Azalea is a houseplant belonging to the Heather family. An ornamental shrub is considered capricious, however, subject to the rules of cultivation, it will not cause trouble.
Azalea care at home consists in choosing the right location, maintaining the optimum temperature, proper watering and fertilizing
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Azalea care
Azalea is considered a capricious indoor plant, but with proper care, there will be no problems, and the aristocrat will delight you with an abundance of luxurious flowers.
Azalea in a pot
When purchasing an indoor flower, you must understand whether your conditions meet: lighting, temperature conditions, air humidity of the natural environment in which this sissy grows. It is important to study the features of caring for azalea.
The choice of soil for planting
Primer for flowers
- The houseplant prefers soil with an acidity of pH 4-4.5.
- For planting, you can take heather land or make a mixture of peat and coniferous land in a ratio of 1: 2. It is advisable to add coarse-grained river sand when compiling the soil.
Another way to grow is hydroponics. In specialized stores, ready-made soils for acidophilic (lovers of "sour") plants are sold.
When planting plants in purchased soil, it is important to ensure that it does not dry out, but also does not cake from moisture, otherwise the earth will turn sour and soot fungus will develop. To ensure the soil is breathable, it is required to add perlite, but in no case moss.
Lighting
Azalea prefers bright light, but the sun's rays on the leaves cause burns, the vegetative parts turn yellow, dry and fall off, therefore lighting should be bright, but diffused.
In winter, the azalea should be placed on the windowsill on the south side, in the summer - on the east side.
Humidity maintenance
Needs high humidity. Growing in a hot apartment can kill the plant, so you can install an additional container of water near the flower pot. Needs daily foliar spraying.
spraying flowers
Watering
Azalea is demanding on water quality. On the Internet, you can find information that watering should be done only with distilled or rain water.
- You can take ordinary tap water, boil and cool to room temperature.
- Over time, the azalea will adapt to the composition of the water and will develop normally, and you will not have to collect rainwater all the time.
Water hardness has a detrimental effect on plants
Azalea is no exception. Therefore, you need to spray with boiled water.
Once a week, it is required to water the plant with water with the addition of citric acid (1 tsp per 2 liters of water). This is necessary to maintain normal soil acidity.
After each watering, it is required to drain the remaining water from the pan
Azalea does not like both drying out and waterlogging of an earthy coma. With the advent of autumn, watering is reduced and the flower is prepared for a dormant period.
You can not loosen the soil near the plant, as you can damage the delicate root system.
Some flower growers, in order to water the plant with melt water, bring snow from the street and lay it on the surface of the soil. This method is only suitable for greenhouses where azaleas are cool all the time.
Watering with cold water leads to a loss of decorativeness and to the cessation of flowering.
Transfer
It is recommended not to transplant, but to transfer the plants to a larger pot. Young azaleas are transplanted annually, old specimens - 1 time in 2 years. Before removing the azalea from the pot, it is necessary to water it well so that the earthen ball does not crumble. After transshipment, a void is formed, which is filled with fresh substrate.
The azalea has a superficial root system, so it is grown in a low pot.
Fertilization
- During the growing season, they are fed once a week with ammonium sulfate, superphosphate, ammonium nitrate.
- When buds form on the plant, 15 g of superphosphate is diluted in 10 liters of water and watered.
Care during flowering
Abundant flowering depends on the correct pruning of the stems and pinching the tops. Young shoots are pinched in May, leaving 4-5 leaves. You can not leave shoots near the flower buds - they must be removed.
If the azalea grows in a lush bush, with beautiful glossy foliage, remember, flowering will be sparse!
Keeping in a cool room will prolong the flowering period
Up to 4 buds bloom from one flower bud. As they bloom, wilted flowers and seed pods should be removed so that they do not take strength from the azalea.
Formative pruning
At the end of summer, flower buds are laid on the tops of the shoots. Therefore, it is required to cut the azalea in time so that a sufficient number of apical shoots can form by the end of the growing season.
In other words: all shoots of the previous year are removed, as well as poorly formed, lethargic, weak ones.
Pruning indoor flower
When pruning, closely spaced branches should be removed one by one to ensure normal development. Formative pruning allows you to get a beautiful plant with planted buds and a voluminous crown.
- bushy
- in the form of a tree
The bushy form is easiest to get:
- when the growing cutting reaches 10 cm, you need to pinch the top of the plant itself and the tops of the side shoots
- from time to time you need to turn the pot to ensure a uniform growth of branches
Forming an azalea in the form of a tree is also not difficult:
- you need to choose the strongest shoot, leave it, and delete the rest. it is important that the trunk grows evenly, so it needs support
- you can put a pencil next to it and tie the stem of the plant to it
- when the tree reaches the desired size, you need to pinch the top, now the growth of side shoots will begin
You can form an azalea in the form of a ball: early varieties are pruned in late March - mid-April, late - May-early June.
reproduction
At home, azaleas are propagated by seed propagation, rooting of shoots, division of the mother bush and cuttings. The most affordable way is cuttings, the most difficult is sowing seeds.
seed propagation
To get plants from seeds, you need to make a lot of effort and only a great desire, and knowledge of agricultural practices will help grow a flower. For sowing, you need to buy high-quality seeds. Seeds germinate for a long time and reluctantly.
You need to sow in a certain soil, which is bought in specialized stores. You can make your own mix. It includes turf, leafy soil and sand.You need to add some peat.
After sowing, you need to spray the surface of the soil from a fine spray, cover with glass and put in a well-lit place.
For germination, seeds need a temperature of + 25- + 30 ° C. Every day you need to ventilate the greenhouse, remove condensate.
cuttings
The easiest way, but rooting can take six months. In June, semi-lignified cuttings should be cut.
flower cuttings
Pour a layer of drainage and coniferous soil into a pot for planting. It is in the needles that the cuttings will take root. The plant is in the ground for 3 years, and then it can be transplanted into the soil for azaleas.
Walkthrough:
- Cuttings with 4-6 leaves are cut from a healthy mother plant. The cut is carried out at an oblique angle and one pair of lower leaves is removed.
- The lower leaves are cut in half. The cut must be dipped in any solution for the formation of roots.
- Deepen the cuttings no more than 1-1.5 cm, so they take root better.
- To increase the humidity of the air, you need to create a mini-greenhouse and spray the plant daily.
Why is it necessary to root in coniferous soil? It is the needles that can give the plant all the necessary substances. You can consider rooting in peat or river sand, but the survival rate is significantly reduced.
Division
The right way to get new instances. The division is carried out in the spring. To do this, you need to water the mother bush well, get it out of the pot, inspect the roots and divide into divisions (each part should have 1-2 shoots).
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Houseplants are prone to disease, azalea is no exception. To grow a healthy plant, you need to inspect the foliage daily and, at the first sign of disease and the appearance of pests, treat it with chemical or folk remedies.
Common pests
greenhouse whitefly
Barely visible insect with a pale yellow body and white wings. Settling on the vegetative parts of the plant, the whitefly sucks the juice. As a result, the foliage loses color, curls and falls off.
The insect leaves behind a trace - sugary secretions, on which a sooty fungus subsequently develops.
greenhouse whitefly
Azalea moth
Young caterpillars prefer soft tissues, so they start up in the axils of the leaves. The fact that the pest has wound up is evidenced by the drying of the leaves - if you touch them, they will crumble.
Azalea moth
Adults can be seen on the underside of the leaf. Caterpillars pupate in pre-rolled shield-like cocoons.
furrowed weevil
Black, large beetle, up to 10 cm long. The body of young individuals is colored yellowish-brown. Individuals are not particularly mobile, but if frightened away, they fly away.
furrowed weevil
They feed on vegetative parts: foliage, stems, buds, buds, flowers. The furrowed weevil or beaver is able to constantly multiply, which leads to the rapid development of the population.
common disease of azalea
Fusarium wilt
During transplantation into new soil, at a high temperature of maintenance, a Fusarium fungus may form.
Leaf plates wither, dry.The plant may die. Prevention measures. Keep cool, during transplantation, "Fundazol" should be added to the soil.
Fighting the disease should be in 3 stages:
Problems when growing azaleas: question and answer
It would seem that a beautiful plant is standing and, suddenly, the leaves begin to turn yellow or blacken, then they dry and fall off. Let's try to consider all the questions related to problems with growing and give them an exhaustive answer.
Azalea bush sheds leaves. What is the reason?
For the active growth of the azalea, conditions close to its natural habitat are necessary. The plant does not respond well to excessive watering, but will not grow in dry soil. Therefore, the golden mean is important.
Azalea bush sheds leaves
- Do not grow at high temperature, it is better to keep cool.
- It is necessary to constantly maintain optimal humidity.
- You can put a tray with wet pebbles next to the pot.
To avoid falling leaves, watering with soft water is required. Another reason is spider mites. The insect sucks the juice from the vegetative parts of the plants, so the flower lags behind in growth.
Leaves curl and fall. In the fight against ticks, chemicals or soapy water are used. After processing, you will have to cut off all the flowers, as they will become unattractive.
yellowing leaves
The problem lies in the high content of calcium in the soil. It is required to water the plant with acidified water at room temperature.
If a scale insect is wound up on an azalea, the leaves will also turn yellow
You need to take a good look at the shoots, and if dark plaques are visible on them, these are scale insects. It is very difficult to fight them, as their body is covered with a chitinous layer. That is, pesticides will not help.
Let's talk about the right way to deal with scale insects. Proven and effective. The infected specimen must be set aside away from charged plants.
Moisten the sponge with laundry soap until foam forms, then wipe all the shoots with it. Leave for 20 minutes. Then, with another sponge, walk along the branches and remove the shield.
In the store you need to buy oil for sewing machines. Dilute 1-2 drops in water and spray infected instance. The fact is that the oil creates a protective film on the stems of the azalea and the scale insects will no longer be able to “stick” to the shoots again.
Leaves dry
If the leaf plates dry and fall off, the reason is the appearance of a pest: the azalea moth. If the leaves are firmly attached to the petioles - insufficient humidity in the room.
sick azalea leaves
The natural process is the death of foliage after flowering. But if leaf fall occurs during the formation of buds and flowering, this indicates a lack of nutrients.
For a long time I have been looking at a houseplant - an azalea. I stopped buying this plant without knowing about proper care and naturally high cost, I want to admit that an adult azalea bush is very expensive. It would be very sad if this beauty disappeared from me. But the appearance and her beautiful bloom will still make her acquire every woman. When I read this article, it became clear to me what is needed for this plant and now I can buy it. After all, it is very important to know all the subtleties in proper watering, fertilizer, diseases and even reproduction. It is very good that there is such an article, which clearly describes the intricacies of caring for such a fastidious indoor plant.