dying grevillea and azalea

21 years ago

Hi all

I don't know whether I am watering too much but one of my new azaleas,(alfred alphonso?) planted 4 months, mulched and in a semi shaded bed with morning sun seems to be dying off, The other new azalea has brown leaves but some new growth and may survive. My old azalea which didn't get anywhere near the care has done well and always blooms. A grevillea, Winpara gem is dying too, yet is in same location as a new bottlebrush which is doing okay. I transpanted two ridgy didge bottlebrushes, one white wilderness and a weeping red because they were drying up and they seem to be losing the battle too. One is in same spot as the grevillea and new bottlebrush in full sun and the white is in semi shade. What am I doing wrong, I water every day, have given them seasol. I thought these types were supposed to be hardy. Am I killing them with kindness? any help appreciated. Jan

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Comments (5)

User
21 years ago
Jan I have had nothing but trouble with my Azalea's. I bought 14 last year and this year, from a certain store that I told you about there are only two left. Now I keep all my dockets as they said they would replace them , too late now.

Then a couple of months ago I was watching Gardening Australia and they had a segment on about Azalea's in Queensland and went on to say that here in Qld the azalea tends to wrap its roots around the pot,( probably kept in the shops too long) so to check before you buy them so they are not a mass of roots, then before you plant them pull them apart a bit.

So I dug up the five that were left in the garden and he was right they were all root bound, it was just like pulling out a pot, the roots had not done anything in over a year, no wonder they were all dieing, so I pulled them apart and I have only two left, they will probably die too, but I bought another plant from a Sunday Market and I tipped it up and out and had a look at the roots they were Ok and it is coming along fine.

Now there are two kinds of Azalea's and both dont like too much sun, one is just for the shade and the other will take a bit of both, but this is Queensland, they cannot withstand exposure and prefer broken sunlight, they need rich, acid, well drained moist soil.

Mine are in a raised garden bed under the trees and only get a little morning sun in summer but more in winter when the sun is lower. The single ones are more hardy than the double ones. I would not plant in full Sun it is just too hot. Hopes this helps a little

Now about your Natives I would not be watering them every day and dont fertilize unless you use a native type maybe once a year, I never fertilize my natives they should grow with out all this pampering Yes sadly I think you are killing them with kindness.

MM.
User
21 years ago
Jan I found the article from Gardening Australia in the link below do have a read.

MM.

Here is a link that might be useful: Azalea Factsheet
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Here is a suggestion, Zach. After you make sure that the bush has an adequate supply of acidic mulch -about 3-4" up to the drip line-, I suggest that you test the soil moisture daily using the finger method. For about two weeks, insert a finger to a depth of 4" daily and determine how the soil feels. If these are large bushes, test in four different places every time. If they are small bushes, test in only one place. The idea is to get a general idea how the area under the drip line is doing. When the soil feels almost dry or dry then water; otherwise, do nothing. Each time you water, make a note in a wall calendar. At the end of the two weeks, observe how often you watered (every 3/4/5/etc days) by looking in the calendar. Then set the sprinkler to water 1 gallon of water on the same frequency. When temperatures change 10 degrees or more and stay there, use the finger method again. You should notice that watering frequency increases as we get closer to the mid summer months and is reduced in the Fall. During winter, you can reduce watering further to once every two weeks on dry winters when the ground does not freeze. Apply 1.5 gallons of your soil happens to be sandy soil. While testing the soil for moisture, be aware that azaleas have very shallow root systems on the top 4-6" of the soil. They do not like the roots to be disturbed much so be careful when working to add mulch, clean debris, insert fingers and stuff like that. An adequate supply of mulch should help the shrubs quite a bit. It will reduce the frequency of your waterings. It will keep the soil evenly moist. It will protect the shrubs on windy and dry times. And it will provide food for the azaleas. Generally speaking, if your soil does not have any mineral defficienies (determined by a soil test), you could let the azaleas feed off the decomposing mulch; no fertilizer needed. Except for an application of sulphur this time of the year, that is what I do with my shrubs. Just make a habit to add more mulch in Spring and Fall when more is needed. Luis
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Liatris
21 years ago
I think I'd be checking your soil's PH.
innyanga
21 years ago
I'm in Perth, and having the same problems with azaleas. We have 14 plants, most of which are 4-5 years old. I re-potted them some time ago and they were looking fine. About a month ago, the leaves started drying up, though the soil was moist. All but two look just awful. I pruned one back severely (as my partner said he'd done two summers ago whilst I was overseas) and it looks quite dead. Don't know what to do with the others. Only the single Kurume and one Indica look fine. Any suggestions?
artiew
21 years ago
Hi All,

Are Azaleas suited to Australia's particularly hot summers ? This is one of the main reasons that I have stuck with natives, with the exception of my 'tropical room' : everything else seems to wilt in the blazing Rocky sun.

Cheers,

Artie

dying grevillea and azalea

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