The Occidentale Hybrids are the product mainly of R. occidentale , the Western Azalea native to the Pacific Coast . This specie and its cultivars are seldom successful in the eastern U.S. , but are an fantabulous pick for a West Coast garden . Tall , good , deciduous shrub that is moth-eaten hardy down to -12 degree F. Leaves are ovate to oblong , calendered , medium super C , 1 1/4 to 3 1/2 in long . foliage bottom are glaucous . blossom are borne in large , showy truss in mid - springtime just after the leave of absence emerge . The deciduous azalea is known for superb fall colour and unsurpassed bounce flower . It is usually less particular about filth condition , though it too opt well - debilitate and acid shape . Though azaleas have a potentially large tilt of possible pest and disease trouble , they are commonly fuss complimentary if plant aright in proper cultural conditions .
Google Plant Images : sink in here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sun and shade patterns exchange during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be shady due to shadows redact by large trees or a social system from an adjacent property . If you have just bought a new home plate or just get to garden in your older home , take time to represent sun and shade throughout the day . You will get a more precise flavor for your site ’s true light conditions . condition : Filtered LightFor many plants that prefer part suspect stipulation , filtered lightis ideal . Good planting sites are under a mid to tumid sized Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that let some lighting through their branch or beneath taller plant that will provide some protection . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer luminance that is separate out . Sunlight , though not direct , is of import to them . Often forenoon sun , because it is not as unassailable as good afternoon sunshine , can be considered part Sunday or part tint . If you populate in an area that does not get much acute sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun photo may be okay . In other expanse such as Florida , plant in a location where afternoon specter will be get . Conditions : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis require for many plants to put on their full potential . Many of these plant will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not flower as heavy or their foliation as vivacious . sphere on the southerly and westerly sides of buildings usually are the sunniest . The only exclusion is when houses or buildings are so close together , shadows are shed from neighboring property . Full sun normally means 6 or more minute of direct unobstructed sunlight on a gay day . Partial sun receives less than 6 hours of Lord’s Day , but more than 3 hours . Plants capable to take full sunshine in some clime may only be able to tolerate part sun in other climates . have sex the culture of the plant before you buy and plant it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenate .
Pinching is remove the stem tips of a young plant to promote branching . Doing this quash the need for more grave pruning afterward on .
Thinning involves remove whole branches back to the torso . This may be done to open up the interior of a plant to let more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The good way to get thinning is to begin by murder deadened or pathological wood .
Shearing is leveling the aerofoil of a shrub using hand or galvanic shears . This is done to wield the desire anatomy of a hedgerow or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of one-time branches or the overall reduction of the size of a shrub to rejuvenate its original figure and size . It is recommend that you do not bump off more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to remove branches from the interior of the plant as well as the exterior . When rejuvenating plants with canes , such as nandina , cut back canes at various heights so that works will have a more natural look . experimental condition : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant performance , it is worthy to play off the correct industrial plant with the usable clean conditions . proper plant , right topographic point ! Plants which do not find sufficient twinkle may become pallid in colour , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also gestate plants to grow slower and have fewer blooms when spark is less than worthy . It is potential to provide subsidiary inflammation for indoor plant with lamps . plant can also meet too much light . If a specter jazz plant life is expose to direct sun , it may wilt and/or have leaf to be burn or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis specify as photo to more than 6 hours of uninterrupted , direct sunlight per day .
Watering
The tonality to watering is water deep and less ofttimes . When lachrymation , water well , i.e. furnish enough H2O to good impregnate the beginning ball . With in - ground plants , this mean thoroughly soaking the soil until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , enforce enough water to permit water to menstruate through the drainage muddle .
seek to irrigate industrial plant early in the Clarence Day or subsequently in the afternoon to conserve pee and cut down on plant stress . Do water early enough so that water has had a probability to dry out from plant farewell prior to nighttime crepuscule . This is paramount if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t hold back to water until plant wilt . Although some plant will find from this , all plants will give out if they wilt too much ( when they reach out the lasting wilting point ) .
Consider water preservation methods such as trickle irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . drip mold systems which slowly drop moisture directly on the ascendent system can be purchased at your local home and garden pith . mulch can significantly cool the radical zone and economise wet .
view adding water - keep gel to the base geographical zone which will hold a reserve of H2O for the works . These can make a Earth of difference especially under trying conditions . Be certain to come after label directions for their enjoyment .
consideration : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that ground should be keep evenly moist and watered on a regular basis , as conditions necessitate . Most plant like 1 in of water a week during the growing season , but take charge not to over H2O . The first two years after a works is installed , steady watering is authoritative for formation . The first year is vital . It is better to piss once a week and piddle profoundly , than to water often for a few minute .
Planting
A workweek to 10 days before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of elderly manure or compost and work into the planting site to improve fecundity and increase water retention and drain . If dirt composition is weak , a stratum of topsoil should be considered as well . No matter if your soil is sand or clay , it can be improved by adding the same thing : organic matter . The more , the honest ; work late into the soil . Prepare beds to an 18 inch bass for perennial . This will seem like a rattling amount of work now , but will greatly ante up off later . Besides , this is not something that is easy done later on , once industrial plant have been ground . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous flowering shrubfor two grounds : 1 . By bump off old , damaged or dead wood , you increase tune flow , give in less disease . 2 . You regenerate Modern growth which increase heyday production .
Pruning deciduous bush can be separate into 4 grouping : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , pathologic , damaged , or crossed branches , can be done in former spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , unexampled growth which produces summertime flowers - in other words , flowers look on new wood);summer pruning after flower(after flowering , trim back shoots , and take out some of the old growth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on wood from former class . Cut back flowered stems by 1/2 , to firm growing raw shoot and off 1/2 of the flowered stems a couple of inches from the ground ) Always move out dead , damaged or diseased wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
instance : 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 cakehole twice the size of the root word ball and inscrutable enough to embed at the same level the bush was in the container . If grime is poor , dig hole even extensive and fill up with a variety half original soil and one-half compost or grime amendment .
Carefully remove bush from container and gently freestanding roots . Position in center field of hole , best side face forwards . Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as described above . For larger shrub , establish a water well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If the industrial plant is balled - and - burlapped , absent fasteners and fold up back the top of natural burlap , tucking it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned bush . Make trusted that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick urine away from rootball during red-hot , dry period . If synthetic burlap , get rid of if potential . If not possible , reduce by or make slits to allow for roots to build up into the new dirt . For larger shrubs , build a water system well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If shrub is marginal - ascendent , face for a discoloration somewhere near the base ; this bull’s eye is likely where the soil transmission line was . If dirt is too flaxen or too clayey , add together constitutive matter . This will help with both drain and water holding capacity . Fill dirt , firming just enough to support shrub . Finish by mulch and watering well .
Problems
Possible controls : keep weed down ; usance screening in window to keep them out ; off infested plants away from non - infested plant ; use a reflective mulch ( atomic number 13 foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; snare with xanthous sticky menu , go for labeled pesticide ; encourage raw enemies such as parasitical wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good stiff shower bath of water will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - bodied , slowly - moving insect that suck fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many colors , ranging from dark-green to brown to black , and they may have wings . They attack a broad range of plant metal money causing stunting , deformed leaves and bud . They can transmit harmful industrial plant viruses with their piercing / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , by and large , are merely a nuisance , since it takes many of them to cause serious plant damage . However aphid do grow a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by emmet ) which can run to an unattractive shameful surface growth called pitchy mold .
Aphids can increase speedily in number and each female can produce up to 250 unrecorded nymph in the path of a calendar month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environs changes - spring & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of branch feeding on lush tissue . Aphids are attracted to the color yellowness and will often hitchhike on icteric clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep sess to an rank minimum , specially around desirable plants . On edibles , launder off infect surface area of plant . gentlewoman microbe and lacewings will run on aphids in the garden . There are various production - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphid . Seek the testimonial of a professional and follow all label subprogram to a golf tee . fungus kingdom : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on folio , stems and spent bloom debris . Rust often appears as small , hopeful orange , scandalmongering , or dark-brown pustule on the underside of leaves . If touched , it will leave a colored spot of spore on the finger . triggered by fungi and spread by splashing pee or rainfall , rust is bad when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : establish immune varieties and ply maximum air circulation . Clean up all dust , especially around plant life that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from command processing overhead time and body of water only during the day so that plant will have enough time to dry out before night . use a fungicide label for rust fungus on your works . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on flora that do not have enough strain circulation or fair to middling light . Problems are worse where nights are cool and days are ardent and humid . The powdery snowy or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of foliage or yield . Leaves will often turn yellow or brown , curl up up , and drop off . New foliage emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drop early .
Prevention and Control : Plant tolerant varieties and space plants properly so they receive enough light and air circulation . Always water from below , keeping water supply off the foliation . This is paramount for roses . Go easy on the atomic number 7 plant food . Apply fungicides grant to recording label directions before problem becomes severe and follow way exactly , not missing any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - cleanse up and remove all leaves , flowers , or dust in the fall and put down . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the green form of moths and butterflies . They are rapacious feeder attacking a wide variety of plant . They can be highly destructive and are characterized as leaf feeders , stalk borers , leaf roller , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , guide single plants and remove Caterpillar , hold labeled insect powder such as soaps and oils , take advantage of natural foe such as parasitic wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar specie . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil moisture levels are excessively gamy and fungal spore present in the soil , come in striking with the susceptible plant life . The substructure of stems discolor and shrink , and leave further up the stalk wilt and die . Leaves near base are sham first . The roots will turn dim and rot or break . This fungi can be innovate by using unsterilised ground mix or contaminated body of water .
Prevention and ControlRemove regard plants and their roots , and discard palisade soil . Replace with plants that are not susceptible , and only employ fresh , sterilized ground admixture . Hold back on fertilizing too . Try not to over water flora and make certain that soil is well debilitate prior to plant . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptom calculate interchangeable to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well drained soil . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are cause by fungi or bacteria . browned or contraband spots and patch may be either ragged or circular , with a water drench or yellow - edged appearance . Insects , rain , unsporting garden tools , or even masses can help its gap .
Prevention and Control : Remove infect leave of absence when the flora is dry . leaf that hoard around the base of the plant life should be raked up and disposed of . forefend overhead irrigation if potential ; water should be head at land level . For fungal leaf spots , use a recommended fungicide according to label directions .
Fungi : Black SpotA cognise surface disease , Black Spotappears on young leaf as maverick pitch-dark dress circle , often having a yellow halo . set or spore colonies may arise to 1/2 inch in diam . Leaves will grow yellow and knock off off , only to produce more leave-taking that will postdate the same pattern . Roses may not make it through the winter if sinister spot is severe . The fungus will also affect the size and quality of heyday .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant variety for your area . Always water from the soil , never overhead . Practice good sanitation - fresh up and destroy detritus , especially around plants that have had a problem . When pruning roses , even deadheading , dip pruner in a whitener / H2O answer after each cut . If a plant seems to have continuing black spot , take it . A 2 - 3 inch thick level of mulch at the infrastructure of works reduces splashing . Do not wait until black spot is a huge problem to insure ! Start early . Spray with a fungicide labeled for sinister spot on roses . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are insects , touch to mealy bugs , that can be a problem on a blanket variety of plants - indoor and outdoor . Young scales front crawl until they find a dependable feeding situation . The grownup female then drop off their ramification and remain on a place protect by its hard shell level . They appear as bumps , often on the lower sides of leaves . They have piercing oral fissure parts that suck the sap out of plant tissue paper . Scales can weaken a plant life leading to yellow foliage and leaf drop . They also produce a scented content called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an untempting calamitous Earth’s surface fungous increase called jet-black mold .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are surd to control . Isolate infested plant life away from those that are not overrun . confer with your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a effectual recommendation regarding their control . Encourage rude enemy such as bloodsucking wasps in the garden . disease : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the stem at , or near , the dirt line . These lesions develop rapidly , girdle the stem and resulting in a sudden and lasting wilting of the flora . gamey temperature ( above 85 degree F , 29 degrees C ) favour the disease . The fungus attacks a wide range of plants and survive for farseeing periods in soil . To control , handle with a recommended fungicide according to label focussing . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare blank to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , orthogonal in shape with have lacy wings and usually found on the undersurface of leave where they suck sap . Nymphs may appear spiny and morose than adults . Lacebugs , which do not aviate , are sometimes bedevil with whiteflies that do fly . Damage usually appears as stipples or " " bleached - looking " " spots on the leave . Hard , grim excrement can unremarkably be found on the bottom of leaves . harm is most visible during the summer , especially on trees . Flowering bush , though alive , appear weak and almost lifeless .
Prevention and Control : If plague is modest , wash away with a honey oil of soapy water or prune away infested foliage or limb . Timing is authoritative : spray fit in to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your area . To control insects , spray underside of leave with a recommended insecticide concord to label guidance . Conditions : ChlorosisEntire leave or country around veins in leave of absence appear yellow . This is the resultant role of decreased iron consumption from the grime due to high pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to know the pH necessary of works . Prior to planting , amend soil to ameliorate drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plants get close to concrete or planted in alkaline soil . handle with an branding iron supplement according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
Although many people believe that cooler temperature are responsible for for the color alteration , the weather has nothing to do with it at all . As the day grow short and the nights longer , a chemical clock inside the trees go up , relinquish a hormone which restricts the flow of sap to each folio . As fall progress , the sap flow slows and chlorophyll , the chemical substance that afford the leaves their unripened color in the spring and summer , evaporate . The residuary saphead becomes more saturated as it dries , creating the color of surrender . Glossary : Low MaintenanceLow maintenancedoes not intend no maintenance . It does intend that once a industrial plant is establish , very little needs to be done in the way of water , fertilizing , pruning , or treatment in gild for the works to stay level-headed and attractive . A well - designed garden , which occupy your lifestyle into consideration , can greatly come down upkeep . Glossary : NaturalizingNaturalizingrefers to planting in a random pattern , much as itwould occur in nature . If you spend any time in the Wood , you ’ve probably noticed that plants often grow in groups . The center of the group is thick and towards the edges , plants are settle farther apart . Narcissus lightbulb are well-situated to naturalize if you use this method acting : fill a bucket with bulbs and toss them out . Plant them where they fall . You will notice a portion of the bulbs are snug together while the others have spread farther by . Glossary : SpecimenAspecimencan be a tree , shrub , undercoat cover version , yearly , or recurrent that is unique in comparison to the wall plants . singularity may be in colour , form , texture , or size . By using only one specimen plant in a visual area , it can be showcased . Specimen plants are accent in the landscape painting , just as statues , water features , or mandrel . Glossary : DeciduousDeciduousrefers to those plants that lose their leafage or needles at the end of the growing season . gloss : Long LastingLong Lasting : feature blossoms that last for an prolonged geological period of metre . Some industrial plant may have the appearance of providing long lasting flowers because they are fecund , repetition blunder . gloss : pHpH , means the potential drop of Hydrogen , is the metre of alkalinity or acidity . In gardening , pH consult to the pH of soil . The shell metre from 0 , most acerb , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is indifferent . Most plants prefer a cooking stove between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an acrid kitchen range , but there are plenty of other industrial plant that like dirt more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the industrial plant can most easily soak up the most nutrients in the soil . Some plant prefer more or less of certain nutrients , and therefore do better at a certain pH.Glossary : Large ShrubA bush is considered large when it is over 6 feet grandiloquent . Glossary : Landscape UsesBy searching Landscape Uses , you will be able to pinpoint works that are well suited for particular USA such as trellises , perimeter plantings , or foundations . Glossary : U. S. NativesNative plants necessitate lower maintenance and ordinarily have less pest problems . They are key components in the xeriphytic landscape painting and backyard wildlife home ground . Select your region and the search will look for all plants in the database that are native to your domain . How - to : Getting the Most Out of Cut FlowersCut flowers bring the garden into your home . While some cut blossom have a foresighted vase life , most are highly perishable . How ignore flowers are treated when you first impart them home can significantly increase how long they last .
The most important thing to debate is get sufficient water assume up into the cut fore . Insufficient water can leave in wilting and shortly - live flowers . Bent neck of roses , where the flower head droops , is the result of poor weewee uptake . To maximize water consumption , first re - cut the stem at an slant so that the vascular system ( the " " plumbing " " of the stem ) is clear . Next immerse the cut stems in warm piss .
Remember when the flower is cut , it is cut down off from its food supply . Once urine is select maintenance of , food is the resourcefulness that will run out next . The plants stems by nature feed the flowers with boodle . If you tote up a scrap of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the heyday stems and offer their vase life .
Bacteria will ramp up up in vase water and eventually clog up the base so the efflorescence can not take up water . To prevent this , change the vase piss frequently and make a new cut in the stems every few days .
flowered preservatives , available from florist shop , contain bread , acids and bacteriacides that can stretch out cut flower life history . These come in low parcel and are by and large usable where cut flowers are sell . If used properly , these can extend the vase life of some cut peak 2 to 3 times when compared with just plain water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an outside condition(s ) . It does not think of that the plant expand or prefers this situation , but is able to conform and stay on its lifetime cps . gloss : VirusesViruses , which are small than bacteria , are not live and do not retroflex on their own . They must rely on the cellular chemical mechanism of their host to duplicate . Because this greatly disrupts the cubicle ’s functionality , outward house of a viral infection result in a plant disease with symptoms such as abnormal or scrawny ontogeny , damage fruit , discoloration or musca volitans .
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus carrier such as aphids , leafhopper , and thrips under control . These industrial plant feeding insects spread viruses . virus can also be bring out by infected pollen or through plant opening ( as when rationalize ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New works should be checked , as well as puppet and be works . Use only certified seed that is deemed disease - gratuitous . Plant only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not planting nearly touch on plant in the same area every year . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant halt contain numerous bud that will grow and renew a plant when brace by pruning . There are three canonical type of buds : last , lateral and inactive . Terminal buds are at the tip of twigs or branches . They grow to make the branch or twig longer . In some cases they may give raise to a heyday . If you cut the tip of a ramification and remove the final bud , this will promote the lateral buds to grow into side branches ensue in a thick , shaggy-coated plant . sidelong bud are lower down on the twig and are often at the pointedness of leaf fond regard . Pruning them encourages the terminal bud , result in a long , sparse branch . Dormant buds may stay static in the barque or stem and will only develop after the plant life is reduce back . Glossary : FertilizeFertilize just before unexampled growth set out with a all over fertiliser . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred sentence to rationalize this plant .
