Need some advice on an AZALEA

Hi!

I bought an azalea in a pot a month ago. It looked nice and healthy with white blooms then. Now, the blooms are turning brown and some green leaves are dry and falling off. On the lower part of the stem, there are some young light green leaves that still look healthy and happy.

I have been giving it water every 2nd day, as they recommended in the shop, so that the soil is always not really wet, but moist. I don't pour water directly into the pot, but into the bowl, from where the soil soaks it up. Most of the time the plant has been in the back of the living room, on the opposite side from the windows and light, but lately I put it close to the windows.

I uploaded some photos also. Two of the photos, where the blooms are brown, are taken today and one, where the plant still looks healthy, approximately half a month ago. Yes, I have already read some information over the internet, but still, it is not clear to me if my plant is dying or just getting rid of what needs to be let go?

Thank you!

llest

Azaleas prefer acidic soil. If you're using tap water, the PH could be way too high, though I don't know if that's also true in Austria. If you can catch some rain water, or melt some snow, your plant would probably appreciate that much more than tap water. I'm not a fan of bottom-watering since I killed every plant I ever tried to care for that way though I know some people prefer it. Are you sure moisture is wicking upward into all of the soil?

The flowers are short-lived, so not unusual that they are turning brown after a month. The foliage looks pretty good.

If the roots are out of room to grow, that could cause trouble. When practical, I would consider repotting. These do grow in the shade here, and also in full sun. Inside for winter, I would put this as close to your sunniest window as possible.

I agree with purple - put it as close to a window as possible. When the weather warms I would put in the ground (if it is still alive) or at least put it in a larger pot and leave it outdoors year round. I bought a florist azalea many years ago and had it as a bonsai in a kitchen window for a couple of years until we went on a week vacation and my daughter didn't water it - that killed it!

The next one I just moved to a larger pot(s) for a few year and it has been outside for at least ten years and blooms reliably each and every year.

Thanks for your response!

Yes, the soil is moist also on the surface, even though I water it from the bottom.

Is there any other natural way instead of using rain water and snow, to make the soil more acidic? It should be heavy winter here in Austria right now, but there is no rain nor snow. And I am in the middle of Vienna, so the river water may also not be the most "natural" option.

When should I do repotting? Any time in the year or in a warmer season?

Thank you!

Tap water is fine. I never saw any adverse effects on any of mine when I had them indoors using plain tap water. Allow the soil to dry some between each watering.

Pot at any time as you are keeping it indoors. You can buy fertilizer that is for acidic loving plants. You will often see fertilizer for azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons.

Getting the amount of light it needs is important so it remains healthy and continues to grow.

My plants get tap water while inside for winter too, I admit, I'm lazy. If you add a bit of vinegar to the water, that will acidify it, the more you add, the more acidic. An old wives' tale is to give plants a little diluted tea occasionally. Since that would acidify water/soil, that probably works wonders for plants in soil where the PH has risen above comfortable levels. Without equipment to measure such things, it's all guess-work.

There's a lot of info 'out there,' about the PH of water and how to adjust it, if you search, which would probably be better than me relaying what I remember from looking into it. My investigation has been limited to water in USA too, so may or may not apply to the water where you are. Your government/water company may have info about the PH of the tap water, and the types of chemicals added to it, so you'll know what you're dealing with.

I only investigated to the point where I decided rain water could make a difference, tried it, saw a difference, so am a huge fan of it. But, as said above, not fanatical enough to get cold over it, and of course, a horde of tropical plants are going to look/grow better while the weather is good, the days are longer. So who knows what the improvement should really be attributed to. In my mind, the water makes a difference, but I have no proof whatsoever.

Good luck!

Be careful on the vinegar - I tried that 36 years ago on my houseplants to kill springtails - I spent the weekend changing all the soil after that disaster and some had a real rough time recovering.

I didn't recommend it as a pest control remedy, or at all since 'we' don't know what the problem is. Just that it's written about to acidify water. Vinegar is also written about as 'weed killer' so no doubt too much would likely be bad. I don't have any equipment to measure such things, so can only wish I knew more about it, sorry.

This message was edited Jan 26, 2014 10:32 AM

Purple, that was such a long time ago that I don't even remember what the dosage I used or where I even found the advice on getting rid of springtails. Thank goodness for the internet today - you can quickly get a lot of answers and then judge for yourself which way to go. It's like using a new spray - do you apply it to all your plants or test it on one first. Back then I wished I had tried one plant to begin with but I did them all (not a lot at the time). Some showed immediate decline (the next day) while others took much longer to show adverse effects.