Rhododendron has faded: what to do next
Content:
When summer passes the middle, many flowering plants are already fading, flower stalks look withered and unkempt, spoil the look of the shrub and the garden as a whole. This is what happens when the rhododendron has faded, what to do next? Below is a detailed description of how to properly prune the bushes after flowering and prepare them for winter.
Shrub description
The most flowering varieties of rhododendrons are called azaleas. They can be deciduous and evergreen. The latter are widespread in indoor floriculture and are cultivated in greenhouses. Deciduous azaleas are characterized by high winter hardiness, slow growth, long growing season, they need soil with an acidic reaction of the environment.
What to do with rhododendron after flowering
Many growers are interested in how long rhododendrons bloom and whether it is necessary to cut off faded flowers from azaleas and rhododendrons in summer. Flowering of all species is short - 2-3 weeks. Pruning rhododendrons after flowering and during the period of ovary formation is a mandatory measure if the plants are not grown for seed.
How to prune an azalea after flowering
When the faded inflorescences dry out and easily break out by hand, they begin to manually clean the bush by removing the ovaries. The fact is that, if you do not remove them, the plant organism begins to intensively direct nutrients to the ripening seeds. If there are a lot of them, then this happens to the detriment of the laying of flower buds for the next year.
Shortening azalea shoots from the ground
In addition, in the summer after flowering, you can safely trim long green shoots to increase the degree of branching and bushiness of the plant, bringing its shape to a round or conical shape. The pruning length ranges from 5 to 20 cm. It is important to feel the dormant buds under the pruning site. This will ensure the formation of new shoots, which buds can give next year.
Shortening of thin apical shoots
Young shoots often begin to grow from the ovaries. How to be in this case? It is recommended to pluck young shoots together with the ovaries, as they thicken the bush strongly. If there is a feeling that the bush is not sprawling enough, then the strongest young shoots are left.
How to prune a rhododendron after flowering if the bush is old with a lot of branches 4-5 years old? In the summer, you can safely carry out anti-aging pruning. To do this, thick branches are cut down at the height of the formation of a bush - 30-40 cm.The number of branches is also reduced: for a spreading bush, 7-10 branches are left, for a compact one - 3-5.
Anti-aging pruning in summer
Types of pruning
To make it more clear how to prune a rhododendron, you need to familiarize yourself with the types of pruning used when growing this ornamental plant.
Starting
This is the first pruning in the life of a plant, which is carried out when it is planted in a permanent place. It consists in shortening the branches by 1 / 3-1 / 4 of the length that the plant had in the nursery. It is necessary to concentrate nutrients at the points of growth of the bush.
Sanitary
It is carried out after the winter period, as well as during the growing season. Damaged, diseased or broken branches are removed. It can be carried out using the technology with a complete cut off the shoot "on the ring" or shortening it.
Rejuvenating
It is carried out on plants aged 15-20 years in order to stimulate the growth of new shoots and the formation of more flowers. Can be carried out in spring, summer after flowering or in late autumn before shelter.
Formative pruning and pinching of rhododendrons
The final formation of the bushes should be completed in 3-4 years. By this time, the number of branches left during the annual spring pruning and their length should be accurately determined. Growths at the end of summer can be 12-15 cm. The correct formation of the azalea bush is shown in the photo below.
Correct formation of azaleas
Post-flowering care
One thing to do with the rhododendron after flowering is to continue to care for the plant as planned. Rhododendrons and azaleas are moisture-loving crops, in many regions they suffer from soil and atmospheric drought.
In addition to watering, it is necessary to mulch the soil under the bushes and feed them. It is good to use spruce or pine needles and peat as mulch. These organic materials acidify the soil. Under the mulch, the soil does not dry out, you can not carry out overflow irrigation, but use only sprinkler irrigation.
What fertilizer to use for rhododendrons
The ornamental culture does not make high demands on the soil, since there are no highly fertile areas in its natural habitat. But it cannot be left completely without fertilizers. Indicators that it is time to apply top dressing are growth retardation, a decrease in the number of buds, pale foliage and flowers. If yellow spots appear on the leaves, their surface turns brown, becomes thinner and torn, then this indicates a lack of nitrogen and potassium, with reddening of the leaf - a lack of phosphorus.
In spring, ammonium nitrate, 30-40 g per 1 m² of the trunk circle, is effective for high-quality care of rhododendron and activation of growth processes. After flowering and trimming the ovaries, fertilizing is given in the form of Azofosk mineral fertilizer at a dose of 20-30 g per 1 m². In August, superphosphate (15-20 g) and chlorine-free potassium fertilizer potassium sulfate - 15-20 g per 1 m² are needed.
Preparing for the winter and shelter for the winter
Rhododendrons are frost-hardy, and the main purpose of arranging a winter shelter is to protect blossoming buds from frost in the spring and to protect branches that have not yet matured in autumn from it.
Before the shelter, the bushes are trimmed, removing too long and thin shoots. Overly spreading specimens can be pulled slightly with twine. A wooden or wire frame is installed over the plant, on which a white covering material is pulled. There should be a layer of air under the shelter so that the foliage does not rot and the shoots can go through the final stage of leaf fall. In spring, young leaves often begin to open under cover and buds form.
The opening of the bushes is made when the threat of recurrent frosts has passed. This process can be gradual. At first, only the top of the plant is opened, and after 7-10 days the material can be completely removed from the site.
Features of preparation for winter in different regions
In regions, the shelter time of bushes can vary greatly. It depends on the climatic features of the autumn period. In coastal areas, the autumn period is warm and humid, and the winter is short. Shelter of azaleas in such places can be skipped.But, if the autumn is long and dry, as, for example, in the south of the Volga region, then you still cannot do without the shelter of the bushes. Under the shelter, the air humidity will be higher, and the plants will survive the winter better. In the temperate climate of the Moscow region and Western Siberia, rhododendrons do not have enough warm days to complete the growing season and should be covered earlier.
How to keep a plant dry
Situations are not uncommon when in the spring they took a container plant from the nursery, it bloomed, and then the beloved rhododendron began to dry out. The usual post-flowering care does not help the plant to cope and it continues to wither. The reason is that the root system has gone beyond the clod of earth that was in the container and began to extract nutrients from the soil of the site. The reaction of the environment in the soil of the site and the container soil does not coincide, and the plant begins to die.
An acidifying solution is easy to prepare by adding 1-2 sachets of citric acid to 1 liter of irrigation water. If a drip irrigation system is laid on the site, then water with orthophosphoric acid can be regularly supplied to the pipes. This measure will help maintain the pH of the soil solution at the required level of 4.5-5 and will help cleanse the drip irrigation system from salt deposits and clogging.
Another reason that rhododendron dries up is the low humidity of the surface air. It is necessary to radically change the air humidity in the area towards its increase, we will equip a reservoir with a ryazh. Rhododendrons respond positively to planting near mini-ponds for a number of reasons:
- the superficial root system more easily extracts water infiltrated from the reservoir and dissolved nutrients;
- air humidity at a height of 1-1.5 m is optimized;
- in the fall, frosts later occur in the area with reservoirs.
If the arrangement of sprinkler irrigation and a reservoir is not possible, the use of a hydrogel will help to provide moisture access to the root system of the rhododendron. The granules of the substance are pre-saturated with water with an acidic reaction of the medium and immersed to the depth of root propagation (8-12 cm). This measure is necessary if you need to leave.
Possible errors and their consequences
The following are possible mistakes when pruning rhododendrons.
- Summer pruning too late. Pruning branches in the second half of summer is fraught with the fact that it is possible to provoke an increased growth of shoots from the buds, which the plant laid for the next year. In this case, the bush may even bloom before winter. Young shoots will not have time to prepare, overgrow with dense bark and acquire winter hardiness.
- Over-pruning throughout the season can have the same effect. The shoots have dormant buds that have been dormant for many years. From excessive pruning, they can wake up, and the bush will quickly begin to age, complete the full cycle of its development with possible death. To avoid the negative consequences and death of the shrub, it is necessary to adhere to the rule of moderation in pruning branches.
- In addition, you should try to trim over the buds, making neat cuts. If cuts are made high above the buds, then part of the shoot dies off, and the bushes take on an untidy look.
- Only strong ovaries are selected to collect seeds. They are left, and around the dried perianths and parts of flowers are manually removed. If it is necessary to carry out targeted pollination, then gauze bags are put on the flowers in order to avoid accidental pollination by neighboring bushes. Pollination of flowers is carried out manually with pollen of selected forms. This is a very interesting activity, although the result will have to wait a long time. It takes 4-5 years for a new plant grown from a pollinated seed to bloom.
