Yugo..Peach flowers sound lovely. I've never seen a peach flower Azalea. Do you have a picture of your Azalea in bloom? I too added Peat to the soil. It helps w/acidity. Yep, I agree..too much or too little water will kill an Azalea. Although, during winter, I kept my plant in a large trey with stones and water..the water sometimes hit the bottom of pot. Even for a day or two. However, I kept a light on, above the Azalea, about 5 hours each night, so soil dried faster. About repotting. How tight are roots? If your Azalea is completely rootbound, to the point water runs through and you're watering daily, maybe you should repot. In a container one-size larger. Azaleas bloom more when roots are tight-fitting. About sulfur. If the soil is too acidic, your Azalea will look better but can grow slower. They're not the fastest growers to begin with. Well, they might grow a little faster in your location?? Do you have a pH guage? If so, check soil pH. If it's 6.5 or higher add a little sulfur, but be careful w/the amount you add. Too much and goodbye plant. Using sulfer w/outdoor/in-ground Azaleas is safe, but using in potted plants, well, I'd be careful. \ Instead why not mix Orchid soil to your regular Peaty mix? I miss my Azalea. It was inevitble flowers would show each year. If I see a standard or braided Azalea locally, I'd like to get one. At a reasonable price of course. lol Teen...Wow, a bottle of vinegar. The amount is enough to kill any plant, lol. Sorry about your Azalea, they're lovely plants. Hope you told your mom not to water anymore??? :) Do you keep a bottle of vinegar near your plants? If so, you should label the bottle. I do this w/spray bottles and water containers. One has vinegar, the other Rubbing Alcohol, a third has home-made insecticide. Those not marked are used to mist or water regularly. Toni

Hi, everyone. Just an update on my search for the Cumberland (flame) azaleas. I went back this time and the Mountain Laurels were in full bloom, but no azaleas. (You were right about the ID on that one, Marty; I had just forgotten what azalea buds look like!) But, boy, the laurels sure were pretty. I'm kicking myself now for not getting a picture of one. Some of them were 15 feet tall and covered with white blooms! However, with a little searching around, I think I found the right plants this time. They just weren't quite ready yet. :-) Here is a photo: And here is another: I didn't get a picture this time, but I think I even found the exact plant that was blooming in the photo I posted earlier. It was just a little bit further along the trail. The forest had shifted around a bit in the intervening years since we took the first photo. :-) My brother assures me they will bloom the first week of June. I had remembered them as blooming in June, but over time I had convinced myself that must not be right, given that most other azaleas bloom so much earlier. So in another two weeks I'm going back. I have flagged these in the meantime, but I will go back and verify that they are indeed the right plants. So, Marty, when would we need to go back to collect the seed? By the way, one of the pink ladyslippers was still blooming. Here is a photo of it for your enjoyment, although the light was very dim under the full forest canopy, so it is a bit dark: It was tempting to try to collect seed from the ones that had finished blooming, but I know zero about that, so I figured, rather than depleting the supply that will fall to the forest floor and make new orchids, I'd just let the experts handle it. :-) More soon, I hope. --April

Any azalea specialist nurseries in your local area? And have you tried any independent garden centers, or are you only seeing the Encore series because you have just looked at warehouse store plant departments? If it were me I'd try to identify and talk to some local independent vendors about local performance - what kinds have proved successful in the area. (Or at least somebody that is serving the same gardening region). All the more so because you are trying to use this planting as an architectural feature (screen), that you will want to hold up well. Also if you do some more looking on the web you may be able to find favorites lists from rhododendron or azalea society chapters operating in your same area. Definitely the American Rhododendron Society maintains chapter lists that include evergreen azalea cultivars that members in each local group have been happy with.

Ingrid, I have never ordered anything from there but have always been fascinated by the website. I've been working my way through Are's Holdings and thought I'd get some from him once I wanted some once bloomers. He specialized in lilacs azaleas fruit trees including espalier and roses, all of the older Hardy varieties. His newsletter and website were a font of Arcane knowledge gained only by experience! It was very quirky! It's still up actually so u can still see it. I spent hours reviewing it last night as I suspect it will come down soon. I honestly don't know how he kept it up with just one helper, but it was a well known place in that neck of the woods. It was very Charming with the old wooden Homestead.