Underdogs Azalea 2020-2025" entry
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Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Spring is here and your azalea could be blooming (depending on your location) or starting to leaf out with this season’s flush……it’s time for updates!
I would also like to add at this time we have 3 prizes to award. Many thanks to @Forsoothe! and @Deep Sea Diver for donating. I am also donating a prize as well.
If you are no longer interested in continuing in the Azalea Contest, please let me know so we can close your thread, thanks.
I would also like to add at this time we have 3 prizes to award. Many thanks to @Forsoothe! and @Deep Sea Diver for donating. I am also donating a prize as well.
If you are no longer interested in continuing in the Azalea Contest, please let me know so we can close your thread, thanks.
I'm still in hopefully. I repotted a little over a week ago. I stuck it back under the bench in the mulch and left town. We had a run of 3 nights in the mid 20s. Neither of us wanted to be there but... I didn't take it with me to Florida.
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Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
It should bounce back once it warms back up.
It was 80 up there yesterday. My neighbor got with me on facetime and walked me around my garden while he watered. It was awesome! LOL All looks well from 1100 miles away. Lilac and dogwood are starting to bloom.
I'll go back up in a couple weeks and find out.
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Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Good flush! The leaves look a tad bit yellow, adding a bit of iron should green them up.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
I concur with @Pitoon assessment. Decidedly pale. Using Iron chelation will be a short term remedy. Adding Miracid regularly and/or Osmocote will be a long term help.
Two thoughts occur to me.
It feels to me almost like the bacteria decomposing the pine part of your base media is pulling all the excess nitrogen out of the system…including from the pumice and lava, which have a low & medium CEC, while the bacteria is busy doing the decomposing of the bark…. this is a long way of saying your normal fertilization definitely needs tweaking upwards as the system is out of balance. Adding fertilizer will to change the available nitrogen balance so there is enough nitrogen available for your azalea to get healthy and also to keep the bark decomposing bacteria fed.
So starting with Miracid will give things an immediate boost and following up with Osmocote Plus will add a long term slow release component. Both are complete fertilizers (with micronutrients including Fe, Mg etc). You’ve enough time before fall to get the system back in order.
Second thought… how much sun is this azalea getting?
Cheers
DSD sends
Two thoughts occur to me.
It feels to me almost like the bacteria decomposing the pine part of your base media is pulling all the excess nitrogen out of the system…including from the pumice and lava, which have a low & medium CEC, while the bacteria is busy doing the decomposing of the bark…. this is a long way of saying your normal fertilization definitely needs tweaking upwards as the system is out of balance. Adding fertilizer will to change the available nitrogen balance so there is enough nitrogen available for your azalea to get healthy and also to keep the bark decomposing bacteria fed.
So starting with Miracid will give things an immediate boost and following up with Osmocote Plus will add a long term slow release component. Both are complete fertilizers (with micronutrients including Fe, Mg etc). You’ve enough time before fall to get the system back in order.
Second thought… how much sun is this azalea getting?
Cheers
DSD sends
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
btw: If you use Miracid, you can also put some in a spray bottle and spray the leaves, to help green things up.
Cheers
DSD sends
Cheers
DSD sends
Dang... I think it's just a bad pic in the sun. I'll have to read this in the am and appreciate the input.
I honestly couldn't read everything yet as I'm on my old phone with no glasses.
Good phone went in the lake with me recently.
Thanks y'all
I honestly couldn't read everything yet as I'm on my old phone with no glasses.
Good phone went in the lake with me recently.
Thanks y'all
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Good read/info DSD. You 2 guys are full of good Azalea info and I value your input here and in other's threads I've read. Now that I'm back on my PC with coffee in hand I can read...
I've always used the Mirical Grow acid mix until this year. I have 8 different Azalea which make up about 20% of my collection and we seem to get along very well. Probably one of my favorites. They seem to be loving the @Leo in N E Illinois ferts. All my Azalea are looking better than ever this year. Thanks Leo.
It was unwired and cut back quite a bit for the second time since flowering about 3-4 weeks ago. Most of these leaves are new accounting for some of the lighter color but the majority of what you saw as yellowing was the sunshine in the impromptu pics. Of course there is always room for improvement
I'm also noticing much better healing of the scares from branch removal between the new ferts and the new to me orange Japanese wound sealant. Callousing seems twice as fast this year.
Thanks for the great info.
I've always used the Mirical Grow acid mix until this year. I have 8 different Azalea which make up about 20% of my collection and we seem to get along very well. Probably one of my favorites. They seem to be loving the @Leo in N E Illinois ferts. All my Azalea are looking better than ever this year. Thanks Leo.
It was unwired and cut back quite a bit for the second time since flowering about 3-4 weeks ago. Most of these leaves are new accounting for some of the lighter color but the majority of what you saw as yellowing was the sunshine in the impromptu pics. Of course there is always room for improvement
I'm also noticing much better healing of the scares from branch removal between the new ferts and the new to me orange Japanese wound sealant. Callousing seems twice as fast this year.
Thanks for the great info.
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Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Letting them grow wild for a few months can really speed up the healing on the cuts.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
I've got some very long runners on mine. I'm so tempted to cut back, but leaving them there will only strengthen the tree. I also plan to do some light wiring on those runners as well.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
I have some thoughts about doing ‘maple style‘ cuts on azaleas, which always seem to take a lot longer to heal and scar badly compared to techniques I’m testing these past two years from Mr Nakayama and Mr Watanabe. It may make for a decent thread later once I get some good photos of the results.
cheers
DSD sends
cheers
DSD sends
Year end pics in fall color. Didn't really thrive like my other Azaleas this year. Going to feed heavier and let it run wild next year. I feel it needs to grow roots after the repot. Not sufering just not thriving yet. Next year will be a "Bones" year. LOL
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Glad my fertilizer helped, good reds in leaves are a sign nitrogen levels are good.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
Just a thought on healing the wounds after taking off a branch on azalea. As azaleas have such a thin bark, the cut is done differently.
The final shaping cut is made smoothly and shaped to be slightly rounded just a bit above the surface of the bark. Thus the healed scar tissue will be congruent with the surrounding barks surface.
Thus no concavity as the azaleas won’t easily fill in the depression left. So the cut is finished off with something that will accomplish this. I often just use wood chisels, but sometimes for medium or smaller branches a little seen tool called a convex cutter does virtually the same.
Cheers
DSD sends
The final shaping cut is made smoothly and shaped to be slightly rounded just a bit above the surface of the bark. Thus the healed scar tissue will be congruent with the surrounding barks surface.
Thus no concavity as the azaleas won’t easily fill in the depression left. So the cut is finished off with something that will accomplish this. I often just use wood chisels, but sometimes for medium or smaller branches a little seen tool called a convex cutter does virtually the same.
Cheers
DSD sends
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