Harvey Mungaknuts Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Is there some kind of food or something I can add to soil around one? we moved one a couple years ago and it has gotten worse looking over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Azaleas need special fertilizers formulated for acid loving plants. You could try mulching with wood chips and pruning after it blooms. Like many plants azaleas deteriorate with age. I have a yellow one that is probably 25 years old and it isn't what it once was. I keep trying to bring it back but I don't think that it is going to happen. Bon, steelnut and LFG 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 You could try using long pine needles around the base of the bush as a mulch. The needles have everything that acid loving plants wants, just add water. Although this year you can pay off the watering somewhat. lavender 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Pine needles are excellent but they will take some time to break down. A bucket of Miracid or something similar would be a quick fix if your soil is too alkaline or the plant needs some nitrogen. The mulch will take longer to fix the problem. . Also, if you moved the plant into soil that doesn't drain very well the roots might not be getting the air they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 When you moved the bush, did you move it where it doesn't get as much sunlight?? Did you move it from rich soil to clayish type soil? Or vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 21 hours ago, Harvey Mungaknuts said: Is there some kind of food or something I can add to soil around one? we moved one a couple years ago and it has gotten worse looking over the years. First of all, was it planted properly to begin with, in the correct location for light, water, soil type? Second, did you do a soil test? The soil could be way too acidic or alkaline. Either way the plant isn't going to be able to take up the nutrients it needs even if they are present in the soil. You can get a Penn State Soil Test Kit at DuBois Feeds or Agway for $9. Collect the soil, mail it in, and you'll get a quality report back in about 2 weeks. Then you can amend the soil properly. How does the plant look? Yellowed, drooping or dropping leaves, blackened spots? It could also be a pest or a disease. Got a picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanibel Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Just a thought....a couple of years ago, we had such a cold winter that we lost about a quarter of out dogwood tree, part of our tree peony, and some of our perennials. It could be still suffering from that winter. Bon and steelnut 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Mungaknuts Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 2 hours ago, Bon said: When you moved the bush, did you move it where it doesn't get as much sunlight?? Did you move it from rich soil to clayish type soil? Or vice versa. probably gets more light and soil might have been better than where it was as it was a packed soil to a loose soil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Sanibel just might be right!! We lost 2 or 3 holly bushes, our rhodies looked terrible till hubby trimmed the hell out of them (beautiful this spring), & the same with our lilacs. Very few flowers this spring because he only wanted to do 1 kind of bushes a year. I would say trim off the bad branches a little at a time. This is besides feeding it. If you decide to put wood chips or pine needles under the bush, do not put them right up against the bark. Don't put any mulch up against your shrubs or tree's ever!! That's inviting bugs & fungus problems. I hope that helped you some, if not, keep asking questions. We will get to the root of the problem!! LOL steelnut and Sanibel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Building on Sanibel's idea there are all sorts of azaleas. Some are evergreen and some are deciduous. These varieties are native to different climates and have different degrees of cold tolerance and heat tolerance. Then there are the hybrids so it is difficult to know how hardy an azalea actually is unless you bought it with a tag. It is entirely possible that you hit close to the tolerance range of your azalea. Bon's suggestions are good ones and hopefully it will pull through. All of my azaleas have survived the past winters except one miniature one. I recently picked up one on sale at Loew's but should have known better. It looked as though the frost had hit it. When I started to plant it I looked at the tag and it is only hardy to zone 6. I'm not expecting it to survive for many years. Maybe I'll get lucky and the roots will make it through. Sanibel and Bon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 On 6/21/2017 at 7:34 PM, Bon said: Sanibel just might be right!! We lost 2 or 3 holly bushes, our rhodies looked terrible till hubby trimmed the hell out of them (beautiful this spring), & the same with our lilacs. Very few flowers this spring because he only wanted to do 1 kind of bushes a year. I would say trim off the bad branches a little at a time. This is besides feeding it. If you decide to put wood chips or pine needles under the bush, do not put them right up against the bark. Don't put any mulch up against your shrubs or tree's ever!! That's inviting bugs & fungus problems. I hope that helped you some, if not, keep asking questions. We will get to the root of the problem!! LOL Hubby trims everything judiciously every year and our rhodies and all of the others come back great. Now as to azaleas I know that I've planted at least 50 over the years, not one has survived and I babied them, followed all kinds of advice to no avail. Evidently they hate our soil. Pretty much like fruit trees. Our pear trees like our soil, apples are so so. Plums are a no go. I had two peach trees that lasted 20 years, only produced 7 times, but they were so good! They eventually gave up the good fight. I just had to admit and agree with hubby tonight that our best pear tree is also done for this year. I could cry, the very best pears that I've ever had from anywhere, but it's been slowly getting worse and worse. Hubby trims them each year and we've tried numerous things, but nothing is working. I thought about getting another like it, but we're getting older and by the time it would be ready to produce, I hope to be traveling? Yeah right, we'll be right here, who am I kidding. Sanibel and lavender 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 You may want to try a Penn State Soil Test kit to see if the problem might be there. They're $9 at either DuBois Feeds or Agway. That said, we're on the edge or zones 4-5-6 here in this area. Depending on the micro-climate of your property, it may be too cold for some trees to survive for more than a few years, or you may have a very humid area with little air flow which will foster disease. Either one will eventually kill off even a formerly producing tree by weakening their immune system. If you have a sample then you can drop it off at the Extension office nearest you. You can also send pictures. It's all free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Steelnut, put in new trees! We are ancient and just put in a bunch. Get the semi-dwart. Hanzley's says they will be producing in a few years. If you aren't there to pick the deer and your neighbors will love you. You are never too old to plant a tree. Some things hate my yard too. Mostly it is poor drainage. We live with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 20 hours ago, lavender said: Steelnut, put in new trees! We are ancient and just put in a bunch. Get the semi-dwart. Hanzley's says they will be producing in a few years. If you aren't there to pick the deer and your neighbors will love you. You are never too old to plant a tree. Some things hate my yard too. Mostly it is poor drainage. We live with it. All of ours are the semi-dwarf and I'd really like to pant some more, but at this point hubby is totally against it. I'll probably work on him about it, we'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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