Azaleas (lat. Azalea) is a group of ornamental plants, which today is usually attributed to the genus rhododendron of the heather family. In addition to such a beautiful name, the plant is also very interesting in appearance. A lush bush with abundant blooming pink, white, red flowers can brighten up even the most gloomy winter months - at a time when most of the other plants in the house will be at rest. Since azalea is very demanding for care and growing conditions, it is mainly bred in greenhouses and as a houseplant, but there are also winter-resistant species that can grow in open ground.
Very often, this extraordinary beauty flower presented as a gift. However, after a very short time, it fades away, begins to drop sheets and dies. The reason for this behavior of the plant lies in the wrong or inadequate care of him. If you become the owner of the capricious beauty of azalea Indian, we suggest you learn how to care for her at home.
Azalea Indica: features of a capricious plant
The rooms most often contain varieties bred on the basis of two types of azaleas: Indian and Japanese.
Indian azalea (indica) (Azalea indica) is a natural plant species that grows in mountain forests with high humidity. A capricious flower is called because it does not want to put up with other growing conditions, except those that surround it in the wild. Therefore, if you do not create maximum comfort for azaleas, she will simply refuse to live with you.
In nature, the plant grows with frequent rains, cool temperatures, in very wet soil with high acidity. The flowering period of early Indica varieties falls on December-January, the middle-late flowers are released in January-March, the late ones bloom in February-April.
Did you know? Azalea does not conquer not only many flower growers: the well-known botanists and travelers Brainius and Conners, who twice tried to plant a plant in Europe, could not tame it either. Only at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indian azalea was safely delivered from India, after which European breeders could do it, providing proper care for the flower and creating many varieties and hybrids based on it.The plant reaches a height of 50 cm. The root system is superficial, the roots are very tender. The leaves are small, dark green. During the flowering period they are practically invisible behind the inflorescences. The shoots are brown or reddish, covered with hairs. Flowers - medium, up to 3.5 cm in diameter, collected in inflorescences. Petals can be terry and ordinary. Azalea azalea blossoms in various shades, it is white, pink, cream, yellow, red, two-tone, speckled.
Planting and placing plants in the room
Features care for this flower will be slightly different in winter and summer periods. For example, in winter, the best place for azaleas will be windows or non-freezing loggias facing north or west. If this is not possible, then the plant should be priten from the sun. It is also important to protect the flower from the warm air from the battery - with the help of a screen, or by placing it in an aquarium. When placed in the depths of the room for the plant it is necessary to provide additional lighting.
In summer, it is better to take a flower to fresh air in a light shade, for example, from other plants. In any case, for those who want to know about the preferences of the azalea Indica houseplant and how to care for it, information that the flower likes cool, wet rooms, without drafts, but well ventilated, will be useful.
What kind of lighting is needed for a plant?
The lighting for growing azaleas will also require very good. She prefers to grow under diffused light or in light penumbra. Direct sunlight for the plant is destructive, as it causes burns on the leaves. In winter, azalea may lack light. In this case, it will be necessary to install a fluorescent lamp to illuminate it.
Requirements for temperature and humidity
As you can guess, the most important indicators for the successful development of azaleas are the temperature and humidity regimes. If you can not create in the room where the flower grows, the temperature of + 10-15 ºС, then he refuses to grow and bloom. The temperature maximum that azalea agrees to tolerate, - +18 ºС
Unfortunately, to create such conditions in an ordinary city apartment is quite difficult. Therefore, growers recommend two ways to care for azalea in a pot in order to create optimal temperatures:
- Cover the pot around the perimeter with pieces of ice or snow;
- Spray the plant with cool water more often.
In the autumn-winter time (from October to January), that is, before and during the setting of flower buds, azaleas can be taken out to closed loggias. The minimum temperature for keeping a flower is -5 ºС. When the azalea blooms, then the best temperature for it will be + 16-17 ºС. By lowering the degrees, a longer flowering period can be achieved. For example, indica azalea red at 12 ºС will bloom for 2-2.5 months. And if the mercury column crosses the mark at 18 ºС, the flowers will hold on the plant for only two weeks.Another whim of azaleas is high humidity - 60-80%. Therefore, in the room where it grows, it is desirable to use a humidifier, as well as to conduct regular spraying of the flower. These procedures are obligatory in the summer period and in the heating season. They need to be made at least twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. When kept at low temperatures, the flower does not need spraying.
Important! For spraying, you must use soft distilled or boiled water.Also, the humidity can be maintained with the help of the so-called "foot bath" - a pot with a flower is placed on a tray with wet expanded clay, pebbles.
What should be the substrate for planting
For planting flower suitable sour soil (pH 4-4.5) with the marks "For azaleas", "For rhododendrons". When preparing the substrate with their own hands, it is necessary to mix the leafy ground, peat, sand (1: 1: 1). In the mixture, you can mix one part of the land of coniferous forests. Be sure to add drainage.
Did you know? Azalea, in addition to its decorative qualities, has beneficial properties - it cleans the air in the room from such harmful substances as toluene, xylene, ammonia.
Pot selection and planting
When buying already planted azaleas, it is necessary to give preference to flowers with not yet opened, but ready to bloom, buds and a few blossoming flowers. The soil in the pot should not be dry. Also on the plant should not be dry or crumbling leaves.
If you plan to plant an azalea yourself with the help of seeds or cuttings, then, since it has surface roots, a small pot in the shape of a bowl will be suitable for it.
How to care for an azalea indica
In addition to maintaining the required temperature and humidity, the plant does not require extraordinary efforts when growing. It is believed that azalea indica is demanding for irrigation and transplantation, but experts in the characteristics of how to take care of it, as a rule, write: "care of average complexity."
Features watering azaleas indica
As a native of countries with a humid climate, azalea loves frequent and abundant watering. It is important not to overdo it either one way or the other - so that the soil does not dry out and is not too wet. Especially the condition of the soil in the pot should be monitored during the flowering period.
In autumn and winter, if the plant is in a cold room, the number and volume of watering is reduced. In the summer it is necessary to water at least twice a day. In this case, it is desirable to alternate the upper and lower glazes.
Important! For irrigation it is better to use distilled, rain or melt water. If you water with tap water, then it must be defended for several days or boiled. Water should be at room temperature.It is recommended to periodically watering with acidic water. It is prepared by dissolving 1 teaspoon of citric acid in two liters of water. With this solution, the plant is watered once a month.
If for some reason a strong drying out of the soil has occurred, then the flower pot must be placed in a pan with water for four hours. After that, return it to its original place. It will be possible to start normal regular watering in three days.
With one-time excessive watering, it is necessary to drain the water in order to avoid its stagnation and root decay.
Fertilizer and flower feeding
Fertilize azalea during the growing season twice a month with mineral fertilizers. When nominating buds, it is recommended to feed the flower with superphosphate (15 g / 10 l of water), Kemira-Lux, Uniflor-Bud, etc. In specialty stores you can also buy special fertilizer For Azaleas.
Depleted flowering plants can be fertilized with fertilizers containing nitrogen, such as "Uniflor-micro." Applies to azaleas and fertilizer to stimulate the growth of "Zircon".
Important! When using dressings, follow the instructions on the package in order not to harm the plant.
Cutting and pinching azaleas
During flowering, all buds as they bloom and seed boxes must be promptly removed.
After the end of flowering azaleas mix to the question of how to care for the plant should be approached no less responsibly. An important role in this period will be played by pruning and nipping shoots.
Pinching a flower is necessary to do - it will contribute to a more lush flowering plants. To give the flower a well-groomed shape, young shoots pinch, leaving 4-5 leaves. Scions grown from flower buds are removed. Also remove heavily overgrown and weak shoots. Pruning in early varieties can begin in March, in the late - in May.
Important! All parts of azaleas are poisonous, if ingested, they can affect the muscles, the central nervous system, and can be fatal.If you do not pinching and pruning, then over time the plant will grow into a sprawling bush and will bloom weaker.
Azalea gives in and the formation of curly crown. As a rule, it is given two types of forms: in the form of a tree or a bush.
Azalea Indica Transplant Rules
The azalea doesn’t complain much about transplantation, so it is necessary to perform this procedure only in extreme cases, for example, when the pot has already become small for a heavily overgrown root system or when the roots have affected rot.
Do not transplant the plant directly after purchase - it needs time to adapt. Young flowers up to three years old can be replanted once a year, older ones - once every two years.
When transplanting can not destroy the root ball. The best way will be handling with the addition of fresh substrate. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the root neck is located above the soil surface.
No transplanting in winter. Better to do it after flowering.
Reproduction Azalea Indica
Azalea propagation occurs in four ways: seed, cutting, dividing the bush and grafting. The most common method is jigging cuttings. Although this process can not be called simple, because for its successful implementation requires a greenhouse.
Cuttings 8-10 cm long are cut in spring from shoots pinned in July last year. Harvested only from healthy plants, not more than once a year. The cuttings are cut with a sharp knife over the kidney. Lower leaves are removed. The cutting is placed in a container with wet peat, deepening by 5 cm. The container is covered with a can, polyethylene, or placed in a greenhouse, where a high level of humidity (80%), a stable temperature of +25 ºС and diffused light are maintained. Cuttings regularly sprayed and give them access to oxygen. Rooting should be expected in three to six months. After the roots appear, the young plants are transplanted to a permanent place.
Propagation by dividing the bush is suitable only for three-four-year plants.
Diseases and pests of the flower
Indica azalea with improper care at home can be affected by diseases and pests. The most common insects that can harm a flower are the azalea mole, mealybug, whitefly, scrambler, spider mite, aphid, thrips.
As well as other rhododendrons, azalea is susceptible to a number of diseases, among which powdery mildew, gray mold, fusarium, rust, etc. pose the greatest danger.
When such problems are detected on your plant, it is necessary to treat them with chemicals. However, it is worth noting that with all the recommendations on the cultivation and care of azalea, the risk of catching any sore or parasite is very small.
We tried to share all the subtleties of how to care for the azalea flower. Indeed, she is very whimsical, demanding and can not grow in every apartment and not every grower. However, if you create the most favorable conditions for it, it will fascinate you with its flowering for more than one winter. After all, this plant is a long-liver and can live up to 70 years.
