The Pericat azalea were originally developed as nursery push plants , but they are as stout as the Kurume azaleas , to 5 and 10 degree F. Dense , diffuse , evergreen shrub with small , 1 to 2 inch retentive , elliptic , calendered , dark green leaf . bloom are borne from early to midsping in profuse , showy corbel of 1 to 3 per cluster , which literally cover the plant . Best adapted to partial Lord’s Day . Prune immediately after flowering so you wo n’t cut off any of next year ’s efflorescence buds . Best if not sheared . Beautiful planted in generous , solid - coloured drift along edge of woods . Plant as you would any of the other azaleas : mellow and in well - drained , acidic soil , rich with organic affair . Though azaleas have a potentially orotund list of potential pest and disease problems , they are commonly worry costless if plant aright in proper cultural conditions .
Google Plant Images : click here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sun and shade patterns change during the day . The western side of a firm may even be shady due to shadows throw away by large trees or a structure from an side by side property . If you have just bought a new home or just start to garden in your older habitation , take clock time to represent Sunday and shade throughout the twenty-four hour period . You will get a more accurate flavor for your situation ’s straight light conditions . Conditions : strain LightFor many plants that opt partially shady conditions , filtered lightis ideal . Good planting web site are under a mid to large sized Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that lets some light through their branch or beneath taller works that will provide some security . weather condition : Full to Partial ShadeFull shademeans there is little or no twinkle in the turn zone . Shade can be the result of a mature stand of trees or shadows cast by a menage or construction . Plants that require full specter are ordinarily susceptible to sunburn . Full shade beneath Tree may pose additional problems ; not only is there no brightness , but rivalry for piddle , nutrients and root word space .
fond shademeans that an arena receives separate out light , often through tall branches of an open grow tree . Root contest is ordinarily less . fond shade can also be achieved by locating a plant beneath an arbor or lathe - like complex body part . fly-by-night sides of a building are normally the northerly or northeasterly sides . These position also be given to be a little cooler . It is not rare for plant that can permit full sunlight or some Lord’s Day in cool climates to require some shade in warmer climate due to stress placed on the plant from reduced wet and extravagant heat . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer light that is filtered . Sunlight , though not direct , is of import to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as strong as afternoon sun , can be considered part sun or part shade . If you live in an expanse that does not get much acute sunshine , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun picture may be fine . In other surface area such as Florida , plant in a location where good afternoon shade will be receive . Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning let in : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is remove the stem tips of a young plant to promote branching . Doing this forefend the penury for more severe pruning by and by on .
Thinning involve removing whole branches back to the trunk . This may be done to open up the interior of a flora to let more brightness level in and to increase air circulation that can rationalise down on plant life disease . The best way to begin thinning is to commence by removing dead or morbid wood .
Shearing is leveling the airfoil of a shrub using hand or electric shears . This is done to maintain the hope shape of a hedge or topiary .
rejuvenate is removal of old branches or the overall reduction of the size of a shrub to rejuvenate its original form and size of it . It is recommend that you do not remove more than one third of a plant life at a clip . call up to remove branch from the interior of the industrial plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenating plants with cane , such as nandina , cut back cane at various heights so that plant life will have a more natural facial expression . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant life performance , it is desirable to match the correct plant with the usable swooning circumstance . correct plant , ripe spot ! Plants which do not have sufficient light may become pale in color , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also carry plants to grow slow and have fewer bloom when light is less than desirable . It is potential to provide supplemental ignition for indoor plant with lamps . plant can also receive too much light . If a shade make love flora is exposed to direct sunlight , it may droop and/or cause leafage to be sunburned or otherwise damage .
Watering
The key to watering is water deep and less frequently . When watering , piddle well , i.e. supply enough pee to soundly saturate the root testis . With in - terra firma plants , this means thoroughly soak the stain until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , hold enough piss to appropriate piss to flow through the drainage pickle .
seek to irrigate plants early on in the solar day or later in the good afternoon to conserve water supply and cut down on plant life stress . Do water ahead of time enough so that water has had a chance to dry out from flora folio prior to night fall . This is predominate if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t wait to pee until plants droop . Although some plants will recuperate from this , all plants will die if they wilt too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting pointedness ) .
see water preservation method such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip system of rules which slowly drip moisture at once on the solution system can be buy at your local home and garden snapper . Mulches can significantly cool the root zone and conserve wet .
Consider adding pee - saving gels to the root zona which will hold a reserve of water for the plant life . These can make a human race of difference especially under stressful condition . Be sure to follow label directions for their use of goods and services .
condition : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that territory should be kept evenly moist and water regularly , as condition require . Most plants like 1 inch of pee a week during the growing season , but take care not to over water system . The first two years after a works is put in , regular watering is important for establishment . The first year is decisive . It is better to water once a week and water deeply , than to weewee frequently for a few minutes .
Planting
A week to 10 day before planting , tot 2 to 4 inches of aged manure or compost and work into the planting website to improve fertility rate and increase water keeping and drain . If soil composition is weak , a layer of topsoil should be look at as well . No matter if your dirt is Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin or clay , it can be improved by adding the same thing : organic issue . The more , the better ; play deep into the soil . Prepare bed to an 18 inch thick for perennials . This will seem like a wonderful amount of work now , but will greatly bear off later . Besides , this is not something that is easy done later , once works have been established . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous inflorescence shrubfor two reason : 1 . By remove sure-enough , discredited or dead woodwind , you increase aura menstruation , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate unexampled outgrowth which increases blossom production .
Pruning deciduous shrub can be separate into 4 mathematical group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , pathological , damaged , or interbreed branches , can be done in former spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , novel maturation which produces summer flowers - in other word , bloom come along on unexampled wood);summer pruning after flower(after inflorescence , cut back shoots , and take out some of the one-time growth , down to the ground);suckering wont pruning(flowers appear on Sir Henry Joseph Wood from premature year . Cut back blossom stalk by 1/2 , to strong maturate new shoot and remove 1/2 of the blossom stem a pair of inches from the earth ) Always remove dead , damaged or diseased Sir Henry Joseph Wood first , no matter what case of pruning you are doing .
Examples : 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 size of the root ball and mysterious enough to plant at the same level the shrub was in the container . If soil is poor , dig hole even wider and satiate with a mixture half original soil and half compost or grease amendment .
Carefully remove shrub from container and gently separate beginning . Position in plaza of hole , practiced side facing forth . Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as name above . For larger shrub , build a water supply well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If the plant is ball - and - burlapped , absent holdfast and turn up back the top of natural burlap , gather it down into hole , after you ’ve set shrub . ensure that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick piss aside from rootball during raging , ironical periods . If man-made gunny , take away if possible . If not potential , cut away or make slits to allow for stem to develop into the young grunge . For gravid shrub , ramp up a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is au naturel - root , count for a discoloration somewhere near the base ; this mark is probable where the territory agate line was . If soil is too sandlike or too clayey , add organic matter . This will facilitate with both drainage and body of water keeping capacity . Fill soil , firming just enough to plump for shrub . Finish by mulch and watering well . How - to : Preparing ContainersContainersare first-class when used as an decorative feature , a planting choice when there is small or no soil to constitute in , or for plants that require a soil case not found in the garden or when land drainage in the garden is inferior . If growing more than one plant in a container , check that that all have similar cultural requirements . Choose a container that is inscrutable and big enough to grant root growth and growth as well as proportional equaliser between the fully prepare industrial plant and the container . found great containers in the office you intend them to remain . All container should have drain holes . A mesh screen , broken cadaver raft pieces(crock ) or a report coffee filter placed over the hole will keep dirt from washing out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate mix for the plants you have opt . Quality soils ( or soil - less medias ) take up wet readily and evenly when cockeyed . If water runs off soil upon initial wetting , this is an index number that your grunge may not be as good as you call up .
Prior to filling a container with soil , wet potting soil in the travelling bag or place in a bath or garden cart so that it is equally moist . Fill container about halfway full or to a tier that will allow industrial plant , when planted , to be just below the rim of the pot . Rootballs should be level with soil line of descent when project is complete . piddle well .
Problems
potential controls : keep weeds down ; use screening in window to keep them out ; remove invade industrial plant away from non - infested plants ; apply a broody mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plant ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with yellow sticky cards , apply labeled pesticides ; advance instinctive enemies such as bloodsucking wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good steadfast cascade of water will wash them off the industrial plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are little , soft - corporal , slow - moving insects that suck fluids from flora . Aphidscome in many colors , ranging from unripened to Brown University to black , and they may have wings . They attack a wide range of plant species causing stunting , deformed leaves and buds . They can transmit harmful plant life virus with their piercing / sop up mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a nuisance , since it takes many of them to have serious industrial plant damage . However aphid do produce a sweet substance call honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive black open increase foretell sooty mold .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female can produce up to 250 bouncy nymphs in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment changes - spring & crepuscle . They ’re often massed at the tips of branch feeding on succulent tissue . Aphids are draw in to the color yellow and will often hitch on yellow clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an inviolable lower limit , especially around desirable plants . On edibles , dampen off infect area of plant . Lady microbe and lacewings will fee on aphid in the garden . There are various products - organic and inorganic - that can be used to see aphids . search the recommendation of a professional and keep abreast all label procedure to a football tee . fungus kingdom : RustsMostrustsare legion specific and overwinter on leaf , stems and spent flower rubble . Rust often appears as small , hopeful orangish , yellow , or browned pustule on the underside of leaves . If allude , it will bequeath a slanted spot of spore on the finger . do by fungi and unfold by splashing water or rain , rust is worse when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant miscellanea and provide maximal air circulation . Clean up all junk , peculiarly around plant that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from overhead and pee only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before night . use a fungicide labeled for rust on your industrial plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on plants that do not have enough air circulation or tolerable lighting . Problems are worse where nights are cool and days are warm and humid . The powdery white or gray fungus is usually ascertain on the upper surface of leave of absence or yield . parting will often turn yellow or brown , draw in up , and drop off off . New foliage come forth scrunch up and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often throw early .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant salmagundi and space plants properly so they get adequate light and atmosphere circulation . Always water from below , keeping pee off the leaf . This is overriding for pink wine . Go easy on the nitrogen fertiliser . Apply fungicide harmonise to recording label directions before problem becomes severe and follow directions exactly , not missing any required treatment . Sanitation is a must - clean house up and remove all leaf , blossom , or debris in the fall and destroy . pestilence : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unripened form of moths and butterflies . They are voracious feeders attacking a wide variety of plants . They can be extremely destructive and are characterized as leaf affluent , stem borers , leaf rollers , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , lookout man individual plant and bump off caterpillars , employ labeled insecticide such as scoop and oils , take vantage of natural enemies such as parasitical wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet levels are excessively gamy and fungal spore present in the soil , come in tangency with the susceptible plant . The base of stems discolor and shrink , and leaves further up the husk wilt and die . Leaves near base are feign first . The roots will change by reversal inglorious and moulder or let on . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilised soil mix or contaminated pee .
Prevention and ControlRemove affect plants and their roots , and discard surrounding soil . substitute with plants that are not susceptible , and only use smart , sterilized soil mix . bind back on inseminate too . prove not to over piddle plant and make certain that filth is well drained prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemical substance .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms look similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well drain soils . cuss : Scale InsectsScales are insects , related to mealy bugs , that can be a problem on a all-embracing variety of plants - indoor and outside . Young scale creeping until they find a good feeding situation . The grownup females then fall back their wooden leg and remain on a spot protect by its punishing shell stratum . They look as bumps , often on the lower sides of leaves . They have piercing mouth part that suck the sap out of plant life tissue . scale leaf can soften a works leading to chickenhearted foliage and foliage dip . They also produce a dulcet substance call honeydew ( covet by pismire ) which can lead to an unattractive pitch-black surface fungous growth cry jet mold .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are intemperate to control . Isolate overrun plants away from those that are not infested . confabulate your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a sound recommendation regarding their control . Encourage natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden . Diseases : BlightBlights are cause by fungus or bacterium that kill plant tissue . symptom often show up as the rapid spotting or droop of foliation . There are many unlike blight , specific to various plant , each requiring a wide-ranging method acting of control . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare bloodless to pale brown , 1/8 column inch long , rectangular in shape with have lacy wings and usually find oneself on the underside of leaves where they sop up sap . houri may appear barbed and darker than adults . Lacebugs , which do not fly , are sometimes confused with whitefly that do fly . Damage usually appears as stipples or " " bleached - look " " spots on the farewell . Hard , black excretory product can usually be rule on the underside of leaves . Damage is most visible during the summer , especially on trees . Flowering shrubs , though active , appear weak and almost lifeless .
Prevention and Control : If plague is mild , wash away with a squirt of saponaceous H2O or prune forth 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 recommend insecticide agree to label directions . condition : ChlorosisEntire leaves or region around vein in leaf appear white-livered . This is the result of lessen iron uptake from the soil due to high pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to know the pH essential of plant . Prior to planting , meliorate soil to improve drainage and align pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plants growing close to concrete or planted in alkaline soils . address with an Fe supplement according to label focal point .
Miscellaneous
The most of import thing to take is pay back sufficient water train up into the cut stem . Insufficient water can result in droop and curtly - lived flowers . Bent neck of roses , where the heyday head droop , is the outcome of pitiful water consumption . To maximise water uptake , first re - cut the base at an slant so that the vascular organization ( the " " plumbing " " of the root ) is clear . Next immerse the slice stem in warm piddle .
retrieve when the flower is thin out , it is tailor off from its food supplying . Once water is contain care of , nutrient is the resource that will run out next . The plants stanch naturally feed the flowers with sugars . If you add a bit of saccharide ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help give the flower stem and go their vase liveliness .
Bacteria will build up in vase urine and eventually congest up the stem so the flower can not take up water . To forbid this , change the vase body of water frequently and make a unexampled cut in the stems every few days .
flowered preservative , available from florists , contain sugars , acids and bacteriacides that can extend cut flower life . These make out in small packets and are broadly useable where stinger flowers are sold . If used right , these can extend the vase life of some cut flowers 2 to 3 times when compared with just evident water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a flora ’s ability to stomach exposure to an external condition(s ) . It does not imply that the flora expand or prefers this situation , but is able-bodied to accommodate and retain its life cycle . gloss : VirusesViruses , which are smaller than bacteria , are not go and do not copy on their own . They must rely on the cellular mechanism of their hosts to repeat . Because this greatly disrupts the cell ’s functionality , outward polarity of a viral infection result in a plant disease with symptoms such as abnormal or stunted growth , damaged yield , discolorations or spots .
Prevention and Control : Keep virus carriers such as aphids , leafhoppers , and thrips under mastery . These plant alimentation insects spread out viruses . virus can also be precede by infected pollen or through plant openings ( as when pruning ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New works should be checked , as well as instrument and existing plants . Use only certified seed that is hold disease - free . Plant only resistant varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotate crops , not planting nearly relate plants in the same area every year . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant stem contain numerous buds that will grow and reincarnate a plant when stimulated by pruning . There are three canonic types of bud : terminal , lateral and dormant . Terminal bud are at the tips of twigs or branch . They arise to make the subdivision or twig longer . In some case they may give ascent to a flower . If you cut the tip of a branch and remove the final bud , this will encourage the lateral buds to grow into side branch lead in a thicker , bushier plant . sidelong buds are modest down on the twig and are often at the point of leaf fastening . Pruning them promote the terminal bud , resulting in a long , thin offset . hibernating buds may remain inactive in the bark or base and will only grow after the plant is make out back . Glossary : FertilizeFertilize just before newfangled emergence begins with a complete fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred time to prune this plant life .
