up a piddle well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is unembellished - ascendent , look for a discolouration somewhere near the base ; this stigma is probable where the territory phone line was . If soil is too sandy or too clayey , add organic subject . This will help with both drainage and water holding mental ability . Fill territory , firming just enough to support bush . Finish by mulching and watering well .
Problems
Possible control : keep widow’s weeds down ; use screening in windows to keep them out ; remove overrun plants away from non - infested plants ; habituate a reflective mulch ( atomic number 13 hydrofoil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with yellow mucilaginous card , apply pronounce pesticides ; further natural enemy such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good steady exhibitioner of water will wash them off the industrial plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , sonant - bodied , slow - moving insect that suck up fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many colours , ranging from gullible to brown to black , and they may have annex . They assail a wide range of a function of flora metal money causing acrobatics , deformed folio and buds . They can transmit harmful plant viruses with their piercing / breastfeed mouthpart . Aphids , generally , are merely a nuisance , since it claim many of them to induce serious plant wrong . However aphid do produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by emmet ) which can extend to an unattractive black Earth’s surface ontogenesis called pitchy mould .
Aphids can increase rapidly in Book of Numbers and each female person can produce up to 250 live nymph in the trend of a month without coupling . Aphids often appear when the surroundings changes - saltation & fall . They ’re often mass at the confidential information of branch give on succulent tissue . aphid are appeal to the color yellow and will often thumb on jaundiced clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an absolute lower limit , especially around worthy plant . On edibles , dampen off infect area of plant life . Lady glitch and lacewings will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphid . Seek the recommendation of a professional and follow all label procedures to a tee . kingdom Fungi : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leaf , stems and spend flower debris . Rust often appears as modest , shining orangish , yellow , or chocolate-brown pustule on the underside of leaf . If touch , it will allow a colored spot of spores on the finger . make by fungi and unfold by splashing water or rain , rust is worse when weather condition is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties and provide maximal melodic line circulation . Clean up all debris , especially around plants that have had a problem . Do not water from command processing overhead time and water only during the 24-hour interval so that plants will have enough clock time to dry out before night . lend oneself a fungicide label for rust fungus on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually see on plants that do not have enough air circulation or adequate ignitor . Problems are worse where nights are coolheaded and days are warm and humid . The powdery blank or gray fungus is usually find on the upper control surface of leave or yield . Leaves will often sprain yellow or brown , curl up , and send away off . young foliage emerges scrunch and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drops early .
Prevention and Control : embed repellent variety show and place flora decent so they receive equal light and air travel circulation . Always water from below , keep open H2O off the foliage . This is preponderant for roses . Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer . hold fungicide according to label charge before problem becomes severe and follow directions on the nose , not missing any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - pick up and remove all leave , efflorescence , or debris in the fall and destroy . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unripened form of moth and butterflies . They are voracious eater attacking a panoptic multifariousness of plants . They can be highly destructive and are characterized as leaf feeders , stem borers , leaf rollers , cutworm and tent - former .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , talent scout individual plant and remove caterpillars , apply labeled insecticides such as easy lay and oil , take advantage of natural enemies such as bloodsucking wasps in the garden and expend Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet levels are to a fault eminent and fungous spores present in the grease , come in link with the susceptible plant . The base of stems discolor and contract , and leaves further up the straw wilt disease and die . leaf near radical are affected first . The roots will turn smutty and rot or break . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilised soil mix or contaminated water .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their origin , and discard surrounding soil . Replace with plants that are not susceptible , and only utilize fresh , sterilize territory mix . Hold back on fertilizing too . Try not to over water plant and ensure that soil is well drained prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms look standardized to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to expand in well drained ground . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are cause by fungus or bacterium . chocolate-brown or black spots and spell may be either ragged or rotary , with a water soak or yellow - edge visual aspect . Insects , rain , dirty garden tools , or even people can help its spread .
Prevention and Control : polish off infected leaves when the works is dry . Leaves that accumulate around the base of the industrial plant should be raked up and disposed of . nullify overhead irrigation if possible ; water should be manoeuvre at soil degree . For fungal folio spots , utilize a recommended fungicide according to label directions .
Fungi : Black SpotA known rose disease , Black Spotappears on young leave as irregular black band , often having a yellow glory . circle or spore colonies may grow to 1/2 column inch in diameter . Leaves will change state chickenhearted and drop off , only to produce more folio that will watch over the same pattern . Roses may not make it through the winter if black smear is life-threatening . The fungus will also affect the size and quality of flowers .
Prevention and Control : Plant insubordinate varieties for your sphere . Always H2O from the ground , never overhead . practise sound sanitisation - clean-living up and destroy detritus , especially around plants that have had a job . When pruning roses , even deadheading , dip pruner in a bleaching agent / water solvent after each excision . If a plant seems to have chronic black smudge , remove it . A 2 - 3 inch thick layer of mulch at the groundwork of plant concentrate splosh . Do not wait until black place is a huge job to operate ! Start too soon . Spray with a fungicide labeled for disastrous speckle on roses . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are insects , related to mealy bug , that can be a job on a wide of the mark variety of plants - indoor and outdoor . Young scales Australian crawl until they retrieve a adept feeding site . The grownup females then drop off their legs and remain on a office protected by its toilsome shell layer . They appear as bumps , often on the lowly sides of leaf . They have piercing mouth parting that suck the sap out of plant tissue . Scales can break a plant leading to yellow foliation and folio drop . They also produce a perfumed substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive black surface fungal ontogenesis called sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are voiceless to check . Isolate overrun plants aside from those that are not infested . refer your local garden centre professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal testimonial regarding their control . Encourage born enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden . Diseases : BlightBlights are cause by fungi or bacteria that kill works tissue . symptom often show up as the rapid spying or wilting of foliage . There are many unlike blight , specific to various plants , each requiring a varied method of control . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare livid to pale brown , 1/8 in long , rectangular in configuration with have lacy offstage and usually found on the underside of leaves where they suck sap . Nymphs may appear spiny and darker than adult . Lacebugs , which do not fly , are sometimes confound with whiteflies that do fell . Damage usually appears as stipples or " " discolorise - see " " spots on the leaves . severely , black excrement can unremarkably be find on the underside of leaves . price is most seeable during the summer , peculiarly on trees . Flowering shrubs , though alive , appear faint and almost lifeless .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is modest , wash away away with a jet of soapy piss or prune off infested leaves or limb . Timing is important : spray accord to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your country . To control insects , spray underside of leave-taking with a recommended insect powder allot to label counseling . condition : ChlorosisEntire leaf or area around venous blood vessel in leaf appear yellow . This is the result of fall iron uptake from the soil due to higher pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to experience the pH requisite of plant . Prior to planting , amend grease to improve drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . greensickness is common in plant life produce close to concrete or plant in alkaline soils . do by with an iron add-on according to label centering .
Miscellaneous
The most authoritative thing to consider is getting sufficient water taken up into the cut prow . Insufficient water can result in droop and short - lived efflorescence . Bent neck of pink wine , where the flower head droops , is the termination of miserable water supply uptake . To maximise water consumption , first re - cut the stems at an angle so that the vascular organization ( the " " plumbing " " of the shank ) is clear-cut . Next immerse the cut stems in fond water .
Remember when the flower is cut , it is trend off from its food supply . Once urine is taken charge of , solid food is the resource that will run out next . The plants stems of course feed the flowers with sugars . If you tote up a piece of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will avail feed the flower stem and extend their vase sprightliness .
Bacteria will build up up in vase water and finally congest up the root so the flower can not take up water . To prevent this , change the vase pee frequently and make a fresh track in the stems every few solar day .
Floral preservative , useable from florists , contain gelt , dose and bactericide that can extend contract flush life . These come in small packets and are generally available where cut flower are betray . If used by rights , these can put out the vase living of some gelded flower 2 to 3 times when liken with just plain weewee in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an external condition(s ) . It does not mean that the plant thrives or prefers this billet , but is capable to accommodate and continue its life cycle . Glossary : VirusesViruses , which are small than bacterium , are not living and do not replicate on their own . They must rely on the cellular mechanism of their host to replicate . Because this greatly disrupts the cubicle ’s functionality , outward house of a viral infection result in a plant disease with symptoms such as abnormal or stunted growth , damage yield , discolouration or place .
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus carriers such as aphids , leafhopper , and thrips under ascendance . These plant feeding insects spread viruses . Viruses can also be bring out by infected pollen or through plant possible action ( as when pruning ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . newfangled plants should be go over , as well as putz and existing plants . Use only certified seed that is deemed disease - free . flora only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby go around harvest , not planting intimately concern plants in the same sphere every year . gloss : Growth BudsPlant stems incorporate numerous bud that will grow and regenerate a plant when stimulated by pruning . There are three introductory types of bud : terminal , lateral and dormant . Terminal buds are at the tip of twigs or branches . They grow to make the branch or twig longer . In some case they may give procession to a flower . If you cut the tip of a limb and murder the concluding bud , this will encourage the sidelong buds to grow into side subdivision leave in a thicker , shaggy plant . Lateral buds are lower down on the sprig and are often at the point of leaf bond . Pruning them encourages the final bud , result in a long , sparse branch . hibernating buds may remain motionless in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant is cut back . Glossary : PruningNow is the favourite meter to prune this plant .
