Rhododendrons and Azaleas: Growing and Caring

Rhododendrons and Azaleas: Growing and Caring

Azaleas may be deciduous or evergreen. Mollis or Exbury Azaleas are deciduous azaleas. They have bright orange and yellow blooms in the early spring. They may be produced from seed if gathered in the autumn and placed on top of damp peat at 70 degrees F.

Evergreen Azaleas are classified as wide-leaf evergreens because they lack needles. They flower later in the spring and are often propagated over bottom heat in the autumn, as detailed in detail at Free Plants. Rhododendrons are broad-leaved evergreens that are propagated over bottom heat in the early winter.

Rhododendrons and azaleas are best pruned in the spring, shortly after they bloom. These plants begin forming flower buds for the next year throughout the summer, and late trimming will lose you some flowers next year, so have them clipped as soon as they stop flowering. It's also a good idea to snip off the wasted flowers so the plants don't use too much energy producing seeds, unless you want to grow them from seed. However, bear in mind that they do not grow from seed.

Red rhododendron seeds are likely to blossom in pastel lavender. Cuttings guarantee that the original plant is replicated. What does pinching a rhododendron signify, and how do you prune it? These are some of the most commonly requested questions.

When developing little plants from seeds or cuttings, pinching is a low-impact technique of trimming that is particularly successful for generating attractive, tight, full plants. Rhododendrons typically generate a single new bud at the apex of each branch. This new bud will grow into another new branch, and the process will repeat again. If left alone, this will result in an extremely lanky plant with a lot of space between the branches, resulting in an unappealing plant.

So, if you're beginning with a rooted cutting, all you have to do is pinch off the new growth bud when it's approximately 3/8 of an inch long. Simply grasp it between your fingers and break it off entirely. When you do this, the plant normally replies by growing two, three, or even four additional buds in a cluster around the bud you pinched off. Each of these buds will grow into a branch, and ultimately a single bud will arise at the tip of each of these branches, which you should pinch off, causing the plant to generate several buds at the end of each of these branches.

The more single buds you pinch off, the more branches the plant will produce, resulting in a lovely, tight, full plant. This is particularly useful for young plants like rooted cuttings or seedlings.

But what about bigger plants? How should they be pruned? I use hedge shears to trim mine! I simply start trimming them like a Taxus or a Juniper, and guess what? The end product is a fairly compact shrub with gorgeous blooms. My rhododendrons are so densely branched that you can't see through them, thanks to aggressive trimming with hedge cutters. Sure, you can use hand shears to get a prettier plant, but I simply use hedge shears since that's the instrument I happen to have in my hand as I go by.

Understanding what rhododendrons and azaleas enjoy is the key to keeping them healthy and happy. First and foremost, they want to develop in climates that are conducive to their growth. Many species of both dislike living in the north, and to demonstrate this, they will perish as soon as harsh, cold weather strikes. Purchase plants that are hardy in your location.

Hino Crimson (red), Stewartstonia (red), Herbert (lavender), Cascade (white), Delaware Valley (white), and Rosebud (pink) tend to thrive well in zone 5 (northern Ohio). Roseum Elegans (pinkish lavender), English Roseum (pinkish lavender), Nova Zembla (red), Lee's Dark Purple, Chinoides (white), and Cunningham's (white) are all hardy rhododendrons.

How should rhododendrons and azaleas be fertilized? These broadleaf evergreens like to take things slowly and leisurely. Quick-release nitrogen fertilizers should not be used on them since they may kill them. Give them an organic snack instead, such as millorganite, well-rotted cow dung, or compost. Millorganite is a granulated, sewage sludge-based organic fertilizer.

No, it doesn't smell any worse than other fertilizers, and plants prefer it since it's good for them and the soil. It will not burn the plants and will actually reawaken the soil microorganisms. That's great news. Millorganite is available at the majority of full-service garden centers.

Someone long ago spread the rumor that Rhododendrons love acid, and people are often asking me whether I believe their suffering Rhododendron needs more acid. No, it does not. Your struggling Rhododendron most likely needs a large intake of oxygen around its root system.

Rhododendrons dislike having damp feet. They don't enjoy heavy humidity, much less damp soil surrounding their roots. They like high and dry conditions, as well as an unrestricted passage of oxygen to their roots. This may be accomplished by planting them in a raised bed at least 10 inches high with excellently thick dirt. They'll be beaming from one branch to the next.

My buddy Larry and I had several hundred little rhododendrons that we planned to mature into bigger plants a few years ago. We put the majority of them in Larry's backyard, which has nice soil but is a touch sticky. We didn't have enough space for all of them, so we planted the remaining 105 in a field we rented down the road from my home. Have you ever heard of somebody renting a field? (You need to go out more.)

This region had no irrigation water, and the land was quite dry and stony. Other plants in that vicinity typically suffered owing to a lack of water during the dog days of July, yet those rhododendrons were as content as pigs in mud. They outgrew the ones at Larry's home twice as fast, and we sold them years before the others.

What is my point? Rhododendrons dislike having damp feet. They thrive in the shade, but contrary to common opinion, they thrive even more in direct sunlight.