Azalea room

Contents

Types and varieties of room azalea

Azalea care at home
Reproduction of room azalea at home
Azalea transplant room at home
Azalea diseases
Azalea pests
Popular questions and answers

Indoor azalea is incredibly beautiful – it is the desired object of many flower growers. But there is a problem – it is very whimsical. Many lovers once planted it, the plant died and they did not make other attempts. In the meantime, you can still grow it at home

Indoor azalea is a representative of the genus Rhododendron (Rhododendron) and a close relative of garden beauties – tall rhododendrons. In the wild, there are several hundred species, but only two and their hybrid forms are grown at home.

Indoor azalea flower is a compact shrub with a height of 30 – 50 cm with abundant and very beautiful flowering, which has earned her popularity among lovers of indoor plants. Her flowers are lush, in shades of red, white and pink, there are varieties with lilac and two-tone corollas. The azalea is also valued for blooming in the cold season, when most other flowering plants are at rest.

Types and varieties of room azalea

There are two types of indoor azaleas.

Azalea Indian (Indica), or Rhododendron Sims (Rhododendron simsii) (1). The most popular type, it is he who can most often be found on sale. This is an evergreen shrub with small dark green leaves with a reddish pubescence. The flowers of this indoor azalea are simple or double, usually reach a size of 3 – 5 cm or larger and are collected in rounded inflorescences.

Azalea Japanese, or rhododendron obtuse (Rhododendron obtusum)(2). Less common. Her flowers are small compared to the Indian and more neat form. Japanese azalea can also be grown as a garden plant.

As for the varieties of azaleas, they are mostly known only to collectors: hybrid azaleas are most often sold in shops and shopping centers, which are usually sold under the name “Azalea white / pink / red” or “Azalea mix”, and sometimes simply “Azalea indica” . Azalea varieties can vary in terms of flowering: the beginning of winter or the middle of winter – the beginning of spring. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you will be able to find out such details when buying an azalea in a store – the characteristics of the variety (and at the same time its name) can only be found out when buying a plant from a collector.

Of the old varieties, the most famous are (3):

Adventsglocken (Adventsglocken) – tall (45 – 50 cm) variety with non-double large (6 – 8 cm) raspberry-pink flowers that stay on the plant for up to 20 days;
Verveniana (Vervaeneana) – a tall variety with semi-double large flowers (8 – 8,5 cm) of pink color with a white border around the edges of the petals, blooms for 190 days;
Max Schemes (Max Schäme) – tall, with double flowers with a diameter of 8 – 8,5 cm, salmon-colored petals heavily corrugated along the edge, blooms for 130 days;
Niobe white (Niobealba) – tall (45 – 60 cm), sprawling azalea with white double flowers with a diameter of 8 – 9 cm, blooms for 80 days;
Schnee (Schnee) – tall variety with semi-double white flowers, blooms for 130 days.

Azalea care at home

Azalea is a capricious plant, demanding on growing conditions. This is due to the fact that in nature, azaleas gravitate towards cool mountain climates and certain soil types (4).

Ground

The soil for room azalea should be acidic; in neutral and alkaline soils, the plant is sick and may die. Of the ready-made packaged soil mixtures, only special ones are suitable for her – for azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and heathers.

Experienced flower growers prepare the soil for azaleas on their own, but for amateurs it is difficult, moreover, with this approach, it is difficult to maintain the optimal level of acidity required by the plant.

Lighting

Indoor azaleas prefer bright diffused light, their growth is inhibited in direct sun, and leaves and flowers can get burned. It is possible to grow room azalea in partial shade, but in winter, during the period of budding and flowering, azalea may need to be supplemented with a phytolamp.

Temperature

One of the main difficulties in caring for indoor azalea is to provide it with a suitable temperature regime. Azaleas are cold-loving, the optimum temperature for them outside the flowering period is 15 – 18 ° C, and lush flowering is often stimulated by lowering the temperature during the formation of buds to 10 – 12 ° C.

Indoor azalea does not tolerate summer heat well, the upper limit with which it can put up is about 20 ° C. Moreover, sudden changes in temperature also harm the plant, especially at the time of bud formation – in such conditions they can fall off and there will be no flowering.

Harmful for azaleas and being in a draft, however, periodic airing of the premises is good for her. When growing an azalea in a city apartment, it is recommended to take it out for the summer to a balcony oriented to the north or west, but in no case to the south. In winter, it is better to keep the plant as far away from heating devices as possible; acceptable conditions can be provided for it on an insulated glazed balcony with moderate heating. If you live in a country house, the best place for an azalea would be a cool veranda or terrace.

Humidity

Indoor azalea requires high humidity, so it must be sprayed frequently. During flowering, this should be done especially carefully, because the flowers darken from drops of water. You can spray water from a fine spray bottle around the plant, place water containers next to it, or place the pot in a tray with wet sphagnum, expanded clay or gravel.

Watering

Proper watering is another difficulty in caring for indoor azalea. The plant requires moist soil, but with an excess of moisture, it is very quickly affected by root rot. The earthen ball should always be slightly moist, its drying out is unacceptable. During flowering, azalea requires more abundant watering than usual. After watering, the water remaining in the pan is drained immediately.

When the soil dries out or in the summer heat, a container with room azalea can be placed in a basin of cold water for a while. Some growers find it useful to alternate this bottom watering with regular watering throughout the year. When growing indoors, it is very useful to spread pieces of ice on the ground in a pot instead of watering. Azalea tolerates cold well, and at high air temperatures, watering with cool water can partially compensate for its too warm content.

Water for watering azalea should be soft, well settled (at least 2 – 3 days) – impurities contained in tap water can harm the plant. Lime is especially dangerous for him, since watering with lime water reduces the acidity of the soil. The plant reacts very poorly to chlorine. Approximately once every 10 – 14 days, a few drops of lemon juice can be added to the water for irrigation – this helps maintain the required soil pH and contributes to the abundant flowering of the azalea.

fertilizers

Indoor azaleas are suitable only for special fertilizers for azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, preferably in liquid form. Azalea growers sometimes recommend applying fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium and a low content of nitrogen during the budding period, but it is difficult for an amateur grower to determine which proportions are considered correct, so it is better to refrain from experimenting.

Feeding

In spring and summer, fertilizers are applied together with watering once a week at the dosage indicated in the instructions. In winter, top dressing is applied much less frequently – 1 time in 1 weeks.

Trimming

The formation of a beautiful dense bush in a room azalea is possible only with regular, correct pruning.

After the azalea has faded, the flowers must be removed, and the shoots shortened by a few centimeters. At the same time, sanitary pruning of the bush is carried out: all dried, weak and non-flowering shoots are cut off.

In late spring – early summer, when young shoots appear on the bush, they pinch the top. It is advisable to pinch the shoots throughout the season, until the buds appear on the plant. At this time, you need to monitor the appearance of sprouts near the flower buds and carefully remove them. To prolong the flowering of room azalea, fading flowers are plucked one at a time.

Reproduction of room azalea at home

Indoor azaleas are propagated by semi-lignified cuttings. It is not always possible to propagate them at home: the process itself is simple, but it does not always give results. Cuttings are cut in the summer from young shoots at least 6 months old, the stem of which has just begun to lignify. The cutting should be 7-10 cm long and have several pairs of leaves. It is cut obliquely with a clean, sharp knife, the leaves are removed, leaving only the top few. The lower part of the cuttings is powdered with Kornevin and planted to a depth of 2 – 3 cm in the soil for azaleas or a mixture of sand and peat 1: 1. The substrate is well moistened, the container is covered with a transparent material and kept in a warm place at a temperature of 24 – 25 ° C. Every few days, planting is aired, the soil is kept moist, but not wet. Flower buds may appear on the cuttings – they must be removed immediately.

Rooting usually takes 1,5 – 2 months, the signal that this has happened is the appearance of young shoots. After rooting, the shelter is removed, the cuttings are grown a little more and seated in separate containers.

An overgrown indoor azalea bush can be propagated by division, but this is an even more risky way: the azalea root system is very fragile and sensitive, so the plant may not tolerate interference.

Azalea transplant room at home

Indoor azaleas are transplanted only after flowering, when the flower is in a dormant period. Young plants need to be transplanted once a year. Upon reaching the age of 1 – 3 years, the azalea is transplanted every 4 years or less.

A sign that it’s time to repot the azalea flower is roots coming out of the pot’s drainage holes or visible above the soil surface. It is necessary to transplant indoor azalea very carefully: as already mentioned, the roots of the plant are weak and easily damaged, and the root system itself is superficial and does not lie deep. When transplanting azalea, the earthen ball is not destroyed, the roots are not unraveled.

The new container for the azalea should be slightly larger than the old one (by 2 – 3 cm), a drainage layer must be laid at the bottom. Azaleas are placed in a new pot so that the root neck is at the same level as before. The soil is poured very carefully, without tamping, but only lightly pressing with your fingers.

After transplanting, the azalea is watered, if necessary, the soil is topped up if it settles.

Azalea diseases

Gray mold. It manifests itself in the form of putrefactive spots on leaves and shoots, often with a gray “velvety” coating. Affected tissues soften and die, eventually the whole plant dies. The reason for the appearance of gray rot is poor care and improper watering.

For treatment, all rotten parts of the plant are removed, the soil in the pot is dried. It is desirable to treat the plant and soil with fungicidal preparations that do not contain chlorine and lime – these can be Fitosporin-M or Fitolavin biologics or a universal chemical fungicide, for example, Fundazol (5).

Root rot. Most often appears due to excessive watering and stagnation of water in a pot or pan. The leaves wither throughout the plant, the shoots become lethargic and can hang and lie down. The exact cause of the problem can only be determined by removing the plant from the pot: blackened, slimy, easily detached roots become visible.

To save the azalea, such roots are removed, the root system is soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate or a fungicidal preparation, then the plant is transplanted into a new soil. Even if treatment is started on time, the azalea’s chances of surviving root rot are slim.

Fitoftoroz. A dangerous disease of room azalea, which is not always curable. The first signs are brownish spots with a light border on the leaves. Over time, they increase, parts of the plant begin to die off.

It is possible to save a room azalea that has fallen ill with late blight in very rare cases. To do this, the affected parts are removed, the plant is treated with fungicides (Consento, Revus, Ordan (5)) and transplanted into a new soil.

Chlorosis. The leaves turn pale and discolor first between the veins, then throughout the entire leaf plate, dry out and die. The cause of this disease is not an infection, but insufficient acidity of the soil. This happens, for example, when watering with unsettled or very hard water.

The problem is solved by adding lemon juice or citric acid to the water for irrigation; in severe cases, the plant will have to be transplanted into fresh soil with sufficient acidity.

Azalea pests

The indoor azalea flower is affected by the same pests as other indoor plants: spider mites, scale insects, aphids, whiteflies and thrips.

If there are few pests, washing the plant with green soap helps, in extreme cases, you can use household soap. The procedure is repeated 2-3 times with an interval of several days.

In case of severe damage by aphids or whiteflies, the plant can be treated with Actellik or Fitoverm; Aktara is recommended for spider mites, scale insects and thrips (5). If the azalea blooms at this time, the flowers will have to be sacrificed: after spraying with preparations, they will lose their decorative effect.