Azaleas are a wonderful way to transform the garden into a colorful variety - but this only works if the location is right.
Azaleas are a genus in the rhododendron family and can be roughly divided into three categories that make garden design much easier. The short varieties are suitable e.g. for rock gardens. Medium-sized azaleas reach a height of up to 1.20 meters and can definitely freshen up flower beds or smaller hedges. The high azaleas with up to two meters form wonderful flowering hedges and privacy screens.
What the outdoor azaleas have in common is that they form a colorful display of flowers and sometimes even have an evergreen dress in winter. Depending on the region, you can choose different types of plants. Remember that azaleas, which lose their foliage over the winter, are less sensitive to the cold than evergreen rhododendrons.
The right location for outdoor azaleas
The azalea is a fairly undemanding plant, which simplifies the choice of location. You should make sure that the soil is not calcareous, but rather acidic and quite cool (pH 4 to 5). To do this, you can easily test the pH value in the soil. This way you can be sure that your azaleas will thrive. Such a soil pH test is e.g. available from Amazon:
The plants don't like standing water either, which is why you should only plant them in depressions where the moisture can easily escape from the soil. Whether you place the plants in full sun or in semi-shade is almost irrelevant. Only the flowers are not quite as magnificent in a shady location.
Little tip:
If you want to create the best conditions for your azaleas, you can dig up the soil about eight inches deep and put a layer of mulch or peat on the soil. Pine needle litter and forest humus, for example, are suitable as mulch. Alternatively, special rhododendron soil is available.
➤ Caution:
Never mix beech leaves under the soil or use compost containing beech leaves. This can change the pH of the soil.
Is the floorIf your garden is rather damp, heavy or if you are afraid of waterlogging, you can fill the lower part of the planting hole with gravel. This way there is easy drainage and the root does not stand in the water.
The right location for indoor azaleas
In addition to the plants belonging to the rhododendron, you will receive numerous indoor azaleas that cannot remain outside permanently. The houseplant is susceptible to frost, but does not necessarily like greater heat. The Rhododendron Simsii variant in particular should never be near the heater, also because the flowers last longer when the ambient temperature is relatively cool. Indoor azaleas prefer a semi-shady place. You have found the right location if:
- the ambient temperature is between 15 and 20 degrees,
- the location is partially shaded and
- Sunlight favors budding.
If you take all these criteria into account when choosing a location, nothing stands in the way of a rich bloom.