Nancy
Azaleas can be planted at any time of the year, even if they are in bloom but it is best to plant them in the early fall so they have a chance to adjust to their new home before winter freezes.
When you are shopping for an azalea, there are many factors to consider. Whether it is sold in a pot with it's rootball wrapped in burlap is of little consequence, nor is the size of the plant. Many nurseries provide tags on their plants which will tell you the name and blooming period, as well as the eventual size of the plant and how cold hardy it is. Some have fragrant flowers (mainly Exbury azaleas). Azaleas can be low growing, and never reach a height of more than two feet, but others can grow as tall twelve feet. You can use these facts to your advantage and purchase plants that will give you an extended blooming season by choosing a few of the very earliest blooming and a few late flowering varieties. Plantings can also be staggered by size. It is best to buy plants which have been grown out of doors locally, which pretty much insures that the plant is hardy in your area.
Azaleas must be grown in an acid soil, with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. They will not tolerate lime. Many nurseries will test your soil pH for free,, and give you recomendations. Try to plant azaleas in an area which receives a few hours of morning sun, but receives at least partial shade during the very hottest part of the day. Dig your planting hole twice as wide and 1 1/2 times as deep as the rootball. Mix compost and peat moss into the soil, and if is necessary for drainage, add in course builders sand or grit. When you remove the plant from the pot, use your fingers to loosen up the roots a little to get them to grow into the new soil. Set the plant so that the soil level is the same as it was previously growing at. Sprinkle a small amount of rhododendron food into the hole at the dripline of the plant. Fill in the hole and water it very thoroughly. Azaleas resent drying out, so use some kind of mulch to conserve moisture in the soil. You can use leaves, bark, compost or whatever.
The buds for next years blooms will be formed this year, so it important that the faded blooms are removed, otherwise you will not get a flower on that stem next year. Rhododendron food should be applied after the plant has finished blooming. Pruning consists mainly of removing the spent flowers, and cutting back longer branches which may spoil the symmetry of the plant.
Year round bloom
To have flowers in bloom all year long will take planning on your part, using a combination of shrubs, bulbs, annuals and perennials.
Annuals Put out a large number of beautiful flowers all summer, but they complete their life cycle from seed to flower to seed again, all within one year. (zinnias, marigolds, petunias......) Perennials are plants which have a more limited blooming period, but they live and bloom year after year. (carnations, columbine, chrysanthemums....) Here again nursery tags can be very helpful. You can find plants which will flower during any month of the year, and combine them to create a year round flower show.
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