How to grow azaleas? A detailed guide to cultivation methods

Azaleas are beautiful, and everyone is willing to grow them, but how do you grow them well? There is a lot of know-how here. Azaleas like acidic soil and water, and are afraid of alkaline soil and water, and afraid of waterlogging: they like cool temperatures and are afraid of dry heat, they like a humid environment and are afraid of dry air; they like partial shade and are afraid of blazing sun; they like light fertilizer and are afraid of concentrated fertilizer. What soil to use: larch humus soil has suitable acidity, is loose in texture, fertile, and has good water permeability, making it suitable for azalea growth.

What water to use: water for azaleas should preferably have a pH value below 7. In areas where the water tends to be alkaline, besides storing rainwater and snow water, acidified water can be used, that is, add 0.1% ferrous sulfate to one hundred jin of water and use it for watering year-round. If the acidity is not enough, a few drops of vinegar can be added as a supplement. How to water:

(1) Use "aged water", that is, let the water sit and be exposed to the sun in the same temperature place as the azaleas. Water from fish tanks, rainwater, and river water can also be used.

(2) Do not water if the soil is not dry, and do not let it get too dry either; if it is too dry the leaves will wilt.

(3) When watering, be sure to water thoroughly.

(4) Winter and summer are different. In winter the leaves are fine, and in summer being a bit moist does no harm. During the flowering period, do not water too much; too much easily causes bud drop and early withering; in spring and autumn the wind is strong and the air is dry, so sufficient water must be ensured.

Pay attention to spraying the leaf surfaces and the ground to maintain a certain humidity. Fertilizing azaleas requires a lighter amount of fertilizer than other flowers. The general rule is: fertilize during the growing period, do not fertilize during the dormant period; fertilize when vigorous, do not fertilize diseased plants; fertilize when leaf buds are active, and it is fine not to fertilize when they are not active.

What fertilizer is good? Acidic and mildly alkaline fertilizers are preferable, requiring mild fertilizer strength and long-lasting fertilizer effect, and also requiring relatively high content of the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. For example, soybean cake, soybeans, sesame paste residue, rice-washing water, horse hoof slices, meat-washing water, egg products, milk water, sheep manure, etc. all contain various components of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

The legend of the cuckoo crying blood: the cuckoo bird is commonly known as the cuckoo, and is also called zigui or zijuan. In spring and summer, the cuckoo cries ceaselessly all night, with a crisp and short call, arousing many kinds of feelings in people. If you look closely, the cuckoo's oral epithelium and tongue are both red; the ancients mistakenly thought it cried until its mouth was full of blood. As it happens, when the cuckoo sings loudly, it is exactly when the azaleas are in full bloom. Seeing how bright red the azaleas are, people described this color as the blood cried by the cuckoo. Just as the Tang dynasty poet Cheng Yanxiong wrote, "The azalea flower and the bird, how far apart are resentment and beauty; one suspects it is the blood from its mouth, dripping into flowers on the branch."