Azalea (azalea) is an evergreen shrub and belongs to the Rhododendron family. The plant is a lush shrub with delicate flowers. Azalea is the decoration of any garden plot, city park or flower bed. Among amateur gardeners, indoor varieties are very popular.
Under what conditions is azalea contained in a store?
Conditions in flower shops are adapted for the entire range of ornamental plants for sale. Each of them at home should receive individual care.
Indoor azalea does not require specific conditions
When purchasing azalea, they check the conditions of detention. Step-by-step instructions for choosing an azalea in a store:
- Opt for a medium-sized plant. Such an instance is easier to tolerate transplantation and transportation.
- The soil in the pot with the plant is moderately moist.
- You need to make sure that the leaves hold tight to the branches of the bush, otherwise it will die.
- It is better to opt for a bush that has recently bloomed or is just picking up buds. Such an instance is easier to adapt at home.
It's important to know! Upon external examination, the leaves of a healthy plant should not have pests and traces of their presence (cobweb). Azalea leaves should be clean, without spots.
The appearance of a healthy flower
How to equip the azalea at home, so that the plant tolerates the adaptation period easier?
Buying a healthy flower is a definite test. The plant brought from the store must survive a difficult adaptation period. Wherein:
- No need to unpack the shrub from the store packaging, especially in winter. The flower adapts more easily to room conditions if it stays a couple of hours in the package. Winter and fall are undesirable seasons for buying azaleas.
- The place of home growth of azaleas should be adequately lit, while the flower is eliminated from direct sunlight.
- Comfortable air temperature for the maintenance of shrubs should not exceed +18 ℃.
- Azalea loves moist air, which is controlled by spraying and decorative moisturizers (room fountain, a tray with wet expanded clay).
Note! In order to prevent root decay, the pot is placed with the plant on a expanded clay tray so that the expanded clay does not touch the pot bottom.
Placing a flower pot on a pallet with expanded clay
Azalea home care after purchase
To ensure optimal care for the plant, it is recommended that the Zircon solution be irrigated after acquisition. In 1 liter of water, 4 drops of the drug are dissolved.
Watering
Shrub care implies the correct watering regime. The flower does not tolerate both flooded and dried soil. When installing a flower pot, consider its proximity to heating batteries. Their close proximity will adversely affect the state of the soil.
It is recommended to pour the dried plant with a copious amount of water and wrap the shrub with a plastic bag. After a few hours, the plant will return to its previous shape.
In the case of acquiring an already drying plant, you can pull the bush along with the soil from the pot and lower it into a container with boiled, but not hot water for 20 minutes, then return it to the pot again.
Earthen Bush
Azalea flower how to care at home
For proper plant care, you need to know the characteristic problems of indoor rhododendrons and how to solve them:
- Azalea does not tolerate frequent watering;
- it is not allowed to wrap the plant with ice or snow; such manipulation seriously violates the temperature regime of the flower;
- a flooded plant may lose leaves; when overflowing, the azalea leaf turns brown at the very tip;
- for irrigation, it is recommended to use water with mild properties, for this it is left to stand for 2-3 days or passed through a filter;
- summer spraying is done twice (morning, evening);
- during flowering, azaleas are not sprayed, as the plant can drop buds.
It's important to know! In autumn and winter, the surface of the windowsill is cold. In this regard, a napkin is placed under the azalea pot so that the roots do not become cold.
Darkened leaf tips from overflow
Top dressing
The choice of fertilizing for the plant involves the use for these purposes of special preparations that are sold in flower shops. In summer, gardeners feed the bush with nitrogen fertilizers, and in autumn and winter with preparations containing phosphorus and potassium.
To acidify the soil, you can enrich the water for irrigation with a couple of drops of citric acid, but this should be done no more than 3 times a month. If the branches of a plant wilt, they are cut to isolate healthy parts.
Transfer
The plant is not recommended to be transplanted immediately after acquisition. The shrub needs to adapt to a new place. Transplantation is relevant when the bush needs a large capacity. When transplanting, an earthen lump is not encircled from the roots, but the flower is transferred to another, larger in volume pot, along with the soil.
Dry roots are trimmed, the root system is lowered into water and placed in new soil. The transplant pot is chosen flat. At the bottom of the tank, drainage is formed. It is permissible to create an acidic environment in a pot by laying steamed pine bark on the bottom. It is better to use a mix that is part of a special substrate.
It's important to know! All dry branches and leaves are cut off when transplanted. The void in the pot is filled with new soil. Watering the transplanted shrub is only for 3 days.
Transplanting a plant with an earthen lump on the roots
Pruning, flowering and propagating
Shrub pruning is recommended when transplanting when the shrub has blossomed. The flowering period of azaleas is two months (in the winter season).
Propagation of the flower is done through cuttings. The cuttings are dipped with a cut into a stimulating solution, soaked in potassium permanganate and immersed in soil to a depth of 2 cm. The cuttings are covered with a glass jar from above and placed in a dark place. The stem is sprayed and kept warm (+20 ℃) until the kidneys appear. After that, the plant is opened and placed on a site with diffused light.
A flower’s health can be guaranteed only by careful attention to its condition and care for it after it has found its place in the house.
