Azaleas

The season is here and depending on the type of Azalea you have, it is currently blooming, or will begin blooming in the next couple of weeks. Azalea’s are great shrubs that provide you fall color from September to about April maybe even May depending on the variety type and the amount of attention it receives. 

In order to get your blooms to last as long as possible you are going to want to make sure you do a couple of things to assist it in the process. 

  1. Azaleas are very specific regarding their soil. Azaleas enjoy being in an acidic environment. There are a number of different types of fertilizers that can assist you in getting your soil to become acidic. Having well drained acidic soil is probably the most important factor in getting your azalea to bloom for extended amount of time. 2.
  2. Depending on when your Azalea blooms you will want to be cautious of how you prune/shape your Azalea. Azaleas on commercial properties normally see far less blooms because of the constant pruning that is done in order to keep them neat and shaped however if you have an azalea at home you can be mindful of this and allow multiple stems to develop during it’s growth season (normally in the spring) which will allow for many more buds when blooming season comes around. 
  3. Another factor that is easy to look over is planting the azalea in the proper sunlight. Plants are very picky on how much sunlight can be received during the day as well as if it is morning sun or evening sun. You can do a easy search on google for the sun requirements for your specific environment or if you haven’t purchased your azalea yet, they normally have the sun requirments on the pot.
  4. Water requirements, if your Azaleas lives in Sacramento/Ca. Over the summer it could have possibly been stressted do to the water requirments that were being enforced due to our lack of water. Applying mulch can help assist in water retention and temperature fluctuations in order to keep a more consistent environment for your shrub. 

Azaleas are great plants. There are many types of foods you can buy for Azaleas, and if you can’t Camellia food can also be used for Azaleas.

Bonus – If you do not know if your soil is acidic or not here is a DIY trick to help you tell.

  1. Collect 1 cup of soil. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the soil. If it fizzes,you have alkaline soil (pH between 7-8).If it doesn’t fizz add 2 teaspoons of distilled water. Then add 1/2 cup of baking soda. If it fizzes after you have added acidic soil, you have acidic soil (pH 5-6) if your soil doesn’t react at all you have soil that is neutral (pH 7). After determining the pH of your soil you can then add fertilizers to help adjust your soil. Normally wait about 24hrs before checking again. Make sure the fertilizer is properly watered into the soil. 

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