Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Azaleas

Terry writes~ I have about 50 azaleas which receive the utmost in care. Currently, 49 are in full bloom. One looks absolutely stunning, except, it has no blooms. It has lush green foliage, but not a bloom in sight. I feed 4 times a year, after bloom and late summer with Osmocote rhod. and azalea food and in late fall and late winter with cottonseed meal. I water and mulch also. I was reading on a popular Azalea website that one possible reason for an otherwise healthy azalea not to bloom can be if they are too healthy and have too much vigor, they don't take time to bloom. My purple leaf plum, has been in the ground 3 years. To this day, when we get a general rain, all the branches droop under the weight of the water, so that it almost has the appearance of a weeping willow. I would think such a tree of 15+ feet would be hardened off by now. It has grown well since planting. Could I be creating an environment so conducive to growth that this tree just keeps growing, but doesn't bloom?

A. You have brought up some good fertilizer questions. High Nitrogen food leads to good, strong healthy branches and leaves many times at a detriment to the flowers or lack thereof. This could add to your ideas about the plums having too much Nitrogen and therefore too busy to bloom. I have heard of such happenings before but not with plums, rather veggies and fruit, but I can sure see a link.

But, with the high Nitrogen, why would the growth be spindly and weak as to droop under rain? I would see a big push for flowers causing a side effect of lack of stem vigor. That would make sense, as I have seen tons of plants who flower so much that they forget to grow! Recently, I judged an African violet so profuse with blooms, maybe 50 on a semiminiature plant, that the center died and we could not judge it! But that would be a result of too much Phosphorus.

As for the one azalea which is not blooming while the others are champs, I would not concern myself. Try giving it a hit or two during the season of superphosphate. If it does not snap out of it and bloom next spring, I recommend pulling it as the true 'lemon' that it is. No need worrying yourself about your culture with odds like that. My other questioners should be so unfortunate!

Alan writes~
My new azalea I bought is dropping its flowers and the leaves are slowly turning yellow and falling [July]. I live in Texas. I water it every other day. What can I do to save it [it is my first one]?

A. In Texas with your heat, no azalea is going to bloom right now. They will bloom in the early spring, as March-April. Once the temps rise, flowering will stop. That is why you are seeing the flowers dying. Pick them off and discard. They do not bloom in the summer. Once in a while you may get a little flowering in the cool fall, but usually not.

The plant hates heat, but loves moisture and humidity. The bright, beating Texan sun is harsh, so make sure that the light it gets is only in the morning, say until 11 AM and some allowed after 6 PM. Otherwise, that light will eventually cause death. The yellow, dropping leaves are a sign of that. It will continue if the plant is subjected to high heat and sun light.

You can cover it loosely with a shade cloth or mesh or move into a better location. Water well, make sure that the soil is very well-drained, and give it monthly a high Phosphorus and acidic fertilizer. Miracle-Gro is good, plus nurseries sell special azalea and rhododendron fertilizers. Check around.

Lorraine writes~
Read about azaleas that bloom twice but haven't been able to find them. Could you suggest where I could buy them? Trying to locate azaleas that bloom spring and fall that I read about. Good to hear from you, as I used the Deer Off that you talked about, so far so good.

A. Here is a source designed especially for gardeners like you:

http://www.encoreazalea.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.story

The Encore Azalea story originated with the dream of Robert E. Lee of Independence, LA. His vision was to create a beautiful azalea whose blooms could be enjoyed more than once a year. In the early 1980's, Mr. Lee began a methodical breeding effort to achieve his goals by hybridizing beautiful, spring flowering varieties with a rare, summer blooming azalea. This resulted in thousands of different twice blooming azaleas. Each plant was then evaluated for flowering period and richness of color, as well as quality of foliage and overall vigor. After they flower in the spring, the Encore Azaleas begin growing and new shoots appear. Then they suddenly stop growing and start setting buds. The Encore Azalea's "first act" opens with the emergence of buds that begin blooming into full flower in midsummer. The curtain drops on this unique bloom season with the onset of cold weather. But, the show goes on. As an "encore," these exceptional azaleas flower again with traditional spring azaleas and the process starts over. The result of this lengthy process was the release of the first six Encore Azaleas. The genetic diversity within this group yielded a wide range of growth and color characteristics. These vary in size from small compact forms to large background plants in shades of pink, orange and lavender. Since the introduction of the first six Encore Azalea varieties, there have been fourteen additional varieties released. These new Encore Azalea varieties bring with them a greater selection of bloom color and plant size. The Encore Azalea family continues to grow. Mr. Lee is still working to develop a wider array of Encore Azalea varieties to enhance your color options. Information is listed as to where to buy them. Also check:

http://www.lnla.org/azaleasociety/azvarieties.html

Sonja writes~
What do you, or where do you get a clipping to start another azalea bush? I don't know where to cut it or what you need to do?

A. If you have a beautiful azalea [or hydrangea] and would like to have more plants, there is no reason to go out and spend money. You can actually grow new plants by taking stem cuttings. Once the plant is finished blooming, then you are ready to take a cutting. Remove about 4-6" of a green stem. Half the stem cutting is going to be under soil, so remove all the foliage. Do not tear it off or you might damage the bark. Instead, use scissors or clippers and just clip off the leaves. Cut the stem on a 45-degree angle just below the leaf node. Next, dip the stem into a rooting hormone. Then place it into a small pot, with a mixture of 50% perlite/50% soil. Put the stem about 3" down into the soil. Keep your new stem cutting moist at all times until it is completely rooted, which can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. In no time, your plants will root and you can go ahead and repot them. And within a year, you may be enjoying some beautiful blooms. To retain moisture, you can put the pot and cutting in a plastic bag, but check the moisture level every day and let it breathe for about 15 minutes.