Azalea is a shrub from the heather family. It is considered primarily a horticultural crop, but dwarf azaleas are quite suitable for growing indoors. The main problem that flower growers face is the demand for this beautiful plant for air and soil moisture.
It is necessary
- - heteroauxin;
- - coniferous land;
- - high-moor peat;
- - expanded clay;
- - flower pot;
- - complex mineral fertilizer for azaleas.
Instructions
Step 1
To grow azaleas from cuttings, cut a few young shoots about five centimeters long. This should be done after the plant has finished blooming. Prepare a solution of heteroauxin at the rate of one tablet per liter of water and soak the cuttings in it for ten hours.
Step 2
Plant the treated cuttings in a mixture of softwood and high-moor peat, burying them two centimeters in the ground, and cover with a glass jar. Some growers recommend rooting azaleas in complete darkness. Anyway, place the cuttings pot out of direct sunlight; the cuttings will take two to three months to root. All this time, they should be sprayed with soft water, maintaining the air humidity in the region of eighty percent. In this case, the air temperature should be about twenty degrees.
Step 3
Once the cuttings are rooted, carefully transplant them into wide, shallow pots, being careful not to damage the root system. Place a drainage layer about a quarter of the pot's height on the bottom of the container. On top of the drain, place a layer of an acidic potting mix of two to one coniferous soil and high-moor peat. Spread out the roots and sprinkle them with soil, being careful not to deepen the root collar.
Step 4
For normal growth, place the azalea in a bright room with a temperature between eighteen and twenty degrees. In winter, it is better to keep the plant at a temperature of fifteen to eighteen degrees in a room without drafts. Azaleas require an air humidity of about eighty percent, so on hot days the plant should be sprayed with soft water. At the time of flowering, spraying is stopped so that dark spots do not appear on the flowers.
Step 5
Once a week, the pot of azalea should be placed in a container of water and kept there until the soil is saturated with moisture.
Step 6
Three times a month, the plant should be fed with complex mineral fertilizers for azaleas.
Step 7
After flowering, dried inflorescences and weak shoots should be cut off from the plant. Very elongated shoots should also be pruned, leaving no more than five leaves on them.
Step 8
Young azaleas should be transplanted into a larger pot each year. For old plants, replanting every three years after flowering is sufficient.
