How to rescue azaleas after frostbite? Teach you the correct remedy

Although azaleas like cool, humid conditions and fear dry heat, frostbite can still occur when buying flowers in winter or during care. When this happens, handle it as follows:

When the temperature drops below 0°C, a thin layer of ice will form on the outside of the flowerpot, the surface of the potting soil will also freeze, and the leaves will be frozen stiff. At this time, do not rush. You can place the flower in a room at about 5°C. After 12 hours, the frozen soil will slowly thaw, and the leaves will also return to normal. The frostbitten new shoots and tiny tender leaves turn light brown, which does not affect growth. With normal care afterward, the new shoots will still grow leaves and form flower buds. The only difference is that the edges of the flowers that open after frostbite become lighter in color. Some people are impatient for results and place the flower directly in a warm room, wanting it to recover as quickly as possible, only to send it down a path of no return.

If the flower was exposed to cold wind and froze while being transported during winter purchase, it can also be treated by the above method. You can also dissolve 1 aspirin tablet (increase or decrease according to plant size, calculated by a crown diameter of 30 cm) in water and pour it into the potting soil, which is equally effective.

When using low temperature to rescue frostbitten azaleas, the temperature difference should not be too large; within 10°C is best. This is the same principle as rubbing a frostbitten patient with snow.

How to rescue frostbitten azaleas

How to rescue frostbitten azaleas. Although azaleas like cool, humid conditions and fear dry heat, frostbite can still occur when buying flowers in winter or during care. When this happens, handle it as follows: when the temperature drops below 0°C, a thin layer of ice will form on the outside of the flowerpot, the surface of the potting soil will also freeze, and the leaves will be frozen stiff. At this time, do not rush. You can place the flower in a room at about 5°C. After 12 hours, the frozen soil will slowly thaw, and the leaves will also return to normal. The frostbitten new shoots and tiny tender leaves turn light brown, which does not affect growth. With normal care afterward, the new shoots will still grow leaves and form flower buds. The only difference is that the edges of the flowers that open after frostbite become lighter in color. Some people are impatient for results and place the flower directly in a warm room, wanting it to recover as quickly as possible, only to send it down a path of no return. If the flower was exposed to cold wind and froze while being transported during winter purchase, it can also be treated by the above method. You can also dissolve 1 aspirin tablet (increase or decrease according to plant size, calculated by a crown diameter of 30 cm) in water and pour it into the potting soil, which is equally effective. When using low temperature to rescue frostbitten azaleas, the temperature difference should not be too large; within 10°C is best. This is the same principle as rubbing a frostbitten patient with snow.

Prevention and rescue of cold damage in ornamental plants

1. Prevention of cold damage in ornamental plants:

(1) Choose relatively cold-resistant flower species:Flower enthusiasts should choose species of foliage, flowering, or fruiting plants according to the lowest temperature in normal years in your area or the highest room temperature that can be maintained indoors in winter (generally 5°C~6°C). In ordinary homes in the Yangtze River basin, under conditions without heating equipment, you can choose Camellia japonica, Camellia sasanqua, jasmine, Michelia alba, Clivia miniata, Belgian azalea, wintersweet, wax plum, finger citron, bitter orange, Anthurium andraeanum, Cycas revoluta, etc. You cannot choose Codiaeum variegatum, Maranta species, Fittonia verschaffeltii, Adenium obesum, Hypoestes phyllostachya, Polyscias fruticosa, Phalaenopsis, Dieffenbachia 'Marianne', Syngonium podophyllum, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, etc.

(2) Carry out cold resistance training in stages:For commonly potted plants such as Pinus parviflora, Pinus thunbergii, Pinus densiflora, Pinus taiwanensis, Chaenomeles sinensis, Ulmus parvifolia, Acer buergerianum, wintersweet, Camellia japonica, Ginkgo biloba, Sabina chinensis, Platycladus orientalis, Juniperus chinensis, etc., overwintering in the ground can be considered. It is best to wait until their growth for the year has ended, then carry out freeze resistance training in several stages,

First stageat 0°C~6°C, requiring several days to several weeks, with sufficient light. For evergreens, the starch in the leaves can be converted into sugar, and large vacuoles can divide into several small vacuoles. Some fat-containing tree species can convert starch into fat;

Second stageat -3°C~-5°C, the fine structures and enzymes within the protoplasm reorganize, enabling the cells to tolerate dehydration caused by freezing;

Third stagebetween -10°C~-15°C, enabling the protoplasm to gain stronger freezing tolerance, thereby getting through the cold winter. Some cold-intolerant succulent plants, such as Cleistocactus colademononis, Haworthia, Sedum dendroideum, and Graptopetalum paraguayense, if kept on a balcony or outdoors for a long time, will have a process of gradual adaptation and can raise their cold resistance from 0°C to the level of -5°C~-7°C.

(3) Strengthen cold-resistant cultivation management:After mid-autumn, control the water and fertilizer supply for potted ornamental plants, appropriately increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, promote lignification of branches and full development of tissues, and enhance their cold resistance. For example, a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution can be applied by watering or spraying. Pruning in winter or manually removing some leaves (such as Michelia alba) to reduce the transpiration area can produce good results in preventing low-temperature damage. Strengthen pest and disease control, promote robust plant growth, and prevent autumn shoots or tender shoots from appearing.

(4) Provide freeze protection for the tree body:For tall ground-planted Camellia japonica, Osmanthus fragrans, Michelia figo, Magnolia grandiflora, Phoenix canariensis, Cycas revoluta, etc., the trunk can be wrapped with straw rope or film, the trunk can be whitewashed, or the crown can be sprayed white (7%~10% lime milk); the crown can be covered and tied with plastic film, or wax preparations or liquid plastic can be sprayed, all of which can provide a certain freeze protection effect.

(5) Artificial heating to drive away cold:For potted plants placed in a greenhouse, during particularly cold weather, electric heaters or coal stoves can be used to warm the greenhouse, especially at 5~6 o'clock in the morning, the coldest time of the day, when heating must be emphasized; outside the greenhouse, straw curtains or felt blankets can be added for insulation. In ordinary homes, double-layer plastic bags can be placed over the plants; for potted flowers placed indoors, if conditions permit, the air conditioner can be turned on from about 6 a.m. to about 10 p.m. to avoid cold damage to Anthurium andraeanum, Maranta species, Clivia miniata, Phalaenopsis, Oncidium, Cymbidium sinense, Cymbidium hybridum, etc. For ground-planted flowers and trees such as Camellia japonica, Osmanthus fragrans, and Michelia figo, spraying water on the crown at dawn when frost is about to occur or igniting frost-prevention smoke agents before frost in the morning can effectively prevent “radiative frost."

(6) Delay sprouting to prevent late frost:Using growth regulators or other methods to prolong plant dormancy and delay sprouting can avoid frost caused by early spring cold waves. For example, spraying ground-planted flowering plants before budding or at the end of autumn with B9, ethephon, maleic hydrazide, potassium naphthaleneacetate (250 mg/kg~500 mg/kg), or maleic hydrazide (0.1%~0.2%) solution all have good effects. If potted flowers encounter a "late frost" after being moved outdoors, they can be covered with double-layer large plastic film and uncovered after the temperature rises during the day.

2. Rescue of cold damage in ornamental plants

(1) Reasonable pruning:For plants suffering from cold damage, reasonable pruning measures should be taken, and heavy pruning should not be carried out, otherwise harmful side effects will occur. So how can the pruning amount be properly controlled? It is necessary both to cut the damaged organs back to healthy parts to promote branch renewal and growth, and to ensure the relative balance between aboveground and underground organs.

Generally, pruning immediately after damage can retain 1 cm~2 cm of the damaged branches to prevent the healthy branch portions from drying and shrinking further downward; if pruning after spring begins, it can be cut back to healthy parts to facilitate wound healing; practice has proved that damaged plants that have undergone reasonable pruning recover faster than heavily pruned or unpruned plants. For general evergreen potted woody flowers and foliage plants, all dead parts should be cut off in time, and they should be moved to a relatively warm environment.

(2) Protect and repair wounds:For thick flowering plants with frost damage only to a local part of the trunk base (northwest direction), the necrotic part can be cut away, wound healing agent applied, and then wrapped and protected with film to create a relatively warm small environment for them; for some damaged bonsai plants, bridge grafting or approach grafting to replace roots can be used as a remedy.

(3) Strengthen pest and disease control:After ornamental plants suffer low-temperature damage, because their tree vigor is relatively weak, they are extremely susceptible to pest and disease invasion. Chemical agents can be applied in combination with frost damage control. Among them, fungicides plus moisturizing adhesive agents have better effects, followed by fungicides plus high-fat film. Both are better than simple fungicides or whitewash. This is because the main agent, the fungicide, can only perform surface disinfection and sterilization, while the auxiliary agent, the moisturizing adhesive and high-fat film, both provide moisture retention and increase temperature, all of which are beneficial to the formation of callus tissue in frost-cracked bark, thereby promoting healing of frostbite.

(4) Fertilize cautiously:For plants that have suffered frost damage, high-concentration chemical fertilizers should not be applied immediately after overwintering. Instead, after the temperature rises and the root system recovers its absorption function, low-concentration liquid fertilizer should be sprayed or watered on. For example, 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate and 0.3% urea solution can be applied alternately by spraying or watering, and the effects are very good.

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