When azalea ( Rhododendronspp . ) are in bloom , there is n’t anything else quite like them in the garden . And withso many form to choose from , there ’s an azaleathat ’s perfect for just about any landscape .
There are eccentric that flower in spring , summer , or fall ; deciduous and evergreen varieties , as well as some cultivar bred to rebloom .
Most species plants can be grow in Zones 5 to 9 , but breeders have add up up with cold - liberal hybrid cultivars that are hardy to Zone 3 .
Editorial credit: Franck Legros / Shutterstock.com
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If you postulate a refresher abouthow to grow azaleas , check out our usher . In this article , we ’re go to discuss what , if anything , you take to do to protect your shrubs during the winter calendar month .
The biggest threat to your azalea is uttermost weather fluctuations . An prolonged freeze generally wo n’t bother them much if the temperatures have been dropping gradually , but a sudden plummet can make wrong .
Editorial credit: Franck Legros / Shutterstock.com
Whether you ’re produce them in containers or in the solid ground , there are a few protective measures you may put in blank space to ensure your azalea are safe over the dusty months .
Here ’s what I ’ll pass over :
What You’ll Learn
Preparation
In - Ground Azaleas
Container Plants
handle Cold Damage
Winter care for the most part depends on your region ’s USDA Hardiness Zone .
Those who live in an area that rarely or never freezes will have a different set of tasks onwards of the winter months from gardeners who hold out in an area that block during the wintertime .
Speaking of Zones , make certain that you ’re growing an azalea that is appropriate for your Zone .
you’re able to find out varieties that thrive in zone 4 to 9 , so do n’t make thing hard on yourself by select one that is n’t suitable to your area .
Hybrids in the Encore or Northern Lights series were bred for cold climates , so think one of these if you live in zone 4 and below .
If your region see frosty wintertime outside of their hardness range , you’re able to grow your azaleas in container and bring them indoors during the utmost weather condition .
Keep in creative thinker that temperature tolerance alone does n’t necessarily guarantee an azalea will do well in abrasive winter conditions . For example , a mixed bag that ’s capable of surviving down to 20 ° F might be sensitive to drying tip in the wintertime .
If you require to be extra safe and protect your shrubs from inclement weather , consider growing them in an country with morning sun and mottle shade in the afternoon like under a tree or canopy that will help to extenuate rough shape .
Next , let ’s discourse how to make for winter .
azalea do n’t go entirely inactive for the winter months , like some metal money that conk out back to the land . Many azaleas are evergreen , and the roots continue to farm .
Your wintertime prep jump in advance of the cold season , you need to block feed around mid to late summer , count on your region .
Your plants should have long finished flowering and putting out Modern increment by this dot , so they do n’t need any additional intellectual nourishment . You do n’t want to encourage your azalea to put out growing when it should be hunkering down for the winter .
A few years ago , I planted a few new azalea , and we had an unusually dry and hot summertime .
One was in a good amount of shade and encounter wet from the irrigation system , while the other did n’t and it was in full sun .
That winter , we had a keep up freeze that really challenge a mint of my garden specimes . The azalea that had been stressed all summertime buy the farm , while its nearby ally survived just all right .
The lesson of the story is that you should n’t underestimate the importance of continue your industrial plant healthy throughout the year .
You should continue to water every week or two conduct up to the winter if fall in your area is raging and wry . azalea need lots of moisture to take up the nutrients they need to exist through the cold months .
verify the soil is overnice and damp before the cold sets in . If there is a freezing on the horizon , water as soon as you bed it ’s coming .
I ’m not propose that you overwater and reverse the earth into a inert , mushy mess .
You want to give the appropriate amount of moisture for your finicky type of azalea , but just control that you keep doing so even as the wintertime approach .
Add four to six column inch ofmulchfrom about an inch away from the theme to the drip mould line of the bush .
The drip line is the arena that extend to outmost parts of the canopy , where the rainfall would run off and fall to the ground . Any constitutive mulch is ok , so feel loose to expend your favorite Ellen Price Wood chip , well - rotted compost , or leaf litter .
If you live in a cold neighborhood , I choose to expend whole , deciduous leaves because they make heat as they break down , lend just a hint of warmth to the stain that your works will appreciate .
If your mulch tends to transmigrate thanks to wind or critter dealings , use something cloggy like wood microchip .
Finally , if your garden lean to become arabbitordeerbuffet in the winter , protect the flora with some fencing .
A four - foot - marvellous barrier of chicken wire next to but not come to the foliage is usually enough universal gas constant to keep hungry critters forth .
Beyond lachrymation and mulch discussed above , you do n’t require to do much to protect your azaleas during typical weather condition . By typical , I mean the sort of weather that your arena go through every winter .
But say , for model , that you have an extremely ironical period that is strange for your region . In that type , get out there and give your plant life some water to aid them make it through .
They wo n’t need a gross ton of body of water since they ’re at least part inactive , but just ensure the soil does n’t dry out out completely .
On the other end of the spectrum , you also ask to watch out for very cold weather condition .
If you typically have freeze , snowy , or breezy winters , and your plant are used to it you do n’t need to interest when that occurs . Your plant is capable to adapt to the condition .
When a concentrated freeze occurs , the leaf may count droopy , curled , and sorry . Do n’t interest , this is a defense mechanism and it ’s perfectly normal . Because the priming is flash-frozen , coupled with dry winds , the shrub ca n’t take up moisture .
you could help to reduce or define the amount of wilt and coil by spraying your plants with an anti - desiccant like Wilt - Pruf , available via Amazon .
When temperatures spend to about 40 ° degree Fahrenheit , postdate the manufacturer ’s directions and spray the the foliage and arm good .
you’re able to also help protect your flora by providing a screen to block dry out wind . Anything from a piece of paper of frost textile affixed to a human body to a beach umbrella secured in place will do the job .
Finally , do n’t tinct the plant . Any movement at this point in time will cause the water system inside the stems to freeze and stop move .
An azalea in temperatures as crushed as 28 ° F can still move piddle throughout the prow and leaves , but if you were to shake the leaves , mayhap while trying to remove snow , it would cause the water to barricade moving . This lead to dry out .
When the temperatures increase , the leave will pick up back up . Do n’t irrigate your flora and do n’t seek to manually melt it out using Christmas light or anything like that . Just let Mother Nature do her affair .
The exception to this is if you do n’t normally see hard freezes and your bush has n’t had time to acclimate to colder experimental condition . In that case , you ’ll want to supply a petty supererogatory support by covering it in frost cloth or gunny .
When covering your plant , you have two pick . you’re able to either wrap the shrub itself , take caution not to weaken any outgrowth , or you’re able to erect a figure around the plant and put the cloth over that .
The first method acting should only be left in station for a night or two and then hit . If you allow for too long , it will end up pin piss and cause fungous issues .
If you desire to leave the cloth in place for an extended catamenia , you must build a wood or wire frame to provide some sustenance .
When you grow azalea in containers , the root system is less insulated than it is in the dry land and so is more susceptible to freeze and warming , which can damage plants .
My suggestion is that you treat your plant as though you are in one Zone colder .
So , if you live in Zone 8 , pretend like your azalea is in Zone 7 and plan accordingly . That imply you should buy a sort that can hold out in Zone 7 .
When cold weather condition is on the horizon , protect your industrial plant by wrap the container in burlap or woollen to provide an extra level of insulation . You should also impart a few inch of mulch to the top of the stain , but do n’t let it touch the trunk .
If you have extreme weather condition , you may continue the flora with icing cloth or you may take it into a protect area .
As with those growing in the earth , if your azalea is acclimated to the typical experimental condition of your area , you do n’t need to do anything , beyond water and mulch .
It ’s only when uttermost conditions occurs that you postulate to worry . Also , the curling and wilting of the leaves that appears when the temperature throw away is totally normal , and you do n’t need to do anything about it .
Growing your plants indoors all winter is n’t really an alternative . The only character that can hold up indoors areflorist ’s azaleas ( Rhododendron simsii ) . All others need a certain number of hours below 40 ° degree Fahrenheit to grow prime bud .
you’re able to sure move a container - grown specimen into a service department , shed , or basement during an uttermost atmospheric condition event , but it needs to remain outside for the legal age of the time .
It pass off to everyone at some percentage point . You do your best to confirm your flora during the cold weather condition , but Old Man Winter has the upper hired man , and your bush have damage . Now what ?
First , countenance ’s discuss what cold equipment casualty might look like . The most coarse symptoms are brown patches on the leaf and brownish or bushed buds .
You might also see discolored foliage and split bark . Sometimes if a freeze occurs early in the season , the newest outgrowth will be toss off off .
In the bad case scenario , if there is an early hard freeze that come about before the plant has clock time to conform to the changing conditions or if the plant life is new , it might be kill .
Assuming your bush survived but has some unsightly wintertime damage , the next step is to help furbish up it to wellness . But do n’t break out the lopper just yet .
Allow the azalea to put out fresh growth before you consider cut . Often , the works will exuviate the damaged leaves and you wo n’t need to do much , anyway .
When the young foliage emerges , you could assess if there are any dead branches or stems . you could also see whether any of the brown buds survived . Sometimes , it ’s just the outer layers of the bud that are bear on and they ’ll recover just o.k. .
At this point you could trim off any bushed or heavily damaged leaves and any utter branch . Cut the idle areas back to a few inches into lively increment .
Your azalea might not blossom the year following an extreme freeze outcome , and that stand for the educate blossom buds were damage . Unless the works is damaged again , it should flower like normal the undermentioned twelvemonth .
Over the next few years , new foliage start to fill in the dead spots and the industrial plant will look as adept as novel .
Time to Bundle Up
derive winter , part of putting the garden to bed can include protect species that are susceptible to wintertime damage .
That might stand for winterizing your azaleas . No problem ! It ’s a small flake of oeuvre for a with child reward .
Andfor more azalea - growing know - how , be certain you say these guide next :
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Kristine Lofgren
