How to care for northern azaleas in summer? Detailed explanation of methods for safely getting through summer

Azaleas prefer a cool, humid, well-ventilated environment. Due to the influence of temperature, light, humidity and other conditions in northern regions, azaleas must endure some challenges in the northern summer. If not handled well, multiple diseases can accumulate at once, the leaves can drop completely and the plant can die. So how can it get through the hot summer smoothly? Roughly, the following points should be grasped:

Ventilation. Northern azaleas all overwinter in greenhouses. As spring arrives, temperatures keep rising. In early April, the indoor temperature at noon can reach around 28°C, and at this point ventilation should begin, otherwise some difficult-to-treat diseases will arise, especially leaf drop disease. You can first open a few vents at the upper rear of the greenhouse, and then gradually increase them as the temperature rises. When the outside temperature does not drop below 10°C at night, the entire plastic film can be removed completely, leaving only the shade net.

Shading. In late March, the midday light in the north is already quite strong, and the leaves near the front of the plastic will be scorched, turning reddish-brown. At this point, shade netting should be put up in time. Open it in the morning and evening, and cover it at noon when the light is strong. Increase the shading time day by day; there is no need to shade on cloudy and rainy days. This layer of shade netting can be laid along the direction of the greenhouse frame and secured with pressure lines. By the end of May, two layers of shade netting can be installed to achieve more than 75% shading in summer. This layer of netting can be fixed in the air with thin wire parallel to the ground, which can both provide shade and increase ventilation conditions, making the environment inside the net cooler.

Water. With the arrival of spring, the water demand of azaleas also gradually increases. In mid-April, on sunny days they can be watered once a day, with individual plants checked for water needs. In mid-May, they can be watered once a day and sprayed once more. After June, in addition to a thorough watering once a day, frequent spraying is also often needed to increase humidity and lower temperature, keeping the temperature between 15°C and 25°C and the relative air humidity at around 70%. Since the plastic film has already been removed at this time, there is generally no possibility of disease due to heavy water use and poor ventilation. This is exactly the good environment for azalea growth in summer.

The above three points are the main conditions. For the rest, such as not placing them too densely, not allowing water to stand in the pots, applying alum fertilizer water once every half month, and adding one application of ferrous sulfate water in between, with a concentration of 3% to 5%, which can be sprayed on the leaves or poured at the roots. In addition, you can use 1000 times diluted dicofol mixed with 500 times diluted chlorothalonil, spraying once about every 20 days, which can ensure the plants are robust and disease-free. With such care, there is no need to worry about azaleas safely getting through summer!