When buying azaleas in a pot, remember that only plants with a large number of buds will bloom at home for several weeks. Let's also check whether the soil in the container has dried out - dry plants usually shed their leaves and get sick. On a frosty day, make sure the azalea is carefully wrapped in several layers of paper as it is very sensitive to cold temperatures. Flowers fall and leaves turn black when the plant is frozen.
Watering
Azaleas need a constantly moist substrate during flowering, but their delicate roots are very sensitive to excess water.It is best to water them even every day, but not much, just so that the soil does not dry out. These plants are also harmed by hard water containing a lot of calcium, so use boiled and settled water instead of regular tap tap water. Azaleas are very fond of humid air, but must not be sprinkled on them during flowering as brown spots appear on the petals. Therefore, it is worth placing the pot on a large stand filled with pebbles or expanded clay and water (there should be little of it, so that the bottom of the container is not submerged), which will evaporate, moisten the air, and the flowers will not be exposed to damage.
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The optimal temperature for azaleas is around 15 ° C. In higher ones, they can shed leaves and bloom quickly. For this reason, the window sills under which the radiators are located are not the best place for these plants. In winter, they should stand in the most visible point of the room, and in spring, the pot should be moved where only diffused light reaches.
After fading
After the azalea has faded, it needs to be transplanted into a larger pot. Be careful not to place the plant too deep in the ground or damage the root ball (it must not be torn and trimmed), because the azalea is very sick. The pot should have a large opening in the bottom to drain excess water. For the same reason, we first fill it with a thick layer of drainage. For the cultivation of azaleas, it is best to use a special soil intended for plants that like acidic soil. We can also use regular soil for flowers mixed with non-de-acidified peat. You can wait 2-3 years before the next transplanting into a new container, when the roots have grown through the soil in the pot.
After transplanting, in April, it is a good idea to trim the azalea a bit to give it a more regular shape and stimulate tillering. If we want the plant to look like a miniature tree (e.g. in the form of a bonsai), all excessively elongated shoots and the shortest ones should be shortened.
Although azaleas do not have high fertilization requirements, from April to the beginning of August, we should feed them once every 2-3 weeks. For this purpose, we use special preparations intended for rhododendrons. They can also be ordinary fertilizers for garden plants that like acidic soil, but you need to prepare a 1% solution of this substance.
At the end of May, when there is no longer any danger of frost, we put the azalea in the garden (unfortunately, the balcony or terrace are not the best places) and place it on a semi-shaded position. In such conditions, it will bloom again. It is best to put a pot on a bottom, i.e. place it in a shallow hole and cover it with soil. In this way, we reduce the risk of drying the substrate. We take the plant back to our apartment at the beginning of September.
