Tips and tricks for taking care of indian azalea at home

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 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 growing 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, middle-late flowers are released in January-March, late blooms in February-April.

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 not visible 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 blooms 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 a screen, or placing it in the aquarium. When placed in the depths of the room for the plant must 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 take care of it, the information that the flower likes cool, damp 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 azalea agrees with, - +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:

1. Cover the pot around the perimeter with pieces of ice or snow;
2. Spray the plant more often with cool water.

In the autumn-winter time (from October to January), that is, before and during the setting of flower buds, azaleas can be taken out on 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 a 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 in low temperatures, the flower does not need spraying.

Also, the humidity can be maintained using the so-called "foot bath" - a pot with a flower is placed on a tray with wet 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 leaf ground, peat, sand (1: 1: 1). One part of the coniferous forest can be mixed into the mix. Be sure to add drainage.

Pot selection and planting

When buying already planted azaleas, it is necessary to give preference to flowers with not yet opened, but already ready to bloom, buds and several 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 the azalea indica is demanding for irrigation and transplantation, but experts in the characteristics of how to care for 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 in one or the other direction - 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.

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 for four hours in a pan with water. After that, return it to its original place. It will be possible to start normal regular watering in three days.

In case of 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."Applicable to azaleas and fertilizer to stimulate the growth of "Zircon".

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 - it will contribute to a more lush flowering plants. To give the flower a well-groomed shape, young shoots pinch, leaving 4-5 leaves. Shoots 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.

If you do not pinching and pruning, then over time the plant will grow into a spreading shrub and will bloom weaker.

Azalea is amenable to 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, therefore, it is necessary to perform this procedure only in extreme cases, for example, when the pot has already become small for a strongly expanded 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 repotted once a year, older ones - once every two years.

When transplanting can not destroy the root ball. The best way will be transshipment with the addition of fresh substrate. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the root neck is above the soil surface.

It is not allowed to transplant plants 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. The cuttings are regularly sprayed and give 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, scytworm, spider mite, aphid, thrips.

As well as other rhododendrons, azalea is subject to a number of diseases, among which powdery mildew, gray mold, fusarium, rust, etc. are the most dangerous.

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 for growing and caring for 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, the plant is a long-lived and can live up to 70 years.