How fast do azaleas grow in florida

This is one of a short list of plants that can handle "wet feet" - an area that stays moist after a rain - so it's a good choice for a homeowner with this landscape issue. These shrubs will grow in full sun to full shade - though in dense shade they may become somewhat leggy but will flower there.

Then fill the hole with water and work the moss with your hands till it absorbs the water. Canadian peat lowers the pH and helps keep the shrub's roots moist. These shrubs have a fibrous root system, and if you plant without loosening the roots, the plant may not make it. Cut an X across the bottom of the root ball and very gently loosen the roots before planting. You can plant with water-retention crystals like Hortasorb read more on this on the page about Watering to interplant with other things that like it a little drier.

Use mulch to help keep the roots moist, but keep the mulch at least 6 inches away from the plant's base. Fertilize after the spring bloom with a granular azalea fertilizer. Apply fertilizer again in late summer or early fall. Do not fertilizer after October 1st - flower buds will fall off before opening. For supplemental feedings between October and spring or if the leaves are yellowing , apply essential minor elements EME to keep the plants green and happy.

Lightly prune after flowering and occasionally thereafter till mid-summer. Twice it has been severely pruned by ignorant gardeners and I thought it would not recover and once I noticed it struggling and found a plastic wrapping strangling its roots. Bloomin' Blog Everything you want to know about flowers! Jan Reply: In Florida, azaleas prefer a little shade from hot afternoon sun and can do well in dappled shade areas. Comments wolf houses says:. April 19, at pm. Renee says:. April 21, at am.

Controls for both nematode and root rot diseases are primarily preventive. Dead or dying landscape plantings should be removed with as much of the root system as possible, and the soil should be sterilized before replanting.

Lacebugs, white flies, leafminers, spider mites, scale and stem borers are the most common insects that attack Florida azaleas. Lacebugs are sucking insects found on the underside of the leaf. The top surface of the injured leaf appears speckled or mottled. Two applications of recommended insecticides at ten-day intervals sprayed on the lower surface of the leaf effectively control lacebug.

Leafminers or leafrollers feed on azalea leaves during their larval stage. Two applications of a recommended insecticide at seven- to ten-day intervals will control leafminers. Leafrollers can be controlled by two applications of a labeled insecticide at fourteen-day intervals. Spider mite injury appears as a bronzing or rusty coloration of green leaves.

A mite infection can be verified by placing a white piece of paper beneath the foliage and slapping the leaves with your hand. Mites can be detected on the white paper as moving, small red or brown specks. Two applications of a recommended miticide at five- to seven-day intervals will provide acceptable control. Several species of scale insects can be found on azaleas. Some have a white cottony appearance; others are covered with a hard shell.

Scales suck the sap from azaleas, resulting in yellow or unthrifty leaves. Two foliar applications of a recommended insecticide at two-week intervals applied during early stages of scale development provide adequate control. Stem borers in the larvae stage tunnel into stem and branch tips during late spring and early summer. The young stem will wilt and die back to where the tunnel ends. The best way to control stem borers is to remove infested branches and then apply a properly labled insecticide.

Fungicide and insecticide recommendations are available through your county Extension office. Ingram and James T. Published by: Environmental Horticulture Department rev. Florida Azaleas Spectacular flower masses and colors, plant form, and evergreen foliage are among the reasons for the popularity of azaleas.

When choosing azaleas for your landscape, consider the following factors: mature size and form, flower size and color, flowering season, and adaptability.

Soils Well-drained, organic soils with a pH of 4. Transplanting The planting hole for containerized or balled and burlapped azalea plants should be approximately six inches deeper and twelve inches wider than the root mass.

Plant the azalea in your selected spot. Place the plant in gently and pack in the surrounding soil so no air bubbles remain. Mulch around the plant with 2 to 4 inches of mulch made from pine, wood chips or leaves, the Azalea Society of America recommends. Water the plant the day after planting and continue watering the plant at least weekly for the next several weeks. Once they become established, azaleas should be watered every 10 to 14 days to a depth of 14 inches to 18 inches, the IFAS Extension recommends.