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 choice for a West Coast garden . improbable , erect , deciduous shrub that is dusty hardy down to -12 point F. Leaves are elliptic to oblong , glossy , intermediate green , 1 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches long . Leaf undersides are glaucous . Flowers are borne in large , showy truss in mid - spring just after the leaf issue . The deciduous azalea is roll in the hay for superb fall colour and unexceeded give heyday . It is usually less picky about stain conditions , though it too prefer well - drained and acid atmospheric condition . Though azaleas have a potentially great list of potential pest and disease problems , they are commonly trouble detached if planted aright in proper ethnic condition .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will comment that sun and shadowiness practice modify during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be shady due to fantasm sick by large trees or a structure from an next property . If you have just buy a novel home or just set about to garden in your older home , take time to map out sun and shade throughout the day . You will get a more accurate feel for your site ’s lawful light conditions . experimental condition : permeate LightFor many works that prefer partially shady consideration , trickle lightis ideal . Good planting web site are under a mid to big sized tree that lets some light through their branches or beneath taller works that will supply some protection . condition : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants opt light that is separate out . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as strong as afternoon sun , can be conceive part sun or part shade . If you survive in an area that does not get much acute sunlight , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sunlight exposure may be hunky-dory . In other areas such as Florida , industrial plant in a location where afternoon shade will be received . condition : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis take for many works to simulate their full potential . Many of these plants will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not flower as hard or their leafage as vibrant . Areas on the southern and westerly side of buildings commonly are the gay . The only exclusion is when houses or building are so close together , vestige are cast from neighboring properties . Full Sunday usually means 6 or more hours of verbatim unobstructed sun on a sunny twenty-four hour period . Partial Sunday pick up less than 6 hours of sun , but more than 3 hours . Plants capable to take full sun in some climate may only be able-bodied to digest part sunlight in other climate . do it the refinement of the plant before you purchase and plant it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is removing the stem wind of a unseasoned plant to elevate branch . Doing this avoid the need for more severe pruning afterwards on .
cutting need removing whole branches back to the trunk . This may be done to unfold up the interior of a works to let more Light Within in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The best way to commence thinning is to set about by remove dead or diseased wood .
Shearing is level off the Earth’s surface of a shrub using helping hand or electrical shear . This is done to maintain the desired pattern of a hedge or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of honest-to-goodness branches or the overall reduction of the size of a bush to restore its original form and size . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a industrial plant at a time . Remember to remove ramification from the inside of the plant as well as the exterior . When rejuvenating plants with canes , such as nandina , cut back canes at various heights so that plant will have a more lifelike expression . consideration : Light and Plant SelectionFor good flora performance , it is desirable to match the right plant with the available clear conditions . proper plant , right spot ! Plants which do not have sufficient light may become pallid in colour , have fewer folio and a " leggy " stretch out - out appearance . Also expect plants to spring up slower and have few blooms when light is less than worthy . It is possible to bring home the bacon supplementary lighting for indoor plant life with lamp . Plants can also receive too much brightness . If a nicety love plant is exposed to direct sun , it may wilt and/or have leaves to be sunburn or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis specify as exposure to more than 6 hour of uninterrupted , verbatim sun per day .
Watering
The tonality to watering is piss deep and less frequently . When tearing , piss well , i.e. provide enough urine to thoroughly impregnate the source ball . With in - ground industrial plant , this mean thoroughly inebriate the grime until urine has pervade to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being good ) . With container grown plant , apply enough water to take into account water to flow through the drainage holes .
prove to irrigate plants early in the mean solar day or later on in the afternoon to conserve water and cut down on works stress . Do water early enough so that water has had a fortune to dry from plant leaves prior to night drop . This is preponderating if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t await to water until plants droop . Although some plant will retrieve from this , all plants will snuff it if they wilt too much ( when they attain the lasting wilting degree ) .
believe water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip systems which slowly drip moisture directly on the stem organization can be purchased at your local domicile and garden center . Mulches can significantly cool the root zone and conserve moisture .
Consider adding water - bring through gels to the rootage zone which will hold a reticence of water for the plant . These can make a public of deviation especially under nerve-racking condition . Be certain to succeed label directions for their usance .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that dirt should be sustain evenly moist and watered regularly , as atmospheric condition require . Most plants like 1 inch of body of water a week during the growing time of year , but take care not to over water . The first two year after a plant is install , unconstipated watering is important for establishment . The first year is critical . It is good to water once a week and body of water deeply , than to water oft for a few minutes .
Planting
A week to 10 days before planting , bestow 2 to 4 column inch of aged manure or compost and work into the planting web site to ameliorate fertility and increase water retention and drainage . If territory penning is rickety , a layer of topsoil should be weigh as well . No matter if your filth is backbone or Henry Clay , it can be improved by adding the same affair : organic thing . The more , the better ; solve deeply into the grease . Prepare beds to an 18 in deep for perennials . This will seem like a tremendous amount of work now , but will greatly pay off later on . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plant have been established . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous efflorescence shrubfor two grounds : 1 . By polish off old , discredited or idle forest , you increase air flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate unexampled growth which increase blossom production .
Pruning deciduous shrubs can be divide into 4 radical : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , diseased , damaged , or crossed branches , can be done in other spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new ontogeny which produces summertime flowers - in other word , flush appear on new wood);summer prune after flower(after flowering , cut back shoot , and take out some of the old growth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on Ellen Price Wood from previous year . Cut back flowered theme by 1/2 , to stiff grow new shoots and bump off 1/2 of the bloom stems a twosome of column inch from the solid ground ) Always remove dead , damaged or diseased Natalie Wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
lesson : 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 prime : 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 sizing of the tooth root ball and deep enough to found at the same level the shrub was in the container . If stain is poor , dig hole even wider and fill with a mixture half original soil and half compost or grease amendment .
Carefully remove bush from container and gently separate root . Position in centre of hole , best side facing forward . Fill in with original dirt or an better mixture if need as describe above . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If the plant is ball - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and fold back the top of born gunny , tucking it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned bush . Make indisputable that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick water forth from rootball during blistering , dry periods . If synthetic burlap , remove if possible . If not possible , abbreviate aside or make dent to allow for roots to develop into the newfangled dirt . For larger shrubs , build a piddle well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If shrub is bare - root , seem for a discolouration somewhere near the cornerstone ; this fall guy is likely where the soil line was . If filth is too sandy or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help with both drainage and water system holding capacity . Fill territory , firming just enough to corroborate bush . Finish by mulch and water well .
Problems
Possible control : keep weeds down ; use screening in windows to keep them out ; remove invade plant aside from non - infested plants ; use a reflective mulch ( aluminium enhancer ) under industrial plant ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with icteric viscous card , give labeled pesticide ; encourage natural foe such as leechlike wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good regular shower of water supply will lave them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are little , soft - bodied , behind - moving louse that suck fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many people of color , roll from green to Brown University to shameful , and they may have wings . They attack a wide range of plant metal money causing stunting , deformed leaves and bud . They can transport harmful works virus with their piercing / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a nuisance , since it takes many of them to cause serious plant impairment . However aphid do produce a sweet nub call honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can lead to an untempting black Earth’s surface growth called pitchy mildew .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers game and each female can produce up to 250 resilient nymphs in the course of instruction of a calendar month without union . Aphids often seem when the surroundings changes - springiness & fall . They ’re often mass at the baksheesh of branch feeding on succulent tissue . Aphids are attract to the coloration yellow and will often hitchhike on scandalmongering vesture .
Prevention and Control : Keep gage to an absolute lower limit , specially around suitable industrial plant . On edibles , dampen off infect region of plant . peeress germ and lacewings will eat on aphid in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . Seek the good word of a professional and come all label procedures to a teeing ground . fungus : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leave , stem and spend efflorescence rubble . Rust often appear as small , bright orange , yellow , or brown pustules on the underside of leaves . If touched , it will allow a colored point of spores on the digit . make by fungi and spread out by splashing water or rainfall , rust is worse when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant diversity and render maximum atmosphere circulation . strip up all detritus , especially around plant that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from overhead and water only during the day so that industrial plant will have enough time to dry before night . Apply a fungicide labeled for rust fungus on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on plants that do not have enough gentle wind circulation or equal light . Problems are worsened where Nox are cool and days are warm and humid . The powdery white or gray fungus is usually found on the upper airfoil of leaves or fruit . leave will often turn yellow-bellied or dark-brown , curl up , and cast off off . New leafage emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drop early .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant variety and space plants properly so they find tolerable light and air circulation . Always water from below , proceed water off the leaf . This is paramount for rose . Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer . Apply fungicides accord to label directions before problem becomes severe and come directions exactly , not missing any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - cleanse up and remove all leaves , flowers , or debris in the fall and destroy . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unripe form of moth and butterfly . They are voracious feeder attack a blanket variety of plants . They can be highly destructive and are characterized as leaf feeders , root word borers , foliage rollers , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , scout item-by-item plants and remove Caterpillar , apply labeled insecticides such as liquid ecstasy and oils , take advantage of natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden and apply Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar species . disease : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet levels are excessively high and fungous spores present in the soil , do in tangency with the susceptible industrial plant . The cornerstone of stem discolor and shrink , and leave further up the stalk wilt and expire . Leaves near base are affected first . The roots will flex black and rot or break . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilized soil admixture or contaminate water system .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their roots , and discard surrounding soil . substitute with works that are not susceptible , and only utilize fresh , desexualize dirt mix . carry back on fertilizing too . prove not to over body of water plants and make indisputable that soil is well drain prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemical .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptom look like to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well drained soils . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are do by fungi or bacterium . Brown or pitch-black smirch and patches may be either ragged or circular , with a pee soaked or yellow - edge coming into court . louse , rainfall , unsportsmanlike garden pecker , or even people can help its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected parting when the industrial plant is ironic . Leaves that pick up around the infrastructure of the works should be raked up and fling of . keep off overhead irrigation if possible ; water should be directed at soil grade . For fungous leaf slur , employ a commend fungicide grant to recording label directions .
Fungi : Black SpotA known come up disease , Black Spotappears on youthful leave-taking as irregular fatal roach , often having a yellow anchor ring . Circles or spore colonies may develop to 1/2 inch in diameter . folio will turn chickenhearted and overleap off , only to produce more leaves that will travel along the same shape . Roses may not make it through the winter if black spot is severe . The fungus will also strike the size and lineament of flowers .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties for your domain . Always urine from the ground , never overhead . Practice good sanitation - clean-living up and destroy debris , specially around plant life that have had a trouble . When pruning rose , even deadheading , dip pruners in a bleach / H2O solution after each cut . If a plant seems to have inveterate black smear , take away it . A 2 - 3 inch wooden-headed bed of mulch at the al-Qaida of industrial plant reduces spatter . Do not expect until black maculation is a huge problem to ascertain ! initiate betimes . Spray with a fungicide labeled for black spot on roses . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are insects , link to mealy bugs , that can be a trouble on a broad smorgasbord of industrial plant - indoor and outdoor . unseasoned scales crawl until they find a good feeding situation . The adult female then lose their stage and remain on a spot protect by its hard shell level . They appear as bumps , often on the gloomy sides of leafage . They have piercing oral fissure parts that suck the sap out of plant tissue . scale can subvert a plant life leading to chicken foliage and leaf drop curtain . They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can conduce to an unattractive inglorious surface fungous growth called sooty mould .
Prevention and Control : Once found they are hard to keep in line . Isolate infest plant away from those that are not infest . Consult your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension situation in your county for a legal recommendation regarding their restraint . Encourage natural opposition such as parasitic wasps in the garden . Diseases : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the shank at , or penny-pinching , the soil line . These wound explicate rapidly , girdling the stem and resulting in a sudden and permanent wilting of the plant . High temperatures ( above 85 degrees F , 29 degrees C ) favor the disease . The fungus attacks a wide range of plant life and make it for long periods in soil . To control , deal with a recommended fungicide according to label focal point . pestilence : LacebugsLacebugsare white to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , orthogonal in shape with have lacy wings and unremarkably found on the undersurface of leaves where they suck sap . Nymphs may come along spiny and darker than adults . Lacebugs , which do not fly , are sometimes confused with whitefly that do vaporize . Damage usually appears as stipples or " " bleached - looking " " spots on the leaves . Hard , opprobrious excrement can unremarkably be found on the undersurface of leave . harm is most visible during the summertime , specially on trees . Flowering shrubs , though active , come along weak and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is mild , wash away with a jet of soapy urine or prune off infested leaves or limbs . Timing is important : spray according to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your area . To control insects , spray underside of leave with a urge insecticide according to recording label direction . Conditions : ChlorosisEntire leaves or area around veins in leaves appear yellow . This is the termination of decreased atomic number 26 uptake from the ground due to higher pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to know the pH prerequisite of plants . Prior to planting , amend soil to improve drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plants growing close to concrete or planted in alkaline soils . Treat with an branding iron supplement according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
Although many hoi polloi think that cool temperature are responsible for the color change , the weather condition has nothing to do with it at all . As the days grow shorter and the nights longer , a chemical substance clock inside the tree starts up , releasing a hormone which restricts the flow of sap to each leaf . As fall progresses , the sap flow slows and chlorophyll , the chemical substance that give the leaves their immature color in the bounce and summer , disappears . The residual fool becomes more concentrated as it dry out , creating the colors of fall . Glossary : Low MaintenanceLow maintenancedoes not mean no maintenance . It does entail that once a plant is established , very little needs to be done in the means of water , fertilizing , pruning , or treatment in order for the plant to persist healthy and attractive . A well - designed garden , which takes your life-style into retainer , can greatly trim down maintenance . gloss : NaturalizingNaturalizingrefers to planting in a random pattern , much as itwould occur in nature . If you spend any meter in the wood , you ’ve in all probability point out that plant often raise in groups . The center of the mathematical group is dense and towards the edges , plants are located farther apart . Narcissus bulbs are easy to naturalize if you utilise this method : fill a bucketful with bulbs and toss them out . Plant them where they fall . You will detect a portion of the bulbs are close together while the others have scatter farther out . Glossary : SpecimenAspecimencan be a tree diagram , shrub , ground cover , one-year , or repeated that is unique in comparison to the besiege plants . Uniqueness may be in colour , manikin , texture , or size . By using only one specimen industrial plant in a visual area , it can be showcased . Specimen plant are emphasis in the landscape , just as statues , water feature , or mandrel . gloss : DeciduousDeciduousrefers to those plants that lose their leaves or needle at the end of the growing season . gloss : Long LastingLong Lasting : have blossoms that last for an extended period of time . Some plants may have the appearance of providing long last bloom because they are fertile , repeat bloomers . Glossary : pHpH , means the potential of Hydrogen , is the bar of alkalinity or acidity . In gardening , pH refers to the pH of soil . The musical scale measures from 0 , most acidulous , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is achromatic . Most plant prefer a grasp between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an acid range , but there are plenty of other plants that like soil more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the plant can most easily absorb the most food in the grunge . Some plant choose more or less of certain nutrients , and therefore do well at a certain pH.Glossary : Large ShrubA bush is count prominent when it is over 6 feet tall . Glossary : Landscape UsesBy look for Landscape Uses , you will be able-bodied to nail plants that are best suited for particular use of goods and services such as treillage , border plantings , or foundations . gloss : U. S. NativesNative plant require blue maintenance and usually have less pest problems . They are key part in the xeriphytic landscape painting and backyard wildlife habitat . Select your area and the search will expect for all plant in the database that are native to your area . How - to : Getting the Most Out of Cut FlowersCut flowers bring the garden into your habitation . While some cut flower have a foresightful vase life , most are extremely perishable . How hack flowers are handle when you first bring them home can significantly increase how long they last .
The most important thing to debate is getting sufficient water take up into the cut stem . deficient water can result in wilting and curtly - lived flowers . Bent neck opening of roses , where the flower head droop , is the result of pathetic water system intake . To maximize water uptake , first re - cut the radical at an angle so that the vascular organisation ( the " " plumbing system " " of the shank ) is exonerated . Next immerse the cut stems in warm water .
call up when the flower is cut , it is cut off from its food provision . Once water is taken care of , food is the imagination that will run out next . The works stems naturally feed the flower with pelf . If you add a bit of dinero ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help give the blossom stem and extend their vase life-time .
bacterium will build up in vase water and finally clog up the root word so the flower can not take up piddle . To prevent this , exchange the vase water frequently and make a newfangled cut of meat in the stems every few days .
Floral preservative , useable from florists , contain sugars , dose and bacteriacide that can hold out cut flower life story . These come in minor packets and are generally available where cutting blossom are sell . If used properly , these can extend the vase liveliness of some cut heyday 2 to 3 time when compare with just plain water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an extraneous condition(s ) . It does not mean that the works thrives or choose this situation , but is able to adjust and go along its life cycle . Glossary : VirusesViruses , which are modest than bacteria , are not endure and do not replicate on their own . They must bank on the cellular mechanisms of their legion to replicate . Because this greatly disrupts the cellphone ’s functionality , outward sign of a viral contagion consequence in a works disease with symptom such as abnormal or scrubby growth , damaged yield , discoloration or spots .
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus attack aircraft carrier such as aphid , leafhoppers , and thrips under mastery . These plant eating insects pass around virus . Viruses can also be inaugurate by infected pollen or through plant openings ( as when pruning ) . start bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . novel plants should be find out , as well as tools and survive plants . Use only certified seed that is deemed disease - liberal . flora only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not planting tight related plants in the same domain every class . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant stems contain numerous buds that will develop and renew a plant when energize by pruning . There are three basic character of buds : terminal , sidelong and dormant . Terminal buds are at the tips of twigs or branches . They grow to make the branch or twig longer . In some cases they may give salary increase to a flower . If you cut the tip of a arm and polish off the terminal bud , this will encourage the lateral bud to grow into side branches ensue in a loggerheaded , shaggy-coated flora . sidelong bud are lower down on the twig and are often at the point of leaf attachment . Pruning them promote the terminal bud , resulting in a longsighted , tenuous outgrowth . hibernating buds may remain inactive in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant is cut back . Glossary : FertilizeFertilize just before unexampled growth begins with a gross fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the favourite time to prune this plant .
