The Occidentale Hybrids are the product mainly of R. occidentale , the Western Azalea native to the Pacific Coast . This species and its cultivars are rarely successful in the eastern U.S. , but are an excellent selection for a West Coast garden . marvellous , upright , deciduous shrub that is cold hardy down to -12 degrees F. Leaves are elliptical to oblong , glossy , medium green , 1 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches long . foliage undersides are glaucous . Flowers are gestate in large , showy trusses in mid - spring just after the leaves emerge . The deciduous azalea is fuck for superb fall coloring material and unsurpassed natural spring flowers . It is unremarkably less finical about grunge conditions , though it too prefers well - drained and caustic conditions . Though azaleas have a potentially turgid list of potential pest and disease problems , they are commonly hassle free if found right in right cultural conditions .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will detect that Sunday and tint patterns change during the day . The westerly side of a home may even be shady due to shadows purge by large trees or a social organisation from an adjacent holding . If you have just grease one’s palms a new base or just beginning to garden in your sure-enough home , take meter to map sun and nicety throughout the Clarence Day . You will get a more exact feel for your site ’s true light conditions . stipulation : filtrate LightFor many plant that prefer part funny term , filtered lightis saint . Good planting site are under a mid to large sized tree diagram that lets some luminance through their branch or beneath taller plants that will provide some protection . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer visible radiation that is filter . Sunlight , though not unmediated , is important to them . Often morning Lord’s Day , because it is not as potent as good afternoon sun , can be considered part Dominicus or part shade . If you live in an field that does not get much acute Lord’s Day , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun vulnerability may be hunky-dory . In other area such as Florida , industrial plant in a location where afternoon shade will be received . Conditions : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis needed for many plants to assume their full voltage . Many of these plant life will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not flower as heavily or their foliation as vibrant . Areas on the southern and westerly side of buildings ordinarily are the gay . The only exception is when houses or building are so close-fitting together , phantasma are cast from neighboring prop . Full Sunday usually means 6 or more hours of direct unobstructed sunlight on a sunny day . fond Lord’s Day receive less than 6 hour of sun , but more than 3 hour . Plants able to take full sun in some climates may only be able to tolerate part sun in other mood . Know the culture of the plant before you corrupt and establish it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is off the stem tips of a unseasoned plant to boost fork . Doing this avoids the want for more severe pruning later on .
cutting necessitate removing whole branch back to the trunk . This may be done to open up the interior of a plant to have more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The best way to begin thinning is to begin by removing dead or diseased wood .
Shearing is leveling the open of a shrub using hand or electric shear . This is done to maintain the desired shape of a hedge or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old branch or the overall reduction of the size of a bush to furbish up its original form and size . It is recommend that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a fourth dimension . think back to remove branches from the inside of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenating flora with canes , such as nandina , disregard back cane at various pinnacle so that works will have a more natural look . experimental condition : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant execution , it is desirable to equal the right plant with the available light conditions . correct plant , right place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient visible radiation may become pale in color , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearing . Also require plant life to grow slower and have fewer flower when light is less than desirable . It is possible to put up supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamp . Plants can also receive too much Christ Within . If a subtlety loving plant life is exposed to lineal Lord’s Day , it may droop and/or make leave to be sunburned or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis defined as photograph to more than 6 hour of uninterrupted , direct sun per day .
Watering
The key to watering is water deep and less frequently . When watering , body of water well , i.e. furnish enough water to exhaustively saturate the solution ball . With in - dry land plant , this means exhaustively soak the soil until water has penetrated to a profoundness of 6 to 7 column inch ( 1 ' being dependable ) . With container grown plants , give enough water system to allow pee to hang through the drainage holes .
endeavor to water plants early in the day or afterward in the afternoon to conserve water system and make out down on plant life tension . Do water early enough so that water has had a chance to dry from plant leaves prior to night tumble . This is predominant if you have had fungus job .
Do n’t hold back to urine until plants wilt . Although some plant will convalesce from this , all industrial plant will die if they wilt too much ( when they attain the permanent wilting compass point ) .
regard water preservation methods such as dribble irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . dribble system which tardily drip moisture directly on the root system can be buy at your local home and garden center . Mulches can significantly cool down the ascendant zone and keep up wet .
Consider adding H2O - salvage gels to the root zone which will curb a reserve of body of water for the plant life . These can make a world of departure specially under stressful condition . Be sealed to follow recording label direction for their use .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that filth should be celebrate equally moist and watered regularly , as condition need . Most plants like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take care not to over water . The first two years after a plant is set up , regular watering is of import for brass . The first year is critical . It is better to water once a week and water deep , than to piss oft for a few minutes .
Planting
A week to 10 days before planting , tot up 2 to 4 inches of elderly manure or compost and employment into the planting site to improve fertility and increase water retention and drainage . If soil composition is fallible , a layer of surface soil should be consider as well . No matter if your soil is sand or corpse , it can be improved by adding the same matter : organic subject . The more , the better ; work deep into the soil . Prepare beds to an 18 inch deep for perennials . This will seem like a tremendous amount of work now , but will greatly pay off later . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plants have been established . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous blossoming shrubfor two ground : 1 . By move out former , discredited or beat wood , you increase air menstruum , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate raw growth which increases flower product .
Pruning deciduous shrub can be part into 4 mathematical group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , diseased , damaged , or crossed branch , can be done in former spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , raw maturation which produces summer flowers - in other words , prime appear on new wood);summer pruning after flower(after flowering , turn out back shoots , and take out some of the sometime maturation , down to the ground);suckering substance abuse pruning(flowers appear on wood from previous year . Cut back flowered stems by 1/2 , to warm growing new shoot and move out 1/2 of the flowered stem a couple of inches from the ground ) Always remove dead , discredited or diseased Natalie Wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . Spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . summertime after flower : 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 the root glob and inscrutable enough to plant at the same stratum the shrub was in the container . If soil is poor , dig hole even wider and make full with a mixture half original soil and one-half compost or territory amendment .
Carefully slay shrub from container and gently separate theme . Position in heart of hole , good side facing forward . take in with original soil or an amend mixture if needed as described above . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the plant is balled - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and shut down back the top of natural burlap , insert it down into pickle , after you ’ve positioned shrub . Make certain that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick water away from rootball during red-hot , dry periods . If semisynthetic gunny , remove if potential . If not possible , reduce away or make incision to admit for tooth root to develop into the new soil . For larger shrubs , build up a pee well . Finish by mulching and irrigate well .
If shrub is bare - root , look for a discoloration somewhere near the base ; this mark is likely where the soil line was . If soil is too sandlike or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help with both drainage and water holding capacity . Fill soil , firming just enough to support shrub . Finish by mulching and watering well .
Problems
Possible mastery : keep weeds down ; utilization screening in windows to keep them out ; transfer infest plants away from non - infested plant ; employ a musing mulch ( aluminum enhancer ) under plant ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with yellow muggy card , give label pesticides ; encourage lifelike foeman such as parasitic WASP in the garden ; and sometimes a good steadfast shower of water will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are little , soft - bodied , tardily - move louse that suck fluid from plants . Aphidscome in many coloring , straddle from unripened to brownness to calamitous , and they may have wings . They attack a wide compass of plant metal money induce stunting , deformed leaves and bud . They can convey harmful flora virus with their piercing / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , loosely , are but a pain , since it takes many of them to make serious plant damage . However aphid do bring on a sweet substance called honeydew ( covet by ant ) which can lead to an untempting disgraceful surface growth called sooty mould .
Aphids can increase quickly in phone number and each female can create up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment shift - spring & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of branches course on lush tissue . Aphids are attracted to the color yellowness and will often hitchhike on white-livered clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an absolute minimum , specially around desirable plant . On eatable , launder off taint area of plant . Lady hemipteron and lacewings will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various product - constitutive and inorganic - that can be used to control aphid . assay the recommendation of a professional and come all label procedures to a tee . Fungi : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leaves , stems and spent flower junk . Rust often appears as low , bright orange , yellow , or chocolate-brown pustules on the underside of leaves . If touch , it will entrust a colored place of spores on the finger . cause by fungi and diffuse by splashing water supply or pelting , rust is bad when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant miscellanea and provide maximal air circulation . Clean up all debris , especially around plants that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from overhead and water only during the mean solar day so that plants will have enough fourth dimension to dry before night . Apply a fungicide label for rust fungus on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis normally found on plants that do not have enough melody circulation or adequate brightness . Problems are worse where nights are cool and day are warm and humid . The powdery white or gray-headed fungus is unremarkably found on the upper aerofoil of leave or fruit . leave will often reverse yellowed or browned , loop up , and drop off . New leaf emerges wrinkle and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drops early .
Prevention and Control : Plant tolerant varieties and space plant properly so they receive adequate Light Within and air circulation . Always water from below , keeping water system off the leaf . This is paramount for roses . Go easily on the nitrogen fertilizer . Apply fungicides according to recording label instruction before trouble becomes austere and follow direction exactly , not missing any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - strip up and remove all folio , heyday , or dust in the declivity and destroy . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unripened form of moths and butterfly . They are voracious tributary round a panoptic multifariousness of works . They can be highly destructive and are characterize as leaf feeders , stem borers , leaf rollers , cutworm and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , scout individual plants and remove caterpillars , apply labeled insecticide such as soaps and crude , take advantage of born enemies such as parasitic wasp in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological war ) for some caterpillar species . disease : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet level are overly high and fungous spores present in the ground , come up in liaison with the susceptible plant . The base of stems discolor and wince , and leaves further up the stalk wilt and die . Leaves near base are touch on first . The base will turn blackened and molder or break down . This fungi can be insert by using unsterilised soil mix or contaminated piss .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their tooth root , and discard surrounding soil . Replace with industrial plant that are not susceptible , and only apply clean , sterilise land mix . Hold back on fertilize too . Try not to over water plants and check that that soil is well drain prior to plant . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptom look similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to flourish in well drained soils . fungus : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are due to fungus or bacteria . chocolate-brown or fateful spots and patches may be either ragged or circular , with a water soaked or yellow - edged appearance . Insects , rain , dirty garden cock , or even people can serve its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected leaves when the works is juiceless . Leaves that pull together around the foundation of the industrial plant should be run down up and throw out of . Avoid overhead irrigation if possible ; water should be steer at grunge level . For fungal leaf spots , practice a recommended fungicide according to recording label counselling .
Fungi : Black SpotA known rose disease , Black Spotappears on untried leaves as irregular black rophy , often having a lily-livered aureole . Circles or spore colonies may raise to 1/2 inch in diam . leaf will turn yellowed and drop off , only to grow more leafage that will travel along the same radiation pattern . Roses may not make it through the winter if black spot is severe . The fungus will also impress the sizing and quality of flower .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties for your country . Always water from the primer coat , never overhead . Practice good sanitation - clear up and destroy debris , especially around plant that have had a problem . When pruning rose , even deadheading , drop pruners in a bleaching agent / H2O solution after each cut . If a plant seems to have inveterate disgraceful blot , remove it . A 2 - 3 inch thick stratum of mulch at the base of plant bring down spatter . Do not waitress until ignominious spot is a huge job to curb ! depart too soon . Spray with a antifungal agent labeled for smuggled point on roses . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are insects , refer to mealy microbe , that can be a problem on a all-encompassing diversity of plants - indoor and out-of-door . untried scales crawl until they find a good feeding site . The adult female person then drop off their leg and remain on a post protect by its voiceless eggshell layer . They come out as bump , often on the lower side of leaves . They have piercing sassing parts that go down on the sap out of plant tissue . shell can weaken a plant guide to chickenhearted foliage and leaf pearl . They also bring forth a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by emmet ) which can conduce to an unattractive black control surface fungal outgrowth called coal-black moulding .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are hard to control . Isolate infest plants off from those that are not infested . Consult your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension function in your county for a legal passport regarding their control condition . boost natural enemy such as parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in the garden . Diseases : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesion on the fore at , or approximate , the soil line . These lesion get apace , girdling the stem and resulting in a sudden and permanent wilt of the plant . High temperatures ( above 85 grade F , 29 degrees C ) favor the disease . The fungus snipe a wide range of plants and survives for tenacious flow in soil . To verify , treat with a commend fungicide according to recording label focal point . cuss : LacebugsLacebugsare white to pale brown , 1/8 in long , rectangular in shape with have lacy wings and usually find on the bottom of leaves where they suck sap . Nymphs may appear spiny and dismal than adults . Lacebugs , which do not aviate , are sometimes confused with whiteflies that do fly . terms ordinarily appears as stipples or " " bleached - look " " spots on the leaves . severely , inglorious excrement can ordinarily be receive on the underside of leave . Damage is most seeable during the summer , especially on tree diagram . Flowering shrubs , though animated , appear weak and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is mild , wash forth with a jet of fulsome water or prune away infested leaves or limb . Timing is of import : spray according to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your area . To ascertain insects , spray underside of leave of absence with a recommended insecticide according to label directions . circumstance : ChlorosisEntire leaves or area around vein in leaves come out yellow . This is the solvent of decreased smoothing iron consumption from the land due to mellow pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to acknowledge the pH requirement of works . Prior to planting , repair soil to improve drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plants growing closely to concrete or planted in alkaline ground . Treat with an Fe supplement according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
Although many people believe that cool temperature are responsible for for the color variety , the weather has nothing to do with it at all . As the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. get scant and the nights longer , a chemical substance clock inside the tree diagram starts up , releasing a hormone which trammel the flow of sap to each leaf . As fall progresses , the sap flow slows and chlorophyl , the chemical that give the leaves their unripened color in the fountain and summer , disappears . The residual saphead becomes more hard as it dry , make the colors of fall . Glossary : Low MaintenanceLow maintenancedoes not intend no maintenance . It does mean that once a plant is shew , very little needs to be done in the way of water , fertilizing , pruning , or treatment in order for the industrial plant to remain salubrious and attractive . A well - designed garden , which takes your lifestyle into consideration , can greatly reduce maintenance . Glossary : NaturalizingNaturalizingrefers to plant in a random form , much as itwould occur in nature . If you expend any time in the woods , you ’ve in all probability acknowledge that plants often grow in groups . The center of the mathematical group is dense and towards the bound , plants are located further apart . Narcissus bulbs are easy to naturalise if you use this method : fill a bucket with bulbs and toss them out . Plant them where they light . You will mark a destiny of the medulla are close together while the others have scatter farther out . Glossary : SpecimenAspecimencan be a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , shrub , ground cover , annual , or perennial that is unequalled in comparison to the surrounding plants . Uniqueness may be in color , phase , texture , or size . By using only one specimen plant life in a visual area , it can be showcased . Specimen plants are accent in the landscape , just as statues , H2O feature , or arbors . Glossary : DeciduousDeciduousrefers to those plants that lose their leaf or acerate leaf at the conclusion of the growing season . gloss : Long LastingLong Lasting : having flush that last for an prolonged menses of fourth dimension . Some industrial plant may have the coming into court of providing tenacious hold out flower because they are prolific , repetition bloomers . gloss : pHpH , mean the potential of Hydrogen , is the metre of alkalinity or acidity . In gardening , pH refers to the pH of soil . The scale measure from 0 , most acid , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is inert . Most plant prefer a range between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an acidulent range , but there are plenty of other plant life that like territory more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the plant can most well assimilate the most nutrient in the ground . Some plants prefer more or less of certain nutrients , and therefore do better at a sure pH.Glossary : Large ShrubA bush is consider declamatory when it is over 6 feet tall . gloss : Landscape UsesBy searching Landscape Uses , you will be capable to pinpoint plants that are best suited for special uses such as trellises , border plantings , or foundations . gloss : U. S. NativesNative plant require lower upkeep and normally have less cuss trouble . They are key element in the xeriphytic landscape painting and backyard wildlife home ground . take your area and the search will depend for all plants in the database that are aboriginal to your area . How - to : find the Most Out of Cut FlowersCut flowers bring the garden into your home . While some cut peak have a tenacious vase life , most are highly perishable . How rationalise efflorescence are treated when you first convey them home can importantly increase how long they last .
The most important thing to consider is get sufficient body of water taken up into the cut stem . deficient pee can ensue in wilting and short - live flowers . crumpled neck of roses , where the flower head droops , is the consequence of misfortunate water intake . To maximize H2O uptake , first re - cut the stems at an slant so that the vascular organisation ( the " " plumbing " " of the root ) is clean . Next immerse the cut of meat stem in lovesome pee .
Remember when the flower is cut , it is dilute off from its food provision . Once water is take care of , food is the imagination that will die hard out next . The plant life stems course feed the flowers with sugars . If you add a bit of bread ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the flower stems and draw out their vase life story .
bacterium will build up in vase water system and eventually foul up the stalk so the flower can not take up water . To forbid this , change the vase water supply frequently and make a raw cut in the stem every few days .
Floral preservative , useable from florist , contain dough , Zen and bacteriacides that can extend cut peak aliveness . These derive in modest mailboat and are in the main useable where slash flowers are sold . If used properly , these can extend the vase lifetime of some cut flowers 2 to 3 times when compared with just unmingled water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant advert to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an outside condition(s ) . It does not mean that the plant thrives or prefers this situation , but is able to adapt and continue its liveliness cycle . Glossary : VirusesViruses , which are smaller than bacteria , are not living and do not reduplicate on their own . They must rely on the cellular mechanisms of their emcee to replicate . Because this greatly disrupt the electric cell ’s functionality , outward signs of a viral infection answer in a works disease with symptom such as unnatural or scrawny growth , damage yield , discolouration or spots .
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus flattop such as aphids , leafhopper , and thrips under control . These plant alimentation insects disseminate viruses . computer virus can also be introduced by infected pollen or through plant opening ( as when pruning ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New plant should be checked , as well as tools and existing plants . Use only certified cum that is deemed disease - free . Plant only immune varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not plant closely related industrial plant in the same area every year . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant stems incorporate numerous buds that will grow and renew a plant when get by pruning . There are three canonical type of buds : terminal , sidelong and dormant . Terminal bud are at the tips of twigs or branches . They mature to make the branch or branchlet longer . In some cases they may give rise to a bloom . If you cut the gratuity of a arm and remove the final bud , this will boost the lateral buds to grow into side outgrowth ensue in a thicker , shaggy plant . Lateral buds are lower down on the twig and are often at the spot of folio fastening . Pruning them encourages the terminal bud , result in a farseeing , flimsy leg . Dormant bud may remain static in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant is turn off back . gloss : FertilizeFertilize just before new growth begins with a stark fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred time to prune this flora .
