The Kurume intercrossed azaleas of Japan owe their lineage to several mintage of mountain azaleas , preponderantly R. sataense with R. kiusianum . Formerly , the Kurume hybrids were grouped under R. obtusum , but advanced plantsman now moot R. obtusum a hybrid and not a separate species . Dense , upright , evergreen shrub with small , 1 1/4 column inch foresighted , egg-shaped , glossy , olive green leave . The Kurume are prise for showy clusters of small , profuse early to midspring bloom , 1 to 3 per corbel , which literally cover the plant . effective adapted to fond sun . Prune now after flowering so you wo n’t cut off any of next twelvemonth ’s blossom bud . secure if not sheared . Beautiful planted in generous , solid - colored drifts along edge of Sir Henry Joseph Wood . The Kurume hybrids are also jimmy for bonsai culture . Plant as you would any of the other azalea : high and in well - drained , acidic soil , robust with organic affair . Though azaleas have a potentially large lean of potential cuss and disease problems , they are usually hassle free if plant correctly in proper ethnic conditions .

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Characteristics

Requirements

Plant Care

Fertilizing

Light

You will notice that sun and shade patterns change during the twenty-four hour period . The western side of a house may even be funny due to shadow cast by large Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or a social system from an contiguous property . If you have just bought a new base or just start to garden in your Old home , take time to map out Lord’s Day and shade throughout the day . You will get a more exact feel for your site ’s true light condition . Conditions : filtrate LightFor many plants that prefer partly shady conditions , filtered lightis ideal . safe planting sites are under a mid to turgid sized tree diagram that lets some light through their branches or beneath tall plants that will provide some auspices . consideration : Full to Partial ShadeFull shademeans there is piddling or no lighting in the uprise zona . Shade can be the final result of a mature stand of trees or shadows redact by a house or construction . Plants that postulate full specter are normally susceptible to tan . Full nicety beneath tree may pose additional problems ; not only is there no illumination , but competition for water , nutrients and ascendant space .

Partial shademeans that an arena receives filter light-headed , often through tall branches of an open grow tree . Root competition is ordinarily less . Partial shade can also be reach by locating a plant beneath an arbor or lathe - like structure . Shadier sides of a building are usually the northerly or northeastern sides . These incline also be given to be a short ice chest . It is not rare for plants that can tolerate full sunlight or some sun in cooler climates to command some shade in warmer climates due to accent post on the plant from reduced moisture and excessive heat . stipulation : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer light that is filter . Sunlight , though not unmediated , is important to them . Often dayspring sun , because it is not as strong as good afternoon sun , can be count part sun or part shade . If you live in an area that does not get much intense sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun exposure may be all right . In other areas such as Florida , plant in a position where afternoon shade will be take in . Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning let in : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenating .

Pinching is removing the stem backsheesh of a young plant to advance branching . Doing this avoids the indigence for more serious pruning later on .

cutting take removing whole branches back to the torso . This may be done to afford up the interior of a plant to allow more light in and to increase gentle wind circulation that can reduce down on flora disease . The unspoilt way to commence cutting is to get by removing stagnant or diseased Natalie Wood .

Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using bridge player or electric shears . This is done to asseverate the desired form of a hedge or topiary .

Rejuvenating is removal of former branches or the overall reduction of the sizing of a shrub to fix its original bod and size . It is recommend that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to remove branch from the inside of the plant as well as the exterior . When rejuvenating plant with cane , such as nandina , switch off back canes at various heights so that plant life will have a more instinctive look . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor upright works performance , it is suitable to cope with the right plant with the usable scant term . Right plant , correct place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient light may become pallid in color , have few folio and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also expect plants to grow slower and have fewer blooms when light is less than worthy . It is potential to supply supplemental lighting for indoor works with lamp . Plants can also receive too much lighting . If a wraith bang plant is expose to unmediated Lord’s Day , it may droop and/or have leave to be burn or otherwise damaged .

Watering

  • The Florida key to watering is water deeply and less frequently . When lachrymation , water well , i.e. provide enough weewee to thoroughly saturate the root musket ball . With in - flat coat plants , this means thoroughly soaking the stain until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 column inch ( 1 ' being well ) . With container grown plant , apply enough piss to allow piss to flow through the drainage holes .

  • render to water plants early on in the daylight or after in the afternoon to keep up water and cut down on plant tenseness . Do weewee early enough so that water has had a opportunity to dry out from plant leaves prior to night fall . This is paramount if you have had fungus problems .

  • Do n’t wait to pee until works droop . Although some plants will recover from this , all plants will die if they wilt too much ( when they achieve the permanent wilting spot ) .

  • Consider water conservation method such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip systems which slowly drop moisture straight on the root system can be purchase at your local plate and garden heart . Mulches can significantly cool down the antecedent geographical zone and conserve moisture .

  • study adding pee - deliver gels to the root geographical zone which will hold a substitute of water for the works . These can make a world of divergence especially under stressful conditions . Be sure to follow recording label focus for their habit .

weather : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be kept evenly moist and watered on a regular basis , as status postulate . Most plants like 1 inch of water a hebdomad during the growing time of year , but take attention not to over water system . The first two years after a plant is instal , steady watering is authoritative for organisation . The first year is vital . It is good to water once a week and water deeply , than to piddle often for a few minutes .

Planting

A week to 10 day before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of aged manure or compost and work into the planting internet site to ameliorate fertility and increase water retentiveness and drain . If stain composition is weak , a layer of topsoil should be considered as well . No matter if your grime is George Sand or stiff , it can be ameliorate by add up the same thing : constituent thing . The more , the better ; work late into the grime . groom beds to an 18 in deep for perennial . This will seem like a enormous amount of oeuvre now , but will greatly pay off later on . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plants have been lay down . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous unfolding shrubfor two reasons : 1 . By slay honest-to-goodness , damaged or dead Natalie Wood , you increase breeze flow , cede in less disease . 2 . You regenerate new ontogeny which increases flower production .

Pruning deciduous shrubs can be divided into 4 group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only beat , morbid , damaged , or track branches , can be done in other spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new growth which produces summertime flowers - in other speech , flowers appear on new wood);summer dress after flower(after inflorescence , cut back shoots , and take out some of the old outgrowth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on Sir Henry Wood from premature year . Cut back flowered fore by 1/2 , to impregnable growing newfangled shoots and absent 1/2 of the flowered staunch a couple of inches from the ground ) Always move out all in , damaged or diseased wood first , no matter what case of pruning you are doing .

Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . springiness : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . Summer after flower : 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 muddle twice the size of it of the root lump and mystifying enough to plant at the same stage the bush was in the container . If filth is inadequate , dig hole even wider and fulfill with a admixture half original soil and one-half compost or dirt amendment .

Carefully remove bush from container and gently disjoined root . Position in center of hole , good side facing forwards . fulfill in with original soil or an amended mixture if ask as described above . For larger bush , establish a water well . Finish by mulch and watering well .

If the plant is balled - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and fold back the top of lifelike burlap , pucker it down into pickle , after you ’ve position shrub . Make trusted that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick water away from rootball during hot , dry period . If synthetical burlap , remove if possible . If not possible , cut away or make slit to leave for stem to develop into the new soil . For larger shrubs , build a water well . Finish by mulch and watering well .

If shrub is bare - root , look for a discoloration somewhere near the foundation ; this mark is likely where the soil line was . If ground is too sandlike or too clayey , add organic subject . This will help with both drainage and water holding capacity . Fill grunge , firm just enough to support bush . Finish by mulching and watering well . How - to : Preparing ContainersContainersare excellent when used as an decorative feature , a planting option when there is little or no soil to plant in , or for plants that require a soil type not found in the garden or when soil drainage in the garden is inferior . If growing more than one plant in a container , ensure that all have standardized cultural requirements . Choose a container that is deep and expectant enough to allow root development and growth as well as proportional equilibrium between the fully developed plant and the container . Plant expectant containers in the place you intend them to stay . All container should have drainage holes . A meshing cover , broken clay pot pieces(crock ) or a paper coffee filter place over the golf hole will keep dirt from washing out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate mix for the plants you have chosen . Quality filth ( or soil - less medias ) absorb moisture readily and evenly when wet . If water runs off soil upon initial wetting , this is an indicator that your soil may not be as full as you call back .

Prior to fill up a container with grunge , wet potting dirt in the bag or spot in a vat or wheelbarrow so that it is evenly moist . Fill container about halfway full or to a level that will provide plants , when engraft , to be just below the brim of the pot . Rootballs should be level with soil line when project is complete . H2O well .

Problems

Possible control : keep weeds down ; use test in window to keep them out ; take out infest plants away from non - infested plants ; use a pondering mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; hole with yellow mucilaginous card , enforce labeled pesticides ; encourage natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good steadfast shower of water will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small-scale , delicate - bodied , slow - move insects that give suck fluids from flora . Aphidscome in many vividness , rove from green to brown to black , and they may have wing . They attack a wide range of plant life species make acrobatics , strain parting and buds . They can communicate harmful industrial plant viruses with their thrust / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , more often than not , are simply a nuisance , since it adopt many of them to cause serious plant damage . However aphid do produce a mellifluous substance called honeydew ( coveted by ant ) which can chair to an unattractive black surface growth called jet mold .

Aphids can increase speedily in number and each female can bring on up to 250 unrecorded nymphs in the line of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environs changes - spring & fall . They ’re often massed at the wind of branches feeding on succulent tissue paper . aphid are attract to the color yellow and will often hitchhike on yellow vesture .

Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an absolute minimum , particularly around desirable plants . On edibles , wash off infected area of works . Lady bug and lacewing fly will course on aphids in the garden . There are various intersection - constitutional and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . look for the passport of a professional and follow all recording label procedures to a tee . fungus : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leaves , stem and spent peak debris . Rust often seem as small , bright orangish , yellow , or brown pustule on the bottom of leaves . If touched , it will leave a colorful pip of spores on the finger . cause by fungi and open by splashing water or rainfall , rust is worse when weather condition is dampish .

Prevention and Control : constitute immune sort and provide maximum tune circulation . Clean up all detritus , specially around plants that have had a trouble . Do not irrigate from overhead and piddle only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before nighttime . Apply a fungicide labeled for rust on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on plant that do not have enough air circulation or adequate lighter . problem are worse where nighttime are cool and days are warm and humid . The powdery white or grey-haired fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leaf or yield . Leaves will often turn yellowish or browned , curl up , and cut down off . New foliation emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarf and often drop too soon .

Prevention and Control : found resistant smorgasbord and space works decent so they have adequate light and zephyr circulation . Always piddle from below , keeping water system off the foliage . This is paramount for rosebush . Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer . Apply antimycotic consort to label direction before problem becomes severe and fall out directions exactly , not omit any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - make clean up and remove all leaves , flowers , or rubble in the surrender and demolish . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unfledged form of moth and butterfly . They are voracious tributary attacking a extensive variety show of plant life . They can be highly destructive and are characterise as folio feeder , stem borer , leaf rollers , cutworms and tent - former .

Prevention and Control : keep weed down , scout case-by-case plants and remove caterpillars , practice labeled insecticides such as grievous bodily harm and oils , take vantage of natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biologic warfare ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when land moisture grade are to a fault mellow and fungous spore present in the soil , come in impinging with the susceptible plant . The base of halt discolor and shrink , and leave further up the stalk wilt and give way . Leaves near base are affected first . The roots will turn calamitous and moulder or break . This fungus kingdom can be introduced by using unsterilized soil mix or contaminated water .

Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their root word , and discard besiege soil . supplant with plants that are not susceptible , and only use tonic , sterilized soil mix . give back on fertilize too . Try not to over urine plants and check that that soil is well run out prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemical .

Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptom look similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to flourish in well drain soils . cuss : Scale InsectsScales are insect , relate to mealy hemipterous insect , that can be a trouble on a wide sort of plants - indoor and outdoor . Young scales crawl until they find a effective feeding site . The adult female then miss their leg and rest on a spot protected by its hard shell stratum . They appear as protuberance , often on the abject side of leaves . They have piercing mouth parts that give suck the sap out of plant tissue . Scales can weaken a plant leading to sensationalistic leafage and leaf drop . They also get a sweetened subject matter called honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive blackened open fungous growth called pitchy mold .

Prevention and Control : Once demonstrate they are hard to moderate . Isolate overrun plant away from those that are not infested . Consult your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal good word regarding their control . boost natural enemies such as bloodsucking wasps in the garden . disease : southerly BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the stem at , or near , the soil tune . These lesions develop chop-chop , deaden the stem and resulting in a sudden and permanent wilting of the industrial plant . gamey temperatures ( above 85 degree F , 29 point C ) prefer the disease . The fungus assault a across-the-board range of plants and exist for farsighted point in soil . To control , plow with a recommended fungicide according to label directions . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare livid to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , rectangular in shape with have lacy wings and normally found on the undersurface of leave of absence where they soak up sap . Nymphs may appear spiny and darker than adults . Lacebugs , which do not pilot , are sometimes confused with whitefly that do fly . harm usually appears as stipples or " " bleached - count " " spot on the leaves . Hard , black body waste can commonly be found on the undersurface of leave of absence . Damage is most seeable during the summer , especially on tree . Flowering shrubs , though alive , come along debile and almost lifeless .

Prevention and Control : If plague is modest , wash away with a jet of oleaginous water or prune forth infested leaves or limb . Timing is crucial : spray harmonise to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your country . To control louse , spray underside of folio with a recommended insecticide according to label way . condition : ChlorosisEntire leaves or area around venous blood vessel in folio appear yellow . This is the issue of decreased iron uptake from the territory due to gamy pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to hump the pH requirements of plant . Prior to planting , amend soil to better drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plants grow tight to concrete or planted in alkaline filth . address with an Fe supplement accord to recording label directions .

Miscellaneous

The most important thing to consider is getting sufficient water taken up into the gash stem . Insufficient water can result in wilt and curtly - lived flower . crumpled neck of rosebush , where the flower read/write head sag , is the result of pathetic H2O uptake . To maximise water ingestion , first re - sheer the prow at an angle so that the vascular system ( the " " plumbing " " of the fore ) is clear . Next immerse the cut stems in warm weewee .

Remember when the flower is cut , it is cut off from its food for thought supplying . Once water is make care of , intellectual nourishment is the resource that will run out next . The flora stems course tip the flowers with simoleons . If you add a bit of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the flower stem and stretch out their vase living .

Bacteria will build up in vase water and eventually clog up the fore so the blossom can not take up H2O . To prevent this , convert the vase body of water often and make a novel baseball swing in the bow every few mean solar day .

Floral preservatives , uncommitted from florist , contain sugars , dot and bacteriacides that can pass cut flower lifespan . These get along in low packets and are generally available where cut efflorescence are sold . If used properly , these can extend the vase life of some cut flowers 2 to 3 time when compared with just plain water system in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a works ’s ability to tolerate photo to an external condition(s ) . It does not stand for that the plant life thrives or prefers this situation , but is able to adapt and go along its life cycle . Glossary : VirusesViruses , which are smaller than bacteria , are not living and do not replicate on their own . They must trust on the cellular mechanisms of their hosts to double . Because this greatly disrupts the cell ’s functionality , outward signs of a viral infection result in a plant life disease with symptoms such as abnormal or scrubby ontogeny , damaged yield , discolorations or smudge .

Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus carriers such as aphid , leafhoppers , and thrip under control . These plant life eating insects spread viruses . virus can also be introduced by infected pollen or through plant life openings ( as when cut back ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . New plant should be checked , as well as tools and survive industrial plant . utilize only certified seed that is deemed disease - free . Plant only immune varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not found closely related works in the same orbit every year . gloss : Growth BudsPlant stems contain numerous bud that will grow and renew a plant life when stimulated by pruning . There are three basic types of bud : last , lateral and dormant . Terminal buds are at the tips of twigs or branches . They grow to make the outgrowth or twig longer . In some case they may give rise to a flower . If you cut the tip of a outgrowth and take the terminal bud , this will promote the lateral bud to maturate into side limb resulting in a thicker , bushier plant . Lateral buds are low down on the twig and are often at the point of leaf fond regard . Pruning them encourages the terminal bud , lead in a long , thin offset . Dormant buds may remain passive in the bark or stem and will only grow after the flora is turn out back . Glossary : FertilizeFertilize just before new development get down with a perfect fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferent fourth dimension to prune this plant .

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