Azalea is an indoor plant that is whimsical and complex in care . Very often, buying it in the store, azaleas bloom for a long time. After a couple of weeks, the flowers wither and fall off. About what to do after the azalea has faded and how to care for the flower, so that it will continue to please with its rapid flowering, we will tell in this article.
Azalia withered, what to do next?
Azalea can please the eye with flowering for two months. Flowering azalea from November to April, which depends on the plant variety.
Care for room azalea after flowering begins when all flowers wither and fall off. The plant is cut off and transplanted. If all processes are postponed, azalea may not bloom later, as the flower buds will not have time to get involved.
There are species of azalea, which immediately after flowering discard leaves, and the plant for a certain period of time remains virtually naked. But with the purchase of azalea, its appearance must be clarified, since in some varieties, dropping leaves means the death of the entire bush.
If the azalea after flowering has discarded the leaves, although this should not be, the plant will need to be nursed. It is worth to follow all the rules of care, but if they do not give any effect, it is better to cut a few cuttings and try to root them. As a rule, a plant grown in this way becomes less moody, and it is a little easier to look after it.
How to trim azalea after flowering?
Immediately after the flowering, azaleas are pruned. Young shoots of plants are pricked, and cut off branches are cut off. Crop is necessary so that on one branch there are about 3 - 4 leaves.
If azalea densely grows, it is slightly thinned. Weak branches of the plant are completely removed. Cropped and shoots that grow inside the bush.
During pruning, the azalea can form the crown of the desired shape. Most beautiful if you cut it in the form of a ball. During the subsequent flowering, this bush will look especially attractive.
Pruning azaleas after flowering is mandatory. If the plant is not cut, it will not blossom luxuriantly and eventually the bush will become loose.
Azalea, which discards leaves after flowering, is also cut off, and after pruning put in a cool and dark place, withstanding a 2-month rest period.
Note, if the bush grows very intensively, you may need to re-prune. They spend it at the end of summer.
How and when are the azaleas transplanted?
After the plant was cut off, it is briefly left alone, continuing to groom as usual. At the end of spring or early summer, the azalea bush is transplanted. If the plant is already grown, it can be done once in two years.
For a transplant, a fairly wide and shallow pot should be taken, since the azaleas root system is superficial. The pot should be 2 cm more than the root system of the flower.
Transplant azalea into a special soil, which you can buy in a flower shop. Before planting, a drainage is created in the pot, and the plant with the remains of the earth coma from the previous pot is planted in a new one. Roots do not need to be cleansed, because they have special fungi that help the plant get maximum
How to water azalea?
Azalea is capricious in terms of watering. Water is better for her to take the thaw and cool enough. Especially if the air temperature at the location of the azalea is higher than it is needed.
The plant loves moisture, and therefore it is desirable to spray it in a period when there are no flowers.
How to feed azalea?
Azalea must be supplemented with specialized fertilizers every two weeks. They do not contain chlorine and they have the volume of potassium and phosphorus necessary for normal growth and development of azaleas.