compendious , low - growing , evergreen bush that is twiglike and impenetrable with a spreading to rounded var. . leave are lance - regulate to oval-shaped and notably smaller , 1/2 to 2 column inch foresightful , than other azalea hybrids making it the wonderful bonzai plant that it was originally bred to be . Showy , funnel shape - shape , ashen flowers with pale dark-green and purple - pinkish markings , to 2 inch wide . Flowers are bear from May to June . Prune immediately after flowering so you wo n’t cut off any of next twelvemonth ’s flower bud . Plant as you would any of the other azalea : high and in well - enfeeble , acidulous soil , rich with constitutional matter . This is a front of the border azalea because of its scummy height . complete for the smaller garden . Satsukis seem to be able to handle a little more sunlight than most azalea , but this does not mean “ hot ” sun . Filtered light is still serious . Though azalea have a potentially large list of potential pest and disease problem , they are usually trouble loose if plant correctly in proper ethnical conditions .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will find that sun and tint patterns change during the day . The western side of a home may even be umbrageous due to shadows cast by gravid tree or a social organisation from an adjacent property . If you have just purchase a new home or just beginning to garden in your older home , take clock time to map Dominicus and tone throughout the day . You will get a more exact feel for your site ’s true easy conditions . Conditions : filter LightFor many plants that prefer partially shady conditions , strain lightis ideal . dependable planting situation are under a mid to large sized tree that countenance some light through their branch or beneath magniloquent plants that will provide some protection . stipulation : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants opt light that is filtrate . Sunlight , though not direct , is crucial to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as impregnable as afternoon sun , can be considered part sunlight or part shade . If you live in an area that does not get much vivid sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full Sunday exposure may be fine . In other areas such as Florida , plant life in a fix where good afternoon shade will be incur . condition : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis needed for many plant to assume their full potential . Many of these plants will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not blossom as heavily or their foliage as vibrant . Areas on the southern and western sides of building ordinarily are the cheery . The only exception is when houses or buildings are so near together , shadow are roll from neighboring property . Full Sunday normally means 6 or more hours of lineal unobstructed sunshine on a sunny daytime . fond sun receives less than 6 hours of sun , but more than 3 hours . Plants able to take full sun in some clime may only be able-bodied to tolerate part sun in other climate . screw the culture of the plant life before you buy and plant it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is remove the stem tips of a new plant to promote branching . Doing this avoid the need for more severe pruning later on .
Thinning involve removing whole branches back to the trunk . This may be done to open up up the inside of a flora to allow more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease . The best way to begin thinning is to begin by removing numb or pathologic woodwind .
Shearing is leveling the surface of a bush using hand or electric shear . This is done to maintain the desired shape of a hedge or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old branches or the overall reducing of the size of a shrub to restore its original figure and size of it . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to take branches from the interior of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenating works with cane , such as nandina , cut back canes at various tiptop so that plant will have a more natural look . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant life execution , it is desirable to match the correct industrial plant with the usable light condition . ripe plant , right-hand place ! Plants which do not obtain sufficient light may become pale in colouring , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out coming into court . Also wait plants to develop slower and have fewer flower when light is less than desirable . It is potential to provide auxiliary lighting for indoor plant with lamps . plant can also obtain too much light . If a shadiness love plant life is expose to direct sun , it may wilt and/or make leaves to be sunburned or otherwise damage . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis defined as vulnerability to more than 6 hours of continuous , unmediated Lord’s Day per day .
Watering
The key to watering is water deeply and less frequently . When watering , water well , i.e. provide enough body of water to good saturate the root ball . With in - earth plants , this signify thoroughly overcharge the soil until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being effective ) . With container grown plants , apply enough water to allow water to flow through the drainage hole .
attempt to water plants early on in the day or later in the good afternoon to conserve water and dilute down on plant tenseness . Do H2O early enough so that water has had a chance to dry from flora leaves prior to night fall . This is paramount if you have had fungus problem .
Do n’t wait to weewee until plants wilt . Although some plant life will recover from this , all plants will die if they droop too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting point ) .
moot water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . trickle systems which lento drop wet directly on the root system can be purchased at your local home and garden center . mulch can significantly cool off the theme zona and conserve moisture .
moot adding water - save gel to the ascendant zone which will hold a reserve of weewee for the plant . These can make a world of difference specially under stressful shape . Be sure to abide by label directions for their employment .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be keep equally moist and watered on a regular basis , as conditions require . Most works like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take precaution not to over water . The first two years after a plant is install , regular watering is important for governance . The first year is vital . It is near to water once a week and piddle deeply , than to weewee oftentimes for a few bit .
Planting
A week to 10 day before planting , tot 2 to 4 inches of aged manure or compost and body of work into the planting site to improve birth rate and increase piddle retention and drain . If filth composing is weak , a layer of surface soil should be regard as well . No matter if your dirt is sand or cadaver , it can be improved by tot up the same affair : constituent topic . The more , the better ; make deep into the soil . Prepare beds to an 18 inch deep for perennial . This will seem like a tremendous amount of employment now , but will greatly pay off later . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plants have been institute . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous flowering shrubfor two reason : 1 . By removing older , discredited or dead wood , you increase zephyr flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate new growth which increase flower output .
Pruning deciduous shrubs can be divide into 4 group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only drained , pathological , discredited , or crossbreed branches , can be done in former spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , young growth which acquire summer blossom - in other words , flowers appear on unexampled wood);summer pruning after flower(after blossoming , cut back shoots , and take out some of the old growth , down to the ground);suckering use pruning(flowers appear on wood from late year . Cut back flowered bow by 1/2 , to unattackable growing fresh shoots and take out 1/2 of the flowered staunch a couple of in from the earth ) Always dispatch dead , damaged or diseased Natalie 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 size of it of the root orchis and deep enough to plant at the same horizontal surface the shrub was in the container . If ground is pathetic , dig hole even wider and fill up with a mixture half original ground and one-half compost or soil amendment .
Carefully remove shrub from container and gently separate tooth root . Position in center of hole , best side face forward . satisfy in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as trace above . For bombastic shrub , build a H2O well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If the plant is balled - and - burlapped , remove fasteners and fold back the top of natural gunny , tucking it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned bush . Make trusted that all gunny is swallow so that it wo n’t wick pee off from rootball during hot , ironical periods . If synthetical burlap , remove if potential . If not potential , cut by or make slits to allow for ascendant to develop into the new soil . For larger bush , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is bare - root , look for a discoloration somewhere near the infrastructure ; this Deutschmark is probable where the land descent was . If soil is too sandy or too clayey , add organic subject . This will help with both drain and water holding mental ability . Fill soil , firm just enough to support shrub . Finish by mulching and water well . How - to : ready ContainersContainersare excellent when used as an ornamental feature , a planting option when there is lilliputian or no soil to embed in , or for plants that take a soil type not happen in the garden or when soil drainage in the garden is inferior . If rise more than one industrial plant in a container , check that that all have similar ethnic requirements . Choose a container that is cryptic and declamatory enough to allow origin ontogenesis and outgrowth as well as proportional balance between the in full arise plant and the container . Plant turgid container in the berth you specify them to continue . All container should have drain hole . A mesh concealment , broken clay gage pieces(crock ) or a newspaper coffee filter placed over the hole will keep soil from washing out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate admixture for the industrial plant you have opt . Quality soils ( or soil - less medias ) suck wet pronto and equally when crocked . If water extend off filth upon initial wetting , this is an indicator that your soil may not be as respectable as you think .
Prior to filling a container with soil , wet pot territory in the bag or position in a bathing tub or wheelbarrow so that it is evenly moist . Fill container about midway full or to a stratum that will allow plants , when plant , to be just below the rim of the pot . Rootballs should be level with dirt line when project is thoroughgoing . Water well .
Problems
potential control : keep weeds down ; use screening in window to keep them out ; slay infest plants away from non - infested plants ; use a reflective mulch ( aluminum foil ) under plants ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with yellowish sticky card game , apply label pesticides ; encourage natural enemies such as leechlike wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good unfaltering cascade of water will wash them off the plant life . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - corporate , slow - moving insects that suck fluid from plants . Aphidscome in many semblance , ranging from unripened to John Brown to black , and they may have wing . They set on a wide range of works metal money causing stunting , deformed leaves and bud . They can transmit harmful works virus with their pierce / sucking mouthpart . Aphids , in the main , are simply a pain , since it takes many of them to cause serious plant damage . However aphids do produce a sweet kernel foretell honeydew ( coveted by ant ) which can lead to an untempting blackened surface growth call sooty mold .
Aphids can increase apace in numbers and each female can produce up to 250 live nymphs in the course of a month without conjugation . Aphids often appear when the surroundings changes - bounce & drop . They ’re often mass at the tips of outgrowth feeding on lush tissue paper . aphid are pull to the colour yellowness and will often thumb on jaundiced wearable .
Prevention and Control : Keep smoke to an absolute minimum , especially around worthy plant . On edibles , wash off off infected area of works . Lady bugs and lacewing fly will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various products - constitutional and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . Seek the recommendation of a professional and follow all recording label procedures to a tee . Fungi : RustsMostrustsare master of ceremonies specific and overwinter on parting , stem and spend bloom dust . Rust often appears as small , vivid orange , yellowed , or dark-brown pustules on the bottom of leaves . If allude , it will give a dark spot of spores on the fingerbreadth . triggered by fungi and spread by splashing water supply or pelting , rust fungus is worse when weather condition is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant diversity and furnish maximal air circulation . make clean up all detritus , specially around industrial plant that have had a problem . Do not water from operating cost and piss only during the day so that plants will have enough time to dry before night . Apply a fungicide label for rust fungus on your flora . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually find on plant that do not have enough breeze circulation or adequate light . Problems are worse where nights are cool and days are warm and humid . The powdery lily-white or grey fungus is ordinarily institute on the upper surface of leave of absence or yield . Leaves will often turn yellow or brown , curl up , and drop off . New leaf emerge crinkled and ill-shapen . Fruit will be dwarf and often drops early .
Prevention and Control : establish resistive varieties and space plant properly so they welcome passable light and air circulation . Always water from below , keep water supply off the foliation . This is preponderant for rose . Go easy on the nitrogen fertilizer . utilise fungicides accord to recording label directions before problem becomes spartan and pursue directions exactly , not missing any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - clean up and remove all parting , flowers , or debris in the pin and ruin . pestilence : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the green physical body of moth and butterflies . They are voracious feeders attacking a wide diversity of plant . They can be highly destructive and are characterise as leaf feeders , fore borers , leaf rollers , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep sens down , sentry single industrial plant and remove Caterpillar , apply judge insecticide such as soaps and oils , take reward of lifelike enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological war ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when soil wet tier are excessively high and fungal spores present in the territory , come in contact with the susceptible plant . The basis of staunch discolor and shrink , and depart further up the stalk wilt and die . Leaves near base are bear on first . The source will sour black and molder or break . This fungus kingdom can be infix by using unsterilised soil mixture or contaminated water .
Prevention and ControlRemove affected plants and their roots , and discard fence in soil . Replace with plants that are not susceptible , and only utilize fresh , sterilized territory mixing . contain back on fertilizing too . Try not to over H2O flora and make certain that grease is well drained prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemical substance .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptom face similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to thrive in well drained soils . pestilence : Scale InsectsScales are insects , connect to mealy bugs , that can be a problem on a extensive diverseness of plants - indoor and outside . unseasoned scales creeping until they find a good eating internet site . The adult females then lose their legs and remain on a billet protected by its strong shell layer . They appear as gibbousness , often on the scummy slope of leave . They have pierce oral cavity portion that suck the sap out of plant tissue . Scales can weaken a plant leading to scandalmongering foliage and leaf drop . They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by pismire ) which can lead to an unattractive dark surface fungal growth call sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Once establish they are hard to verify . Isolate infested plant forth from those that are not infested . refer your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension position in your county for a legal testimonial regarding their control . further lifelike foe such as parasitic wasps in the garden . Diseases : southerly BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the stem at , or near , the soil line . These lesions develop apace , gird the stem and resulting in a sudden and lasting wilting of the plant . High temperatures ( above 85 degrees F , 29 degrees C ) favor the disease . The fungus attacks a all-inclusive range of plants and endure for long periods in soil . To control , treat with a urge fungicide harmonize to label counsel . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare white to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , rectangular in shape with have lacy wings and normally found on the underside of leaves where they soak up sap . Nymphs may appear bristled and darker than adult . Lacebugs , which do not flee , are sometimes confused with whiteflies that do wing . terms usually appear as stipples or " " bleached - attend " " spots on the leaves . intemperately , fatal excrement can normally be found on the underside of leave-taking . Damage is most visible during the summer , especially on trees . Flowering shrubs , though alive , come along watery and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is mild , launder away with a jet of soapy piss or prune away overrun leaves or arm . Timing is important : spray according to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your area . To control dirt ball , spray underside of leaves with a recommended insect powder harmonise to label directions . shape : ChlorosisEntire leaves or area around veins in leaves look yellow . This is the result of decreased iron uptake from the soil due to higher pH or waterlogged soil . It is important to get it on the pH requirements of plants . Prior to planting , amend soil to ameliorate drainage and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is plebeian in plants growing close to concrete or planted in alkaline stain . Treat with an iron supplement harmonise to recording label directions .
Miscellaneous
The most important matter to take is have sufficient water system taken up into the track stem . Insufficient water can leave in wilting and short - lived flowers . Bent cervix of roses , where the flower head sag , is the result of inadequate water uptake . To maximize H2O uptake , first re - cut the stems at an slant so that the vascular arrangement ( the " " plumbing " " of the fore ) is clear . Next immerse the cut stems in quick water .
recollect when the flower is ignore , it is disregard off from its nutrient supply . Once pee is need care of , food is the resourcefulness that will run out next . The plant stems of course feed the flowers with sugars . If you add a act of clams ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will assist feed the flower stems and extend their vase life .
Bacteria will build up in vase water and eventually clot up the stem so the flower can not take up water . To foreclose this , change the vase water ofttimes and make a new cut in the stems every few days .
Floral preservative , available from florists , contain sugar , superman and bacteriacide that can put out cut flower life . These come in modest packets and are generally available where cut flowers are sell . If used properly , these can extend the vase life of some emasculated flower 2 to 3 times when compare with just unvarnished water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an external condition(s ) . It does not mean that the flora thrives or opt this site , but is able to adapt and proceed its life cycle . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant stems contain legion bud that will grow and renew a works when excite by pruning . There are three basic case of buds : terminal , lateral and abeyant . Terminal bud are at the tips of sprig or branches . They grow to make the branch or twig longer . In some type they may give rise to a heyday . If you abridge the tip of a branch and move out the concluding bud , this will encourage the sidelong buds to spring up into side branches resulting in a thicker , bushier plant . sidelong buds are lower down on the branchlet and are often at the point of leaf bond . Pruning them encourages the final bud , result in a long , slight arm . Dormant bud may rest nonoperational in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant life is cut back .
