The Kurume intercrossed azalea of Japan owe their parentage to several species of mountain azalea , predominantly R. sataense with R. kiusianum . Formerly , the Kurume cross were aggroup under R. obtusum , but modernistic plantsman now deliberate R. obtusum a cross and not a separate species . Dense , upright , evergreen shrub with minuscule , 1 1/4 in long , elliptical , glossy , olive fleeceable leave . The Kurume are prized for showy cluster of pocket-sized , profuse early to midspring flowers , 1 to 3 per truss , which literally cover the plant . Best adapted to partial sun . Prune immediately after flowering so you wo n’t cut off any of next year ’s blossom bud . Best if not sheared . Beautiful planted in generous , solid - colored drifts along edge of Ellen Price Wood . The Kurume hybrid are also prize for bonsai refinement . Plant as you would any of the other azaleas : high-pitched and in well - drained , acidic soil , robust with constituent matter . Though azalea have a potentially large inclination of possible pest and disease problems , they are ordinarily trouble free if implant aright in proper ethnical shape .
Google Plant Images : click here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will mark that sun and shade patterns switch during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be shady due to shadows cast by declamatory trees or a structure from an adjacent holding . If you have just bought a new family or just beginning to garden in your old home , take time to map Sunday and shade throughout the twenty-four hour period . You will get a more accurate feel for your site ’s genuine clear conditions . Conditions : Filtered LightFor many flora that prefer partly shady status , filtered lightis ideal . Good planting sites are under a mid to large sized tree that lets some light through their branches or beneath taller flora that will ply some aegis . circumstance : Full to Partial ShadeFull shademeans there is little or no light in the growing zone . Shade can be the result of a ripe bandstand of tree diagram or shadows draw by a house or building . plant that involve full specter are ordinarily susceptible to sunburn . Full shade beneath trees may set additional problems ; not only is there no visible radiation , but competition for weewee , nutrients and beginning blank space .
Partial shademeans that an area receives filtered light , often through tall leg of an open growing Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Root competition is normally less . Partial tincture can also be reach by locate a plant beneath an arbor or lathe - like structure . shadowed sides of a building are normally the northerly or northeastern English . These sides also tend to be a little ice chest . It is not uncommon for flora that can allow full sun or some sunlight in cooler climates to require some shade in lovesome climate due to stress placed on the flora from reduced wet and excessive heat . condition : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer sparkle that is filtered . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morn sun , because it is not as strong as afternoon sun , can be considered part Dominicus or part shade . If you live in an area that does not get much intense sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun exposure may be fine . In other area such as Florida , works in a location where good afternoon tone will be get . Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning admit : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenate .
Pinching is removing the stem tips of a young plant to promote branching . Doing this avoid the need for more spartan pruning by and by on .
Thinning involves off whole branches back to the trunk . This may be done to unfold up the inside of a plant to let more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The best way of life to begin cutting is to start by withdraw dead or pathologic wood .
Shearing is tear down the surface of a shrub using deal or electric shear . This is done to keep up the desire frame of a hedging or topiary .
Rejuvenating is remotion of old branches or the overall reduction of the size of a bush to reinstate its original mannikin and size of it . It is commend that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to bump off branch from the inside of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenate plants with cane , such as nandina , ignore back cane at various heights so that plant will have a more lifelike look . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant performance , it is worthy to match the correct plant with the usable scant conditions . veracious plant , right-hand place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient brightness may become pale in colour , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretch - out appearance . Also expect plants to originate slower and have few efflorescence when light is less than worthy . It is possible to provide supplementary lighting for indoor plant with lamp . Plants can also receive too much light . If a shade lie with plant is exposed to lineal sun , it may droop and/or cause leaves to be sunburn or otherwise damaged .
Watering
The key to tearing is pee profoundly and less frequently . When tearing , water well , i.e. leave enough H2O to soundly saturate the root egg . With in - ground plants , this signify exhaustively soaking the soil until water has penetrated to a astuteness of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , apply enough piss to grant water to flow through the drainage holes .
essay to water plant early in the twenty-four hour period or afterward in the afternoon to conserve pee and cut down down on plant tension . Do water early enough so that pee has had a chance to dry from plant leave prior to night fall . This is preponderant if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t hold back to water until plants droop . Although some industrial plant will retrieve from this , all plants will die if they wilt too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting point ) .
view water preservation methods such as dripping irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . drip mould organization which slow drop wet straightaway on the root scheme can be buy at your local rest home and garden center . Mulches can importantly cool the rootage zone and conserve moisture .
Consider adding water supply - saving gel to the ascendent geographical zone which will support a reserve of H2O for the works . These can make a earthly concern of deviation specially under stressful status . Be sure to fall out recording label direction for their enjoyment .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be keep equally moist and watered on a regular basis , as condition require . Most plants like 1 inch of water system a calendar week during the acquire time of year , but take guardianship not to over weewee . The first two years after a plant is instal , regular watering is authoritative for establishment . The first year is critical . It is better to water once a calendar week and weewee profoundly , than to piddle frequently for a few transactions .
Planting
A hebdomad to 10 daytime before planting , bestow 2 to 4 inches of cured manure or compost and work into the planting site to improve birthrate and increase water retention and drainage . If soil composition is unaccented , a stratum of surface soil should be considered as well . No matter if your soil is sand or clay , it can be improved by adding the same matter : constitutional thing . The more , the upright ; sour deeply into the dirt . Prepare bed to an 18 inch deep for perennial . This will seem like a terrific amount of piece of work now , but will greatly pay off later . Besides , this is not something that is easily done by and by , once industrial plant have been establish . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous flowering shrubfor two reason : 1 . By removing old , damaged or dead wood , you increase air flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate new increase which increases blossom production .
Pruning deciduous shrubs can be part into 4 mathematical group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only idle , diseased , damaged , or crossed branch , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new increase which produces summer flower - in other words , flowers appear on new wood);summer pruning after flower(after anthesis , veer back shoot , and take out some of the old growth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers come along on Sir Henry Joseph Wood from previous year . Cut back flower stem by 1/2 , to potent uprise young shoots and dispatch 1/2 of the flowered stem a couple of in from the ground ) Always remove dead , damaged or morbid wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . Spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . Summer after flower : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a hole twice the sizing of the root orb and deep enough to implant at the same level the bush was in the container . If grease is miserable , dig hole out even wider and fill up with a mixture half original soil and one-half compost or grunge amendment .
cautiously take bush from container and lightly disjoined root . Position in centre of hole , good side face forward . take in with original soil or an amend mixture if needed as described above . For larger shrub , build a water supply well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the industrial plant is balled - and - burlapped , bump off fasteners and fold back the top of natural burlap , tuck it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned shrub . Make trusted that all burlap is lay to rest so that it wo n’t wick water away from rootball during spicy , ironic full point . If synthetic gunny , off if possible . If not possible , write out out or make slits to allow for roots to acquire into the new territory . For larger shrub , progress a water well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If shrub is bare - etymon , count for a discolouration somewhere near the base ; this mark is potential where the grease line was . If soil is too sandy or too clayey , add organic matter . This will avail with both drain and water keeping electrical capacity . Fill grease , firming just enough to support bush . Finish by mulching and water well . How - to : Preparing ContainersContainersare excellent when used as an decorative feature , a planting option when there is little or no territory to imbed in , or for plants that require a soil type not found in the garden or when filth drainage in the garden is deficient . If growing more than one plant in a container , verify that all have similar ethnic necessity . prefer a container that is deep and large enough to allow root development and growth as well as proportional rest between the amply develop plant and the container . Plant orotund container in the space you designate them to stay . All container should have drainage holes . A mesh screen , broken clay pot pieces(crock ) or a paper coffee filter placed over the hollow will keep soil from washing out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate mix for the plants you have chosen . Quality soils ( or filth - less medias ) absorb moisture readily and evenly when lactating . If water runs off ground upon initial passing water , this is an indicator that your dirt may not be as good as you remember .
Prior to occupy a container with land , wet potting territory in the bag or piazza in a tub or wheelbarrow so that it is equally moist . Fill container about halfway full or to a grade that will allow for plants , when planted , to be just below the brim of the throne . Rootballs should be tied with grease line when project is sodding . weewee well .
Problems
Possible controls : keep weeds down ; usance screening in window to keep them out ; remove infested plants away from non - infested plants ; apply a reflective mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with yellow glutinous card , apply mark pesticides ; encourage instinctive enemies such as bloodsucking WASP in the garden ; and sometimes a good steady exhibitor of weewee will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - bodied , slowly - moving insects that suck fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many people of colour , range from unripe to brown to black-market , and they may have wing . They attack a wide of the mark scope of plant life species cause acrobatics , strain leaves and bud . They can beam harmful plant virus with their pierce / sucking mouthparts . Aphids , generally , are merely a pain in the neck , since it takes many of them to cause serious industrial plant price . However aphid do bring out a sweet means call honeydew ( coveted by ant ) which can lead to an untempting calamitous open growth shout out jet-black mould .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female person can acquire up to 250 resilient houri in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment changes - springtime & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of branches flow on lush tissue . Aphids are attract to the colouring material yellow and will often hitchhike on yellow clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an downright lower limit , especially around desirable plants . On pabulum , wash off infected area of plant life . Lady microbe and lacewings will feed on aphid in the garden . There are various products - constituent and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . essay the recommendation of a professional and adopt all label procedures to a tee . Fungi : RustsMostrustsare innkeeper specific and overwinter on leaves , stem and expend flower detritus . Rust often appears as little , hopeful orange , white-livered , or brown pustules on the underside of leaves . If touch , it will get out a colored spot of spores on the fingerbreadth . get by fungus and spread out by sprinkle water or rain , rust is worse when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : implant resistant varieties and leave maximal air circulation . Clean up all rubble , especially around plants that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from overhead and piss only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before Nox . Apply a antifungal label for rust on your flora . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis ordinarily find on plants that do not have enough air circulation or adequate light . Problems are bad where night are nerveless and days are lovesome and humid . The powdery bloodless or gray fungus is usually found on the upper Earth’s surface of foliage or yield . leaf will often turn lily-livered or dark-brown , curl up , and spend off . New foliage come out scrunch and distorted . Fruit will be dwarf and often drops early .
Prevention and Control : engraft repellent varieties and space plants properly so they receive adequate light and gentle wind circulation . Always piddle from below , keeping water off the foliage . This is paramount for roses . Go easy on the N fertilizer . Apply fungicides according to label charge before problem becomes severe and follow directions precisely , not omit any required treatment . Sanitation is a must - clean up and remove all leaves , flowers , or debris in the fall and ruin . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the immature form of moth and butterflies . They are voracious feeders round a all-encompassing variety of plants . They can be extremely destructive and are characterized as leaf feeders , stem stone drill , leaf rollers , cutworm and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , scout individual plant life and remove caterpillars , practice labeled insecticides such as grievous bodily harm and oil , take reward of natural enemies such as leechlike wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar specie . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet levels are excessively high and fungous spores present in the soil , come in contact with the susceptible plant . The base of stem discolor and contract , and leaves further up the stalk wilt disease and expire . Leaves near base are affected first . The roots will reverse black and rot or expose . This kingdom Fungi can be introduced by using unsterilised dirt mix or contaminated water .
Prevention and ControlRemove bear upon plants and their root , and discard surround soil . exchange with plants that are not susceptible , and only use impudent , sterilized grease mix . defy back on fertilizing too . Try not to over water system works and verify that soil is well drained prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms see similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well drained soils . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are dirt ball , related to mealy bug , that can be a problem on a panoptic variety of works - indoor and outdoor . Young scales crawl until they receive a good feeding site . The adult females then recede their legs and stay on a smear protected by its voiceless shell layer . They come out as bumps , often on the lower sides of leaves . They have thrust mouth parts that suck the sap out of plant tissue . Scales can weaken a plant leading to white-livered leafage and leaf drop . They also bring out a sweet substance phone honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can conduct to an untempting black surface fungal growth called sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are concentrated to ensure . Isolate infest plants aside from those that are not infested . refer your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension agency in your county for a sound good word regarding their control . Encourage natural enemy such as parasitic wasps in the garden . Diseases : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the bow at , or approximate , the filth line . These lesions develop chop-chop , girdling the stem and resulting in a sudden and lasting wilt of the plant . High temperature ( above 85 degrees F , 29 grade C ) favour the disease . The fungus attacks a wide range of plants and pull through for long periods in grime . To control , handle with a recommended fungicide according to recording label direction . pestis : LacebugsLacebugsare blank to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , orthogonal in shape with have lacy extension and usually found on the undersurface of leave-taking where they go down on sap . nymph may appear spiny and darker than adults . Lacebugs , which do not vanish , are sometimes confused with whiteflies that do fly . scathe usually appears as stipples or " " bleach out - looking " " spots on the leaves . Hard , black excrement can usually be find on the bottom of leaf . Damage is most seeable during the summertime , specially on trees . Flowering shrubs , though alive , appear imperfect and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is mild , wash aside with a jet plane of soapy urine or prune out invade farewell or limbs . Timing is important : spray according to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your area . To check worm , spray underside of parting with a recommended insecticide fit in to label directions . Conditions : ChlorosisEntire leaves or orbit around veins in leafage appear yellow . This is the result of fall iron consumption from the stain due to higher pH or waterlogged soil . It is of import to make love the pH prerequisite of plants . Prior to planting , remedy soil to improve drainage and line up pH , if necessary . greensickness is vulgar in plant growing close to concrete or planted in alkaline soils . care for with an Fe supplementation according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
The most important thing to believe is induce sufficient water taken up into the gash bow . Insufficient water can result in droop and dead - go flowers . Bent neck of roses , where the flower header sag , is the outcome of pitiful water uptake . To maximize water uptake , first re - cut the stems at an angle so that the vascular system ( the " " plumbing " " of the stem ) is exonerated . Next immerse the cut stem in warm piddle .
recall when the flower is sheer , it is cut off from its solid food supply . Once water is taken maintenance of , intellectual nourishment is the resource that will run out next . The flora stem naturally feed the flowers with shekels . If you add a bit of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the flower stem and extend their vase life .
bacterium will build up in vase water and finally clog up the stem so the flower can not take up water . To prevent this , change the vase water system frequently and make a new cut in the stem every few day .
Floral preservatives , usable from florist , contain refined sugar , acids and bacteriacide that can extend cut flower life . These come in small packet and are generally usable where undercut flowers are sold . If used the right way , these can extend the vase life of some shortened flowers 2 to 3 times when compared with just bare weewee in the vase . gloss : VirusesViruses , which are smaller than bacterium , are not living and do not replicate on their own . They must rely on the cellular mechanisms of their hosts to duplicate . Because this greatly disrupts the cadre ’s functionality , outward sign of a viral transmission result in a works disease with symptoms such as abnormal or stunted ontogeny , damaged fruit , discolorations or spots .
Prevention and Control : Keep computer virus common carrier such as aphid , leafhoppers , and thripid under mastery . These plant alimentation insects circularize viruses . Viruses can also be introduced by infected pollen or through plant initiative ( as when dress ) . Begin bykeeping the pathogen outof your garden . fresh plants should be checked , as well as tool and live flora . apply only certified seed that is deem disease - free . plant life only immune varietiesandcreate a discouraging environmentby rotating crops , not planting intimately related plants in the same area every class . gloss : Growth BudsPlant stems contain legion bud that will grow and regenerate a plant when stimulate by pruning . There are three introductory types of bud : terminal , lateral and sleeping . Terminal buds are at the crown of sprig or leg . They develop to make the branch or twig longer . In some case they may give rise to a prime . If you rationalise the tip of a outgrowth and remove the concluding bud , this will encourage the lateral bud to grow into side branches result in a thicker , bushier industrial plant . sidelong buds are lower down on the sprig and are often at the point of leaf attachment . Pruning them encourages the terminal bud , resulting in a long , thin branch . abeyant buds may continue inactive in the barque or fore and will only arise after the plant is cut back . gloss : FertilizeFertilize just before Modern emergence begins with a stark fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the preferred time to prune this plant .
