Indian and Japanese azaleas are perhaps the most beautiful decorative cultures that strike gardeners with their delicate buds. The first is grown indoors, and the second may well take root in the garden. Azalea easily tolerates cold, a houseplant in winter prefers temperatures up to 12 ° C, and a garden plant undergoes 27-degree frosts. At flower growers, flowers growing at home are more popular, but varieties that prefer to live on the street, until recently, were in the shade. Today, more and more often you can see the eastern beauty in the gardens.
Choosing a place to plant a garden azalea
The Japanese miracle is very beautiful, but very moody. Azalea requires compliance with all conditions acceptable for growth: temperature, lighting, soil composition. Since the flower is shade-loving, it does not tolerate direct sunlight. With excessive light, buds may fall, wrinkled leaves, and the plant as a whole will weaken, will be prone to disease. Japanese azalea belongs to the evergreen varieties, it feels good in the shade and partial shade. But deciduous plants are comfortable and in a bright place, which, however, should at least partially be protected by trees.
Soil preparation
Soil quality plays a big role for azaleas. Since the plant has a superficial root system, about half a meter of soil should be replaced with a suitable substrate. You can buy a soil mixture, or you can prepare it yourself by mixing acidic soil with sand, coniferous soil and peat. Planting seedlings is best done in the spring, but planting of container plants is allowed throughout the summer.
Japanese azalea requires careful preparation of the soil. First you need to dig a hole half a meter deep and about 70 cm wide. Drainage from broken brick and coarse sand (20 cm thick) is laid at the bottom. Since calcareous crushed stone alkalizes the earth, putting it into a pit is not recommended; azalea loves acidic soil. After planting, the plant should be well watered, and the earth around it should be mulched with moss, fallen needles, peat, and crushed bark. Mulch will not allow weeds to grow, it will keep the soil moist longer and warm the roots in the winter.
Plant propagation
Japanese garden azalea propagated by cuttings and seeds. The latter method is not very popular, since it requires a lot of time, certain conditions. Planting azalea from the cuttings is much easier and faster. They take root well in the early spring. Already in late March or early April, cut off petioles from a large bush about 10 cm long, undeveloped and lower leaves and apical buds are removed. Ultimately, 3 healthy leaves should remain.
The lower cut of the handle should be done at an angle of 45 °, and for the quickest root formation, sprinkle it with a stimulator. Then you should prepare ordinary plastic cups or other containers with a drain hole. Cuttings are planted in horse peat, sprayed and covered with a film so that it does not touch their tops. The air temperature must be maintained within the range of 18-22 ° . A week after planting, the cuttings must be constantly ventilated, the substrate must be constantly moist. After 1.5 months, the surviving plants take root and can be transplanted to a permanent place in the garden.
Bush pruning
Very capricious, requiring constant attention, the plant is Japanese azalea. Planting and care, including top dressing, pruning, watering, warming for the winter, will allow you to grow a beautiful, luxurious bush, sheltered with bright flowers. The removal of excess and withered shoots should begin about half a month after flowering. It is recommended to thin the plant, do not be afraid to cut branches. After such an operation, the next year the bush will be even more magnificent and will please with abundant flowering. Trimming is done on the periphery, the places of the slices are smeared with drying oil, paint or garden var. As they wilt, flowers should be picked from the bush, thus facilitating the laying of new flower buds.
Watering conditions
Japanese azalea is a hygrophilous plant, it is impossible to dry it in any case, because it weakens and dies. But you should not get involved in excessive watering. In large quantities, azalea moisture is needed during the flowering period. But spraying it at this time is not recommended, because the flowers can become covered with ugly spots. In the fall, with increased humidity, watering should be reduced.
Azalea top dressing
Almost all plants respond positively to fertilizers, the oriental beauty was no exception. In order for the young seedlings to grow stronger and grow, you need to feed them with a mullein solution in spring. After flowering, it is necessary to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in a ratio of 1: 2 . Long-term complex nutrition is loved by adult Japanese azalea. Planting and care involve fertilizing in early spring, and then when the plant fades. You can’t pour dressing under the root itself, it will be more effective to make it at a distance of 20 cm from the bush. Chlorine and lime fertilizers are not suitable for garden azaleas.
Winter preparations
Japanese azalea does not tolerate direct sunlight in both summer and winter. A warm sunny winter day can badly affect the roots of the plant. For this reason, in late autumn, before the start of frosts, it is necessary to fill the bush well, and then mulch with oak leaves or cover with pine coniferous. To winter azalea branches were under the snow, they need to bend to the ground.
The most popular varieties
Indian azaleas are heat-loving plants, so they can not survive in our latitudes in severe frosts. These beauties are mainly grown as indoor flowers. In the gardens, you can plant Japanese and deciduous species, they can easily withstand a temperature drop of -27 ° C. Japanese azalea "marushka" is very popular among flower growers. These are small half meter bushes blooming in May with red flowers. "Marushka" loves partial shade, moist and acidic soil, grows rather slowly.
In many respects similar to the previous grade of Azalea Peticout. It also blooms in May, but only in pink flowers. The bush grows to half a meter, prefers plentiful watering, otherwise the leaves may fall. Another beauty from this group is the azalea Ledikanense, whose flowers have a delicate purple color. Schneeperle amazes with its incredibly beautiful white inflorescences, in May this azalea looks like a bride. The flowering of the Geisha Orange variety is impossible not to notice, because the bush literally blazes orange. This azalea responds quickly to drought, so it is important to keep the soil moist around it.
The deciduous varieties include the large-flowered hybrid Knap Hill. It pleases with flowering for about 60 days, grows to a height of 1.5 m in height. The bush is completely covered with buds. It is also worth paying attention to the deciduous hybrids of Exbury and Mollis. If you like white flowers, you should buy Persil, red - Koster's Brilliant Red, yellow - Lemonara, pink - Cecile.
The most popular among flower growers is the Kurum Japanese azalea. Photos of these beauties amaze and cause an irresistible desire to acquire several varieties of this beautiful plant. Kurumian flowers are compact and decorative, they are grown only in the open field in their homeland, therefore they also take root well with us. They are characterized by low height, plentiful flowering, sprawling branches.
Winter-hardy varieties should be sent to the store in early spring. In appearance, these are small bushes (about 25 cm) with flowering buds and leaves. Indoor azaleas can be purchased at any time of the year. Mostly undersized seedlings are sold, but already with large leaves and blooming. Therefore, it is important not to make a mistake in choosing and buy the plant that is necessary, because if you plant indoor azalea in the garden, then it will die.