The author of the text is Kinga Nowak-Dyjeta
Rhododendrons are always green shrubs, they are more sensitive to winter winds and droughts. They have beautiful, large, shiny, dark green leaves, which is why shrubs decorate the garden even after flowering.They require secluded places, sheltered from wind and high air humidity.They prefer shady places, they grow best in shade of conifers. They also have high soil requirements.
Most varieties of rhododendron bloom around May 20, and the colors of their flowers, depending on the variety, are different shades of white, pink, purple and red, you can also meet varieties with cream-yellow flowers.
Azaleas with seasonal leaves have slightly lower requirements than rhododendrons. In winter, they suffer less than frost because they have no leaves at this time.They can grow in lighter positions and are more tolerant to soil pH.In autumn their leaves turn purple and fall off.
They bloom a few days earlier than rhododendrons, and the varieties found in garden centers have flowers in fiery colors (orange, red, yellow) as well as cream and pink.The flowers are often two-colored. Azaleas smell beautiful.
Azaleas with evergreen leaves, the so-called Japanese azaleas have fine and shiny leaves. They are shrubs even for small gardens, they grow up to 1-1.5 m in height and width, have a nice pillow-like shape, and during flowering they are covered with numerous small flowers.You can plant them in full sun, but we have to water them often. The varieties most often have pink, purple flowers, less often red and white.
Soil requirements for Rhododendrons
We choose shrubs for the garden
To simplify, azaleas are less demanding and easier to grow than rhododendrons and are a better choice for busy or inexperienced garden owners.
At the point of sale, we buy plants in containers. The bushes have labels with a photo of flowers, so we can easily choose the variety that suits us.It is worth checking if the soil in the container is dry - avoid such plants.
If we have a place in the garden, choose a few shrubs and create a group of them - it will look better than a single specimen.Let's choose the north-west or north-east side of the garden for them.
