Save the azalea - why does a plant drop leaves and what to do to solve the problem?
Azalea is a beautiful plant with simple and double flowers of the most delicate shades. Every woman dreams of having such a decoration at home. But with its cultivation, many difficulties often arise. It so happens that bought a bright, flowering bush, after a week begins to fall and is a miserable sight. In the article, we will explain why the rhododendron begins to dry out and discards green leaves, and sometimes buds, is it possible to save a plant that has all the foliage fallen off, how and what to do at home for resuscitation.
Causes of leaf fall
Fatal leaf fall begins if proper care for this capricious plant is interrupted. If your flower completely lost its leaves, urgent need to take measures to save it. Otherwise, azalea will die from a lack of good nutrition.
By the appearance of the foliage, one can judge the health of the bush.Instructions on what to do depending on the reason
Let us consider in detail what to do if:
- Flowers fall and buds dry:
- Why is a houseplant dropping flowers and how to revive it in this case? Perhaps you hurried with a new pet transplant. Support the root system of the plant - spill the substrate with a solution of zircon.
- Azalea can be transplanted only in the first half of spring. It is advisable to use transshipment so as not to damage the roots. Pick a pot 1-2 cm smaller than the crown of the plant. Fill the bottom of the tank with drainage.
- Do not rearrange the blooming azalea from place to place.
- Yellowed and fallen leaves. Water only with soft water. If the situation does not improve, then change the soil, perhaps clay soil has got into the pot.
- Why green leaves showered and what care is needed in this case?
- Inspect the plant carefully. If you see the finest threads on the underside of the sheet and in the internodes, then the cause of the trouble is a spider mite.
- Do not forget about daily spraying and treat the azalea and all plants in the apartment with an acaricidal preparation (for example, Fitoverm).
- Brown, up to blackening, leafletswhich azalea showers, means that the flower is sick with a fungal infection. Remove all affected leaves, treat the flower and soil in the pot with fungicidal preparations.
- Now let's see why indoor rhododendron leaves turn red and fly aroundwhat to do if a plant takes off almost all the leaves and what can be done to save the flower.
- The cause may be a sunburn. Remove the plant from direct sunlight.
- If you have never fertilized a plant, then the flower lacks phosphorus. Fertilize it. Carefully refer to the recommended dose and the timing of feeding.
- Reddening of the leaves can befall a reapproved plant. In this case, wash the ground by putting the azalea in the washbasin and pour the water into the pot so that it does not drain over the edge of the pot, but only from the drainage holes. Excess fertilizer will go with the water.
- Brown border around the edge of the sheet plate:
- Most often this is due to dry air. Adjust humidification mode.
- If the plant stands close to the glass, mechanical damage is possible.
Preventive measures
Careful implementation of all necessary agricultural techniques is the best prevention of shedding.The azalea bought in the store, which was inevitably grown on special top dressing in greenhouse conditions, must be patiently and carefully acclimatized to the conditions of the apartment and provided with proper care.
Rhododendron Care
If the plant began to drop leaves, but you managed to save it, the question naturally arises - what to do next, how to care for the rhododendron at home, to protect the green friend from repeating such a disaster. Here are the most important rules.
- Organize proper watering:
- For watering use only soft, settled cool water. Boiled, distilled or drinking water is suitable. You can put small ice cubes on the ground in a plant pot with a plant. They will gradually melt, cool the plant and maintain soil moisture.
- Keep track of the moisture of the substrate in which the azalea grows. It should not be waterlogged, but also drying is unacceptable. Watering is best done through a pan that is lined with pebbles, expanded clay or sphagnum moss. This will help maintain an ideal microclimate around the flower. The second option for watering is the complete immersion of the flower pot in a container of water until air bubbles from the substrate no longer come out.
- Water needs to be slightly acidified by adding five to ten drops of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice per liter. Watering with such a solution is required once a month.
- At the bottom of the pot in the root area, it is good to put an agricultural hydrogel. It will not allow to fill in the azalea, absorbing excess moisture, and will not let it die if you forget about watering.It is useless to pour granules onto the surface of the earth; they dry quickly.
- If necessary, transplant the plant:
- Only acid soil is suitable, so use either ready-made professional mixtures for azaleas, or make it yourself by mixing 1: 1 acid peat and overripe pine litter.
- You can not plant, deepening the root neck.
- Azalea can be transplanted only after the end of the flowering period.
- Provide the necessary lighting: the plant loves bright light, but does not tolerate direct sunlight. It is preferable to settle it on the east window. On the southern windows, a flower pot must be shaded or placed on a stand in the back of the room.
- Create the desired microclimate: Azaleas require high humidity, so it needs daily spraying on the leaves with soft water. Adjust the spray gun so that the water droplets resemble fog. Large drops of water can harm foliage and leave ugly spots. Do not spray flowers and buds.
- Grow azalea in a cool room: comfortable air temperature up to 15-18 degrees of heat.
- Before and after flowering, feed the plant special fertilizers for heather plants.
When growing this flower, remember that in its annual cycle of life there is a pronounced period of rest. It falls on the summer months. It is very important in hot weather - to provide coolness and proper hydration. It is easiest to do this outside the apartment, for example, at a summer cottage.
In September, at a temperature of +6 - +8 degrees, the plant prepares for a new flowering wave and lays buds. After that, the azalea can be brought into the room, put in a bright, cool place, protected from heating devices.
So, we examined what to do in different cases - starting from the moment when the rhododendron only lowered the leaves and loses them a little bit and ending with when it crumbled all over. In conclusion, we say that it is better not to bring the plant to such a disastrous state, but to observe simple preventive care measures. This plant feels comfortable if it is given a lot of attention and care. Only under such conditions, it will not drop leaves and will delight you with magnificent flowering.