Grow Azaleas for Spectacular Spring Blooms
Azaleas Produce Brilliant Flowers in Many Colors
Sep 26, 2008
In most gardens shrubs are the key for holding it all together and there are shrubs for every season. But for two months of spectacular bloom in early spring there is nothing capable of beating the Azalea shrub. It is breathtaking in its brilliance and profuse blooming.
Where to Grow Azalea Shrubs
Azaleas can be evergreen or deciduous. Deciduous shrubs will grow in U.S. zone 5 with relative ease and can even be grown in zone 4 with more care against frost and harsh weather. The best advice for a particular area is to ask at the local garden centers for advice. Deciduous azaleas like a position in full sun. Evergreen azaleas grow in temperatures like U.S. zone 6 and upwards. These appear to be evergreen but in fact they sprout two set of leaves: one in spring through summer and falling in the autumn while the second sprouting takes place in the fall and gives green leaves until the spring.
Growing an Azalea Shrub
Azalea shrubs are easy to grow and the best time to start this is in early spring or early autumn. The most important aspect about growing azaleas is to remember that they are lime-hating plants. They thrive in an acid soil with a pH of 5 or less. An inexpensive soil kit, available from most garden centers, should be used to test the soil. If the soil has a pH above this level acid based compost can be used to help balance the pH level or simply grow the azaleas in tubs or raised beds.
Evergreen azaleas like some sun and to get the best results a position where the plant will get a few hours morning sun is the most preferred. Windy sites will not be appreciated so a windbreaker may be necessary, either natural growth or some sort of trellis. Azaleas have shallow roots so keep them moist but not waterlogged. Avoid hoeing around the roots if possible; cover the area with mulch to keep the weeds down or use some ground cover plants.
Pruning an Azalea
Pruning is done at the gardener’s peril. Whatever pruning is done may very well stunt the flowers for the following season. The buds about to be cut away are the flowers of next year and it is not possible to have one without the other. If an azalea shrub gets a severe pruning it may not bloom for the next three years. So, as these shrubs can be quite large just sitting there without blooming it is advisable to select a site whereby the plant can be left alone to enchant. When starting out with an azalea shrub it is an idea to pinch out some of the tips to end with a bushier shrub. Pinch selectively.
Azalea Propagation
Increasing the azalea stock can be done by planting seed, taking cuttings and by layering. However; as seed planting can take years for the first bloom to appear this is not a popular method. For the ordinary gardener the most popular method of increasing the stock is simply to buy new plants and take it from there. Around Easter time and Mother’s Day azaleas are in ready supply and are bought as gifts for indoors. Once the bloom has faded, these can be planted outdoors for a spectacular floral display the following year.
When the azalea shrub is in full bloom it looks quite like a rhododendron, in fact they are from the same family. On inspection the flowers are different by having only five pollen stamens whereas rhododendrons have up to ten but both shrubs have the same brilliant range of flowers – red, pink, purple, orange and various shades and markings of all of these.
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