Azalea, what to do?

[Ulf]

I repotted this Azalea today as it had to come out of the grow bed (and I really hope it is not a disastrous time of year to do it) . It is a rescued garden plant and its shape can be attributed to having been on the wrong end of a tractor slasher at some stage. I was astonished to see the sheer volume of root mass it had put on in the few months it has been in the grow bed yet it has only really begun to show growth up stairs.

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So the big question is what to do from here? I am very much open to suggestions folks!

[Ray M]

Hi Ulf,
These are just a few suggestions. Because you are trying to recover this tree I would have liked to have seen it in a bigger pot. Give it a drink of Seasol a couple of times a week. Keep it in a shaded area for a week or so. Azaleas don't like to dry out, so be careful to keep it watered. Don't put any fertilizer on it until you see some good growth happening. Remember that Azaleas are acid loving plants, so the right fertilizer is important. I have found Kahoona very good, but please don't put any on until you see the good growth.

Hope it recovers and you can develop it into a nice bonsai.

Regards Ray

[Ulf]

Thanks Ray, I will certainly be doing that. This little fellow seems to be quite strong so far and I have high hopes for its survival. The root prune I gave it returned it to roughly the amount of root it had when I originally lifted it from the garden. Hopefully this means it should have enough fresh medium around it to grow into.

[kcpoole]

Brave

I would not have lifted this time of year unless I had to, and then taken off as little root as possible.
Azaleas a quite robust, but working on the roots they can be quite tempramental.

Shade, Seasol and cross your fingers

Ken

[Ulf]

Oh dear....
I had no choice in moving this Azalea and I really didn't want to, nevertheless I will give it as much follow up care as I can. It is in a shaded position and I will make sure it gets a good seasol drink regularly. Fingers crossed.