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Acid Loving Plants
Growing Acid Loving Plants
Growing azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, holly, pieris,heather, and other plants that love acidic and organisc soils.
One of my fond memories of being 12 was catching my first shad.Each spring the shad migrate up the Delaware River to end theirlife long journey to spawn. Their migration is like clockwork,arriving exactly on time, like the swallows of Capistrano eachyear. In many ways so are the flowers and buds on plants. Iremember my shad and the picture of this trophy. I was standingnext to a large azalea in full bloom. Each year I would see theblooms on that azalea and know that as they swelled so the shadwere approaching. Thus I came to associate the blooms of azaleaswith it's time to go fishing. How smart and lucky I was. Forthere are so many varieties and blooming times for azaleas plussome varieties have small second flushes, that I can now saywith absolute certainty that, "It's always time to go fishing".
There are so many varieties of azaleas and rhododendrons thatexperts only estimate their approximate number. There are earlybloommers and late season bloomers. Some with large flowers andsome with small flowers. Some are scented. There is a spectrumfull of colors and sizes. Some are evergreen and some decidious.Thus azaleas and rhododendrons are shrubs for all seasons. Inwinter, these plants stand out with large evergreen leaves andbring showy flowers in the spring. Throughout the summer andfall the leaves add pleasing green color to the landscape. Theintense flowers of azaleas and rhododenrons make them a popularselection.
If you have difficulty telling an azalea from a rhododendron,stop worrying. Call them all rhododendrons and you will becorrect. If you know how to grow a rhododendron, then you canuse the same cultural principles in growing blueberries, holly,pieris, heather, and other plants that love acidic and organiscsoils. Rhododendrons love mild humid climates. Site selection isimportant. Many people come to us and report that they have hadlittle luck in planting rhododenrons and want to try again. Oursuggestion is to first look at your enviremental conditions anddetermine if you should replant. Rhododendrons are found innature predominatly on north to east slopes. Here there is lessrapid temperature changes and the drying west and south windsare shielded by natural features. Always protect azaleas andrhododendrons from wind. Plant with barriers in mind. Barrierscan be evergreen screens, or buildings or slopes. Evergreenscreens can help highlight the blooms. Be mindfull that a cornerof a building may not offer protection but actually funnel windsby the plants. Rhododendrons actually like filtered light betterthan shade. If your site is full shade consider a pruning of theoverhead trees to allow better light penitration.
The soil that you plant Rhododendrens in should have gooddrainage. You can run a simple test by digging a six inch holeand filling it with water. If it is not drained in 4-5 hours youneed to increase the drainage of the site. Rhododendrons havevery small
delicate roots. If the soil drains poorly there isprobably to much clay. The roots can't penitrate heavy clays. Iwould suggest a raised bed or a drain tile to carry away theexcess water.
It is difficult to improve poor soils to grow rhododendronswithout creating other problems. Sometimes trees with surfaceroots rapidly take over soils that are improved and compete fornutrients. They, afterall have a head start on your new plants.It may make sense to raise up a bed a whole foot. This givesimproved drainage and allows the new plants more competitionfree time in getting established. Make sure you have an acidicsoil of 5 to 5.5. If you have a large pine tree rake up itsneedles and use them as both a weed barrier and a ph adjuster.There is no good substitute for quality organic materials beingincorporated into your soil. Clay soils are especially enhancedby organics. Lots of ground pine bark, oak and pine leaf mulchesand topsoil mixed well, works much better than peat. Peat willhold water preventing oxygen from filtering to the root zone.Peat can also hold moisture for long periods in the spring andwinter. The area that you prepare should be prepared weeksbefore you plant. This allows the ph to change.
Most of the rhododendrons and azaleas that we sell are potted.These plants sould never be planted so that their stems arebelow what it was in the pot. Plantings should always be about2" above the surrounding soil. Water the plant well afterplanting. Native rhododendrons have very shallow surface rootsand have natural mulch and organic debris covering the surfacveroots. This conserves moisture and minimizes winter injury. Youwant to mirror the natural conditions so using decomposed pineneedles and oak leaves is the best mulch. A layer of two to fourinches is ideal. Keep the layer of mulch away from the stem. Themulch should not be removed. It should be with the plant for allseasons. It is the plants winter blanket. It helps keep theplant from winter leaf scorch. If you want your beds to havedesigner colors such as red mulch black much, plastic fibercloth, river pebbles ect., then plant some other plant, becausethese plants are delicate and conditions must be correct or youwill have poor results. I don't recommend any fertilizing of theplants for beginners. If you must add fertilizers make sure itis for acid loving plants.In nature these plants do well withlow nutrient levels. Their small surface roots can be easily behurt by over application of fertilizers. I would use no morethan 2 pounds of a 6-10-4 per 100 square feet, but organicmatter that is covering the plant should be perfect. Do notfertilize after July 1. Fertilizing after this time may forcegrowth durring the winter when the plants should be dormant. Themulch can also act a a natural weed barrier. As it decomposesadd more. Fall is the optimum time to make sure you have enoughmulch.
Following these recommendations will help you have success inraising these plants. See Bill's web site athttp://www.seedlingsrus.com
About the author:
Long time farmer tells secrets to growing Rhodies.
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