Marianne's Response
madison-question
I live in zone x where it’s hard to grow azaleas. My wife’s from Charlotte and wants to see them in our garden. I might add, the soil is clay with limestone bedrock. Are there any tricks to placing azaleas in the garden — like, in a sheltered area, in direct sunlight, or what have you? Thanking you in advance for any advice, Marianne.
Posted by on December 8, 2006
Marianne's Response
Azaleas need acid soil to survive so dig a large hole and add peat moss or grow them in containers with plenty of peatmoss and remember to use a plant food made for acid loving plants. Azaleas are shallow rooted so they need lots of water during hot weather but must have really good drainage - so if you do the pot thing make sure there are plenty of drainage holes and that the pot sits up on feet so it can drain freely. Azaleas also hate the hot sun but love the morning sun. Good luck on the challenge - part of the fun of gardening is trying to grow what may be more challenging.
