can this azalea be saved?

[Quirky]

A lot of our azaleas are in pretty poor shape from not being cared for for years before we bought our house and/or being planted in the wrong locations. One in particular that was planted in deep shade, and is basically a remaining branch or two. I would have thought the poor thing was a total lost cause and I was about to rip it out, but the remaining two branches just produced the most gorgeous flowers -- white with a yellow throat. I haven't seen an azalea like this before and I would love to save it and find a better spot for it.

Is there any way to root a cutting or somehow start over with this plant? How can I propagate it from what's left? It probably has a fairly sizable root ball that would be hard to dig up and transplant so I was hoping to be able to start over with what's above-ground, and with a more compact form.

picture here

[serenetabbie]

I think what you have may be a rhododendron and not an azalea. If it is an azalea, is it an evergreen or deciduous? I don't think it is a deciduous (I think Exburys are one and they are not white as far as I know, but there are others)... but the leaves look so new. How is the (what is it? a barberry next to it? a velvet boxwood? I can't really tell from the photo) doing? The Rhodo does look like it is growing out towards the sun more, how much sun does it get a day about? Your plant might also be suffering from other things such as wind, temperature extremes (the white siding reflects a lot of light & heat) or poor soil.


The main stem of the plant does not look like it was a large plant to begin with. Rhodos (and azaleas) are pretty shallow rooted, so digging it up should not be a problem. Be sure to dig wide... they spread more than they go deep. You can add pine needles (not an issue where you are I am sure!) to help with acidity in the soil and some compost to make sure the soil is not too sandy or clay-y. Water it, but be careful not to over water it since they do not like to have wet feet. While spring is the best time to move them for your area, if you have to move it now I would certainly wait until the blooms are off but before it gets super hot. When you replant it, be sure to put it in a spot that will be sheltered from the hot, direct afternoon sun in all seasons and out of the wind. They like more filtered light like any other understory plant.

HTH!

ETA; evergreen azaleas can be propagated by taking a cutting in the winter, putting it in perlite/sand or perlite/peat, and putting that over low heat (like a seed starting heat pad). In 6 to 8 weeks they should root.

[Quirky]

Hmmm, I really don't think it's a rhododendron, it didn't have buds like our rhodys do -- I think it may be a deciduous azalea because until the leaves came out I was pretty sure it was dead sticks! Def. doesn't have the waxy dark green leaves like our rhododendrons do.

I'm not sure what the bush next to it is, but it's evergreen and is doing great, and there's lots of hostas right next to it and they're doing great as well. (Barberries have thorns, right? This doesn't have any.)

The azaleas just around the corner are doing fine (although still recovering from massive shearing by the previous owners) so I don't think the soil is too too crappy, and I don't think it gets too hot on that side of the house at all -- huge trees on that side and the pathway right in front of the azalea is mostly moss (with dandelions ).

If it's a deciduous azalea, does that mean that taking a cutting won't work?

[serenetabbie]

I still have a hard time telling some of the azaleas from Rhodos! They are in the same family. To me, some of them look so much alike even when they are right in front of me. In our nursery, we have Rhodos that look a lot like your photo. The new growth on both plants are the lighter green like yours. It sounds like you have a perfect spot for it to move to which ever it is!

I am not sure about the propagation of the deciduous azaleas, the only ones I have ever potted up were evergreen. I want to say they graft them... but honestly I do not know. I am sure someone else would know the answer to that

Yeah, Barberries bite :P. Does your other evergreen get berries?

Oh, I found this link...
http://www.azaleas.org/index.pl/azaleas.html
I am really curious now to find out what you have!

[Quirky]

Not those evergreens, no - maybe they're a boxwood of some type? They don't have the "cat pee" smell I associate with boxwood, but I'm no plant expert.

[serenetabbie]

I'm no expert either. I will have to make a point of sniffing the boxwoods the next time I am back there !