What are the home care methods and precautions for azaleas?

"At dusk the wind blows through the ancient trees of the plain, and the cuckoo cries as flowers fill the forest" - I believe everyone is familiar with this line of poetry. It captures the beauty of azaleas in full bloom, when a sea of red covers the mountains and fields, which is why the azalea is also called yingshanhong ("reddening the mountains").

Many flower lovers, eager to see the beauty of azaleas, want to grow 2-3 pots in their own garden and create the beauty of red blooms themselves. However, what many flower lovers encounter is that the plant is covered in blooms when newly bought, but before long all the flowers drop off, and worse still, the leaves turn black and wither. So how do you grow azaleas?

In fact, growing azaleas is fairly difficult. First is light: they are very sun-loving and shade-tolerant, so you can choose a south-facing balcony. In the morning and evening, you can take them out to get some sun, but at noon, shade them appropriately, trying to imitate their original environment as much as possible. Second, azaleas love water - so exactly how much watering do they need? This needs to be decided according to the different environment of each place. It is recommended to water when dry and let dry between waterings: feel the potting soil with your hand, and if it is dry, water it thoroughly; otherwise, there is no need to water.

Then azaleas also have requirements for humidity: humidity needs to be kept above 50% for them to grow well. Therefore, it is recommended to spray some water on the leaves and around the flowerpot every 2-3 days to increase humidity, because azalea leaves and branches have many fine hairs and can absorb moisture from the air. But note that if they are already blooming, be sure to avoid the flower heads and only spray the roots. Doing this can reduce the occurrence of wilting in azaleas.

Finally, regarding soil choice for azaleas: because they are acid-loving plants, the soil's pH requirements are relatively high. Daily watering with tap water can also make the soil alkaline, especially in the north where alkaline water is particularly strong. In this case, you need to use ferrous sulfate to adjust the acidity (dilute 1:1000 with clean water) and water it in; in the south this can be ignored. As for fertilizing, it is recommended to use potassium dihydrogen phosphate (dilute 1:1500) and apply it as a drench about once every 10 days. If you have the conditions, you can buy some base fertilizer for it in winter; sheep manure or chicken manure are both fine.