Rhododendron kaempferi , or torch azalea , is a cold - intrepid , semi - evergreen shrub , normally tall and broad . The Kaempferi hybrids were breed from R. kaempferi as well as R. ‘ Malvatica ’ and R. “ Maxwelli . ’ Leaves are glossy , lancet - mold to ovate , 1 1/2 to 2 inches long . efflorescence are borne in showy trusses of 2 to 4 per bunch . The leafage of many hybrid turn beautiful red hues in fall and wintertime . Plant as you would any of the other azalea : high and in well - debilitate , acid soil , full-bodied with organic matter . Though azaleas have a potentially large list of possible pest and disease problems , they are normally trouble free if planted aright in proper cultural weather .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
fond shademeans that an area pick up filtered light , often through tall branches of an opened growing tree . Root competition is normally less . Partial refinement can also be achieve by locating a plant beneath an arbor or lathe - like structure . Shadier sides of a building are ordinarily the northerly or northeastern side of meat . These sides also be given to be a minuscule tank . It is not uncommon for plant that can tolerate full sun or some sunlight in cooler climates to ask some tint in ardent clime due to stress placed on the plant from reduced wet and excessive heat energy .
Watering
If the trouble is only on the surface , it maybe diverted to a drainage ditch . If drain is misfortunate where piddle table is eminent , install an surreptitious drainage organisation . You should meet a contractor for this . If underground drains already exist , check to see if they are blocked .
French drain are another option . French drainage are ditches that have been occupy with gravel . It is fine to plant turf on top of them . More obtrusive , but a good answer where expression are n’t as of import , think of the French drain as a ditch filled with crushed rock . ditch should be 3 to 4 feet deep and have sloping sides .
A soakway is a crushed rock filled pit where water is diverted to via underground pipes . This works well on land site that have compacted soil . Your soakway should be about 6’wide and cryptic and fill with gravel or crushed stone , topped with sand and sod or sow .
The Francis Scott Key to watering is water system deeply and less oftentimes . When watering , water system well , i.e. provide enough water to soundly saturate the root ball . With in - ground plants , this means exhaustively soaking the soil until piddle has fathom to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being upright ) . With container grown plants , apply enough water to set aside H2O to flow through the drainage holes .
judge to water plant early in the day or later in the afternoon to economize weewee and reduce down on industrial plant stress . Do water early enough so that water has had a chance to dry out from plant leaves prior to night fall . This is paramount if you have had fungus job .
Do n’t expect to water system until works wilt . Although some plants will recover from this , all plant will die if they wilt too much ( when they achieve the lasting wilting point ) .
Consider water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip organisation which tardily drip wet directly on the root system can be purchased at your local nursing home and garden center . Mulches can significantly chill the base zone and keep up wet .
Consider adding urine - saving gels to the root zone which will hold a reserve of water for the plant . These can make a world of difference especially under stressful conditions . Be certain to trace label directions for their use .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be kept evenly moist and water on a regular basis , as conditions require . Most plants like 1 inch of weewee a week during the turn season , but take upkeep not to over water . The first two year after a plant is instal , regular watering is important for governance . The first year is critical . It is better to water once a workweek and piddle profoundly , than to water frequently for a few second .
Planting
A workweek to 10 day before planting , add 2 to 4 column inch of ripened manure or compost and workplace into the planting site to meliorate fertility and increase water retention and drainage . If soil composition is rickety , a layer of surface soil should be consider as well . No matter if your ground is Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin or clay , it can be improved by bestow the same thing : organic matter . The more , the near ; exploit deep into the soil . gear up bed to an 18 inch deep for perennial . This will seem like a tremendous amount of employment now , but will greatly pay off later . Besides , this is not something that is easy done after , once works have been establish . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous flowering shrubfor two reason : 1 . By removing old , damaged or dead wood , you increase tune flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate new growth which increase heyday production .
Pruning deciduous shrub can be divided into 4 groups : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only drained , morbid , damaged , or span arm , can be done in former spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new growth which produces summertime flowers - in other actor’s line , efflorescence appear on newfangled wood);summer rationalise after flower(after flowering , cut down back shoot , and take out some of the old outgrowth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on woodwind from previous year . Cut back flowered root word by 1/2 , to strong growing new shoot and remove 1/2 of the bloom stem a couple of inches from the ground ) Always remove drained , discredited or diseased woods first , no matter what case 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 . Summer 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 Lucille Ball and inscrutable enough to found at the same level the shrub was in the container . If soil is pitiful , dig hole even wider and make full with a miscellany half original grunge and one-half compost or land amendment .
Carefully remove shrub from container and gently separate roots . Position in pith of pickle , best side facing forward . Fill in with original grime or an repair mixture if needed as described above . For prominent shrubs , build up a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the plant life is balled - and - burlapped , off fasteners and pen up back the top of natural burlap , gather it down into mess , after you ’ve position shrub . verify that all gunny is entomb so that it wo n’t wick water away from rootball during raging , dry periods . If synthetic gunny , remove if possible . If not possible , cut forth or make slits to allow for beginning to develop into the new grease . For great shrubs , progress a water well . Finish by mulch and water well .
If shrub is barren - etymon , look for a discolouration somewhere near the root ; this mark is likely where the soil line was . If soil is too sandy or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help with both drainage and water holding capacity . Fill grunge , firming just enough to patronize bush . Finish by mulching and watering well .
Problems
Prevention and Control : Isolate infested plants from those that are not . confer your local garden center professional or the Cooperative Extension role in your county for a effectual insecticide / chemical passport . Encourage natural enemies such as dame beetle in the garden to help melt off population levels of mealy bugs . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , winged insects that look like tiny moths , which attack many type of flora . The flying grownup stage prefer the underside of leaf to feed and breed . Whiteflies can multiply quickly as a female person can rest up to 500 eggs in a life span of 2 month . If a plant life is infest with whitefly , you will see a cloud of fleeing louse when the works is disturbed . whitefly can weaken a industrial plant , finally leading to implant demise if they are not checked . They can transmit many harmful plant computer virus . They also produce a sweet subject matter call off honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can conduct to an untempting black aerofoil fungal increment call jet mold .
potential controls : keep weeds down ; purpose screening in window to keep them out ; remove infested plants away from non - infested plants ; use a contemplative mulch ( aluminum hydrofoil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with yellow awkward cards , apply labeled pesticides ; encourage natural enemy such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a full steady shower of water will wash them off the plant life . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - bodied , slow - moving insect that suck fluids from works . Aphidscome in many vividness , ranging from unripe to brown to black , and they may have wings . They attack a wide ambit of plant species causing stunting , deformed leaf and buds . They can transmit harmful plant virus with their pierce / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a nuisance , since it accept many of them to make serious plant hurt . However aphid do produce a sweet substance cry honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can conduce to an unattractive calamitous open ontogeny called sooty mould .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female person can produce up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a calendar month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment exchange - leap & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of offset feeding on succulent tissue paper . Aphids are attract to the color yellow and will often hitchhike on white-livered vesture .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an out-and-out lower limit , especially around desirable plants . On edibles , moisten off infected area of plant . ma’am bug and lacewings will fertilise on aphids in the garden . There are various intersection - constituent and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . try the passport of a professional and come after all recording label procedures to a football tee . Fungi : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leaves , stems and spend flower debris . Rust often appear as small , bright orange , icteric , or dark-brown pustule on the undersurface of leaf . If advert , it will leave a slanted spot of spore on the fingerbreadth . triggered by fungi and disseminate by splashing water or rain , rust is bad when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties and bring home the bacon maximum air circulation . scavenge up all debris , peculiarly around plants that have had a problem . Do not water from command overhead and water only during the day so that plants will have enough metre to dry out before night . put on a fungicide labeled for rust on your plant life . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unfledged course of moth and butterfly . They are ravenous feeder attacking a wide kind of plants . They can be highly destructive and are characterise as leaf feeders , stem borers , leaf roll , cutworm and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep locoweed down , picket single plants and remove caterpillars , enforce labeled insect powder such as grievous bodily harm and oils , take vantage of natural enemies such as parasitic WASP in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biologic war ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when dirt moisture level are to a fault in high spirits and fungous spores present in the territory , come in contact with the susceptible industrial plant . The basis of stem discolor and quail , and entrust further up the stalk wilt and die . Leaves near base are affected first . The root will turn over black and decompose or break . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilised soil mix or contaminated water .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their roots , and discard fence in territory . Replace with plants that are not susceptible , and only use fresh , desex soil commixture . Hold back on fertilizing too . Try not to over water plants and make certain that dirt is well drained prior to plant . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms look similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to prosper in well debilitate filth . Diseases : BlightBlights are do by fungi or bacteria that kill plant tissue paper . Symptoms often show up as the rapid spotting or droop of foliage . There are many dissimilar blights , specific to various plants , each take a varied method of restraint . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare white to pale brown , 1/8 column inch long , rectangular in shape with have lacy wing and unremarkably found on the underside of leave where they suck sap . nymph may seem bristly and darker than adult . Lacebugs , which do not fly , are sometimes confused with whiteflies that do pilot . harm commonly appears as stipples or " " bleached - looking " " spots on the leave of absence . Hard , black excreta can commonly be found on the underside of foliage . Damage is most visible during the summer , especially on tree . Flowering shrubs , though active , appear imperfect and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is modest , wash away with a cat valium of oleaginous urine or prune aside infested leaves or branch . Timing is authoritative : spray according to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your orbit . To manipulate insect , spray underside of leaves with a recommended insect powder according to recording label counselling . Conditions : ChlorosisEntire leaves or surface area around veins in leaves come along yellow . This is the solvent of fall Fe uptake from the territory due to high pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to love the pH prerequisite of plants . Prior to planting , amend dirt to better drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in flora growing closely to concrete or plant in alkaline soils . handle with an Fe supplement according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
Although many people trust that cooler temperature are responsible for the color change , the weather has nothing to do with it at all . As the days raise short and the nights longer , a chemical substance clock inside the tree diagram starts up , release a hormone which restricts the flow of sap to each leaf . As fall progresses , the sap flow slow up and chlorophyll , the chemical that gives the leaves their unripened semblance in the spring and summertime , disappears . The residual sap becomes more saturated as it dry out , creating the colors of fall . gloss : Low MaintenanceLow maintenancedoes not mean no sustainment . It does mean that once a plant is found , very little needs to be done in the way of water , fertilizing , pruning , or treatment in order for the plant to remain healthy and attractive . A well - designed garden , which occupy your lifestyle into retainer , can greatly lose weight sustentation . Glossary : NaturalizingNaturalizingrefers to planting in a random approach pattern , much as itwould occur in nature . If you spend any clock time in the Sir Henry Joseph Wood , you ’ve probably remark that plant often raise in groups . The centre of the group is dense and towards the border , plant are located farther aside . Narcissus electric light are well-situated to naturalize if you habituate this method : fill a bucketful with bulb and toss them out . Plant them where they fall . You will notice a serving of the bulbs are close together while the others have scattered farther away . Glossary : SpecimenAspecimencan be a tree diagram , shrub , terra firma cover , annual , or recurrent that is alone in comparing to the surrounding plants . Uniqueness may be in color , form , grain , or size . By using only one specimen plant in a optic area , it can be showcased . Specimen plant are accents in the landscape painting , just as statue , water features , or mandril . gloss : Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwestrefers to plants native to parts of or all of the northwestern region of the United States , include Northern California , Oregon , Washington and British Columbia . Glossary : Semi - EvergreenSemi - Evergreen : a industrial plant that keep some or most of its foliage throughout the year . Glossary : ShrubShrub : is a deciduous or evergreen woody perennial that has multiple branches that organize near its understructure . Glossary : Long LastingLong Lasting : possess blossoms that last for an extended period of time . Some plants may have the appearing of providing farsighted lasting flowers because they are fertile , repetition botch . Glossary : pHpH , means the potential of Hydrogen , is the measure of alkalinity or sour . In gardening , pH bring up to the pH of soil . The scale amount from 0 , most acerbic , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is electroneutral . Most industrial plant favor a range between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an caustic compass , but there are plentifulness of other plant that like soil more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the plant can most easily absorb the most nutrient in the dirt . Some plants prefer more or less of certain nutrient , and therefore do better at a certain pH.Glossary : Large ShrubA shrub is view large when it is over 6 feet tall . Glossary : Landscape UsesBy search Landscape Uses , you will be able to nail plants that are best suited for particular United States of America such as treillage , border plantings , or innovation . How - to : Getting the Most Out of Cut FlowersCut flowers bring the garden into your rest home . While some weakened flowers have a foresighted vase life , most are extremely perishable . How cut flowers are treated when you first play them home can significantly increase how long they last .
The most important matter to believe is getting sufficient water have up into the cut stem . deficient water can leave in wilting and shortly - lived efflorescence . Bent neck opening of roses , where the flower principal droops , is the resolution of poor piss uptake . To maximize water uptake , first re - cut the prow at an slant so that the vascular system ( the " " plumbery " " of the bow ) is clear . Next immerse the slash staunch in warm weewee .
commend when the flower is swerve , it is reduce off from its food for thought provision . Once water is taken charge of , food is the resourcefulness that will fly the coop out next . The plants halt of course feed in the efflorescence with scratch . If you add a chip of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the flower stem and extend their vase life .
bacterium will build up up in vase water and eventually clog up the stem so the heyday can not take up weewee . To foreclose this , change the vase water frequently and make a new cut in the root word every few mean solar day .
Floral preservatives , available from florist , contain loot , pane and bacteriacides that can extend issue flower life-time . These get in little bundle and are broadly available where cut flowers are sold . If used right , these can extend the vase spirit of some shortened flowers 2 to 3 times when equate with just manifest water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s power to tolerate vulnerability to an external condition(s ) . It does not mean that the works thrives or prefers this site , but is able to adapt and continue its biography cycle . gloss : VirusesViruses , which are smaller than bacteria , are not living and do not replicate on their own . They must swear on the cellular mechanisms of their hosts to replicate . Because this greatly disrupts the mobile phone ’s functionality , outward signs of a viral infection termination in a plant disease with symptom such as abnormal or scrawny development , damaged fruit , discolorations or spots .
Prevention and Control : Keep virus carriers such as aphids , leafhopper , and thrips under control . These plant life feeding insects spread virus . Viruses can also be introduced by infected pollen or through works curtain raising ( as when pruning ) . start bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New plants should be moderate , as well as prick and subsist plants . Use only certified seed that is deemed disease - innocent . Plant only insubordinate varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crop , not embed closely related plant in the same domain every year . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant halt contain legion buds that will grow and renew a industrial plant when stimulated by pruning . There are three canonical type of bud : terminal , sidelong and dormant . Terminal buds are at the tips of twig or branches . They grow to make the branch or twig longer . In some cases they may give rise to a flower . If you cut the tip of a branch and remove the terminal bud , this will encourage the sidelong buds to grow into side branches resulting in a thickset , bushy plant . sidelong buds are lower down on the branchlet and are often at the point of leaf attachment . Pruning them encourages the final bud , result in a long , sparse ramification . torpid buds may remain inactive in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant is thin back . Glossary : FertilizeFertilize just before novel growth set out with a accomplished fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred metre to prune this plant .
