Azalea - home care after purchase

Azalea (azalea) is an evergreen shrub and belongs to the rhododendron family. The plant is a lush shrub with delicate flowers. Azalea is a decoration of any garden plot, city park or flower bed. Indoor varieties are very popular among amateur gardeners.

Under what conditions is azalea kept in the store?

The conditions in the flower shops are adapted to the entire range of ornamental plants for sale. Each of them should receive individual care at home.

Indoor azalea does not require specific conditions of detention

When purchasing an azalea, they check the conditions of detention. Step-by-step instructions for choosing an azalea in a store:

1. Choose a medium-sized plant. Such an instance is easier to transfer and transport.
2. The soil in the plant pot is moderately moist.
3. You need to make sure that the leaves are firmly attached to the branches of the shrub, otherwise it will die.
4. It is better to opt for a bush that has recently faded or is just picking up buds. Such an instance is easier to adapt at home.

The appearance of a healthy flower

How to equip an azalea at home so that the plant can more easily endure the adaptation period?

Buying a healthy flower is a challenge. A plant brought from a store must go through a difficult adaptation period. Wherein:

• There is no need to unpack the shrub from the store packaging, especially in winter. The flower adapts more easily to room conditions if it will stand for a couple of hours in the package. Winter and fall are undesirable seasons for buying azaleas.
• The place of home growth of azaleas should be sufficiently lit, while the flower is relieved of direct sunlight.
• The comfortable air temperature for keeping the bush should not exceed +18 ℃.
• Azalea loves humid air, which is controlled by spraying and decorative humidifiers (indoor fountain, pallet with wet expanded clay).

Placing a flowerpot on a pallet with expanded clay

Azalea home care after purchase

To provide the plant with optimal care, it is recommended to irrigate with a solution of Zircon after purchase. 4 drops of the drug are dissolved in 1 liter of water.

Watering

Shrub maintenance requires proper watering. The flower does not tolerate both flooded and dried soil. When installing a pot with a flower, take into account its proximity to heating radiators. Their close location will adversely affect the condition of the soil.

It is recommended to water the dried plant with copious amounts of water and wrap the shrub with a plastic bag. After a few hours, the plant will return to its previous shape.

In the case of acquiring an already drying plant, you can pull the bush together with the soil from the pot and lower it into a container with boiled, but not hot water for 20 minutes, then return it to the pot again.

Bush with earthy clod

Azalea flower how to care at home

For proper plant care, you need to know the characteristic problems of indoor rhododendrons and how to solve them:

• azalea does not tolerate frequent watering;
• it is not allowed to wrap the plant with ice or snow; such manipulation seriously disrupts the temperature regime of the flower;
• a flooded plant may lose leaves; when overflowing, the azalea leaf turns brown at the very tip;
• for irrigation, it is recommended to use water with soft properties, for this it is defended for 2-3 days or passed through a filter;
• summer spraying is done twice (morning, evening);
• during flowering, the azalea is not sprayed, as the plant can shed its buds.

Darkened leaf tips from overflow

Top dressing

The choice of plant nutrition involves the use of special preparations for these purposes, which are sold in flower shops. In the summer, gardeners feed the shrubs with nitrogen fertilizers, and in the fall and winter with preparations containing phosphorus and potassium.

To acidify the soil, you can enrich the water for irrigation with a couple of drops of citric acid, but this should be done no more than 3 times a month. If the branches of the plant wilt, they are pruned to isolate healthy parts.

Transfer

The plant is not recommended to be transplanted immediately after purchase. The shrub needs to adapt to its new location. The transplant is relevant when the bush needs a large capacity. When transplanting, they do not knock off an earthen lump from the roots, but transfer the flower to another, larger pot, along with the soil.

Dry roots are cut, the root system is dipped in water and placed in new soil. The pot for transplanting is chosen flat. Drainage is formed at the bottom of the container. It is permissible to create an acidic environment in a pot by laying steamed pine bark on the bottom. It is better to use a mix that is part of a special substrate.

Transplanting a plant with an earthen clod on the roots

Pruning, flowering and reproduction

Shrub pruning is recommended when transplanting when the shrub has faded. The azalea bloom period is two months (during the winter season).

Flower propagation is done by cuttings. Cuttings are dipped in a stimulating solution, soaked in potassium permanganate and immersed in the ground to a depth of 2 cm. Cover the cutting with a glass jar and place in a dark place. The stalk is sprayed and kept warm (+20 ℃) ​​until the buds appear. The plant is then opened and placed in an area with diffused light.

The health of a flower can only be guaranteed by an attentive attitude to its condition and taking care of it after it has found its place in the house.