These 8' Lavender Formosa Azaleas, are the easiest of several colors of Formosa I have grown here for many years. The following are plants in my yard. They benefit from the acidic soils provided by the Pines. I have the best luck on sandy knolls, however one can grow them in heavy clay soils so long as it drains well.
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| Red Formosa, the most frost sensitive, last Formosa of the season to bloom. |
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| Mixture of Pink and Lavender Formosa, Azelea George Tabor budding, new spring shoots of Pickeral weed, Nymphaea odorada (native American waterlily). |
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| Azalea Delaware Valley White |
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| White is G.G. Gerbing, Pink is George Tabor |
A generous mulching of pine needles, pine bark mulch, leaves, acidic organic matter is a must to grow healthy Azaleas. Trimmings from anything that is grown on your property should be kept and used to provide a food source for something. Don't burn, or throw anything away.
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| George Tabor Azalea with sport of 3 blooms about center. |
Azaleas are harder to start in clay soils because of fungus and root rot disease always present but harsher in rainy years. You will have the best luck in clay soils during dry years watering just enough, and every or every other day. You may have to plant several times. It takes them 2 to 3 seasons to root well enough to grow on their own without being watered during hot dry spells. After this time, Formosa and the other plants named here are bullet proof.
I've had little trouble with pests accept for lace bugs which a landscaper brought here on new plants I purchased from a wholesale nursery. I sprayed the hell out of them to no avail and gave up. Then I learned a vital lesson in gardening.
Plant at the right time, in the correct environment, provide barely sufficient water, and don't poison or worry but sit back and let the marvels of nature undertake what man in his short days can not conceivably understand.
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| 1 year regrowth (24''), on 30 year old azalea grouping cut to the ground. |
In full sun, blooms will almost cover the shrub, in shade flowers are farther between but the shrubs are much healthier and taller. Azaleas may be trimmed to any shape desirable and rejuvenated by cutting them back to the ground. Buds only appear on hardened new growth, so if you cut them back they may not boom properly until next spring.
Azaleas are susceptible to irreversible damage during severe drought, during which time you will find their best companion plant, the Louisiana native Long Leaf Yellow Pine tree in groupings of no further or closer than 12 feet. The long Leaf pine absorbs its water from deep in the ground with its long vertical tap roots, thus leaving all surface moisture for shallow rooted acid loving species like the Azalea.
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| (White) G.G. Gerbing |
A generous mulching of pine needles, pine bark mulch, leaves, acidic organic matter is a must to grow healthy Azaleas. Trimmings from anything that is grown on your property should be kept and used to provide a food source for something. Don't burn, or throw anything away.
