Garden Tips Newsletter
Azalea Care
Garden Tips Newsletter - April 5, 2001
The time for azaleas to put on their show is here or fast approaching for those midseason bloomers. Make sure that your azaleas get adequate water during their growing season. They need the equivalent of 1 inch of rain every 7 --10 days. However, do not allow your azaleas roots to sit in wet soil. To help conserve moisture put a nice layer of mulch over the soil around your azaleas. Azaleas do best in acidic soil. To help maintain an acid soil add liberal amounts of peat moss, leaf mulch, old sawdust, or compost to the soil. Wait until after your azaleas bloom to prune them -- if they need pruning. A slow-release fertilizer is best to use with azaleas.
For more information on Caring for Azaleas see MSU Information Sheet 656 "Growing Azaleas".
Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes Garden Tips weekly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.