Florist Azalea problems & how to fix them
Rhododendron simsii
Drooping, yellowing, brown tips, or a plant that just won’t thrive? Here are the most common Florist Azalea problems, what usually causes them, and how to turn things around.
Common problems
Underwatering
The dense peat root ball dries into a water-repellent brick and the plant crisps almost overnight. The plant is not getting enough water, either from infrequent watering or soil so dry it repels water. Prognosis is excellent - most underwatered plants perk up within days of proper rehydration.
Nutrient-deficiency yellowing
Hard tap water raises soil pH and induces iron chlorosis in this acid-lover. Leaves yellow because the plant has run out of one or more nutrients, usually after a long time in the same soil with no feeding. Old yellow leaves rarely green up fully, but with steady feeding new growth returns to a healthy color within 3-6 weeks.
interveinal chlorosis: a leaf yellowing between green veins
Photo: Jim Conrad · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Spider mites
Warm, dry heated rooms bring on mites and bronzed leaves. Tiny sap-sucking mites that thrive in warm, dry air and leave fine webbing and speckled leaves. Caught early they are very treatable; most plants recover fully within 3-4 weeks of consistent treatment.
a two-spotted spider mite among its silk threads
Photo: Gilles San Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Root rot
Waterlogged, airless soil kills the fine surface roots despite the plant's thirst. A fungal or bacterial infection of the roots, almost always triggered by soil staying wet too long. Caught early, most plants recover within a few weeks after repotting; if most roots are already mushy, recovery is uncertain.
Phytophthora root rot on a dug-up root ball
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The mistakes that most often kill it
- Letting the root ball dry out completely even once.
- Keeping it in a hot, dry living room, which ends the blooms and stresses the plant.
- Long-term watering with hard tap water in alkaline soil.
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