Cultivation of Western Azalea
This article provides a detailed introduction to the common knowledge of flower cultivation, focusing on Western Azalea. Let's follow the editor to explore the specific content!
Buying flowers from a florist can lead to a high mortality rate for Western Azaleas. Many flower enthusiasts, including myself, have repeatedly experienced the joy of purchasing and the pain of loss, vowing not to buy again, only to succumb to temptation time and again. Western Azalea might be famous not only for its national beauty but has also been added to many people's blacklist of flowers never to be cultivated again.
The杜鹃 is too beautiful and seems too fragile. Watching the leaves fall off one by one, all your efforts seem futile, eventually leaving only a bare stem before reluctantly saying goodbye. I've bought nearly ten杜鹃 plants, and now only two remain. One is very strong, almost unkillable, and can even be left outside without any issues. The other had a slight problem in the summer but, being indoors, it recovered and became strong again in the fall.
In fact, a domesticated杜鹃 is quite easy to care for. Even the wild杜鹃 outside, uncared for, grows well like a weed. So why is it so difficult to care for the杜鹃 bought from a store? When buying杜鹃, it's like picking a watermelon at the market; you can't guarantee that each one is red and sweet. It requires experience and a bit of luck. If you're willing to take a gamble, give it a try. If you can't afford the heartbreak, it's better not to buy, as杜鹃 can easily hurt one's feelings.
Choosing the right season for buying young plants is important, and spring is the best time. Why? Let me give you some reasons.
Buying in spring is mainly to acclimate the plant as soon as possible. Moreover, there are many plants left over from the New Year's market that are good to buy, the flowers are mostly faded, they have survived the winter, and they are cheaper. These are the best plants to buy, and both of my surviving plants were bought this way. However, don't buy the ones that just came into the market in spring, with many flower buds and looking beautiful, as they are not easy to survive. You want the plant to grow well in spring, produce more leaves, adapt to the environment, and recover its immune ability. Spring growth is very important. Therefore, don't let the杜鹃 bloom, encourage leaf growth as soon as possible, while the leftover plants from the New Year's market have already started to grow leaves and have a certain adaptability, which is much stronger than the new ones. Good growth in spring will help the plant survive the summer. If it can survive the summer, it's usually domesticated.
Never sell in summer because there is no acclimation period, and it's hard to produce leaves during this season. Buying then will likely result in the plant dropping leaves and slowly dying, unless you're buying a plant that has already been domesticated by a florist and is resilient to summer. But that depends on your luck. If you're familiar with the florist, they might sell you something they've been cultivating and have in excess.
Autumn is okay to buy, but not as good as spring. Why? Because in autumn,杜鹃 is busy forming flower buds and not as easy to grow as in spring. Moreover,杜鹃 is often brought to the market around the National Day, and by the time you buy it, winter is not far off. Winter is also a challenging season for the杜鹃 in flower shops. But it's not absolute. If flower enthusiasts want to try planting in autumn, they can give it a try.
Don't buy in winter. It's not suitable to place it outdoors, and indoors it will only dry out and become闷. Buying it will almost mean watching the leaves fall. If you want to test your skills, go ahead and buy in winter. I don't want to try again. After planting the杜鹃, don't change the soil, but you can repot in spring, taking the original soil. This type of flower that is almost faded can be repotted. After repotting, don't disturb it anymore.杜鹃 is best kept outdoors, especially in summer. Some people worry about theft and close the windows at night, which can suffocate the杜鹃.
When caring for杜鹃, water it frequently, and never let the soil dry out completely.杜鹃 has very fine roots, and once they die, it's hard to recover. The leaves will fall off quickly. Frequent watering won't kill杜鹃, as long as it doesn't accumulate water. Don't use nutrient-rich soil for杜鹃; it's best to use garden soil, mountain soil is fine, coarse particles are better, and adding some decomposed leaves or pine needle soil is even better, as long as the water can penetrate.
Don't apply fertilizer. Some people use sulfuric acid iron or rice vinegar, but don't do this. Keep it quiet; this is a period of severe illness recovery, and it can be fatal at any moment. Just water it.
Also, don't let杜鹃 be exposed to too much rain, especially during spring's cold spells and wind. It's also necessary to be careful outdoors in the spring. On windy and rainy days, bring it inside.杜鹃 can be exposed to the sun but not direct sunlight because it's still a strong seedling. In summer, move it to the shade of a tree, where there's less heat, and keep it cool. Also, water it more frequently in summer. There are no secrets to caring for杜鹃, just try to meet its conditions, but survival still depends a bit on luck.
This article shares the specific introduction of the cultivation of Western Azalea ( Insights from Flower Enthusiasts) for reference by netizens.