Azalea's Half Dead.

jimbly

We have these azalea's or to be more correct she has. They always look half dead and never come to much. Do we have the wrong soil or something.
They seem to be able to colonise most of Killarney National Park OK but will they grow in our small, garden, no such luck.
Help and suggestions please. No we are not moving to Killarney, yet.

Marhay70

jimbly wrote: »

We have these azalea's or to be more correct she has. They always look half dead and never come to much. Do we have the wrong soil or something.
They seem to be able to colonise most of Killarney National Park OK but will they grow in our small, garden, no such luck.
Help and suggestions please. No we are not moving to Killarney, yet.

I'm assuming they are planted in the garden and not in pots, in which case the answer might be that your soil is unsuitable. Azaleas need acidic soil so if your soil has a limey content they will not thrive, buy a simple soil testing kit in a garden centre and follow instructions. If your soil is limey you can either add lots of peat or dig up the plants and plant in pots of ericaceous compost. Other causes can be waterlogging or just poor plants.

jimbly

Thanks for the reply, I suspect we are just too wet because we are not limey and the have got so poor now they will always look half dead

lottpaul

When you say the soil is "too wet" - is this a year round problem or just the winter time? Azaleas can tolerate plenty of rainfall but wont appreciate being waterlogged. Are the leaves on the surviving parts a bright green or a bit faded etc?
A soil test might be a good idea anyway - if you decide to get rid of the azaleas its useful to know what the soil is like before you plant any replacements.

looksee

Could you put up a pic? Maybe just feeding them might improve them. I don't usually recommend feeding shrubs but if they are sickly it might help.