Compact , low - growing , evergreen shrub that is twiglike and dim with a spreading to rounded form . Leaves are spear - forge to egg-shaped and notably modest , 1/2 to 2 inch long , than other azalea hybrids making it the wonderful bonzai plant that it was originally bred to be . Showy , funnel - shaped , white flowers with xanthous - immature markings , to 3 inches wide . Flowers are borne from May to June . Prune immediately after flowering so you wo n’t cut off any of next year ’s blossom buds . Plant as you would any of the other azalea : high and in well - drained , acidic soil , plentiful with organic matter . This is a front of the borderline azalea because of its lower height . staring for the small garden . Satsukis seem to be able-bodied to handle a little more sunshine than most azaleas , but this does not mean “ hot ” sun . Filtered light is still expert . Though azalea have a potentially enceinte listing of potential plague and disease problems , they are usually fuss spare if planted correctly in proper cultural conditions .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will mark that sun and shade patterns shift during the day . The westerly side of a house may even be suspicious due to shadows shed by tumid trees or a structure from an conterminous property . If you have just corrupt a new home or just beginning to garden in your old home , take time to map sun and shade throughout the day . You will get a more precise tactile property for your site ’s true light conditions . Conditions : filter LightFor many plants that prefer partly shady weather , dribble lightis nonesuch . Good planting site are under a mid to large sized tree that lets some light through their branches or beneath taller works that will provide some protection . weather : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer light that is filtered . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as potent as good afternoon sun , can be considered part sun or part shade . If you inhabit in an area that does not get much intense sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun photograph may be fine . In other region such as Florida , plant in a placement where afternoon wraith will be received . condition : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis needed for many plants to assume their full voltage . Many of these works will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not blossom as heavily or their foliage as vivacious . Areas on the southern and westerly sides of building usually are the sunniest . The only exception is when house or building are so secretive together , shadows are cast from neighboring properties . Full sun unremarkably means 6 or more hours of direct unobstructed sunlight on a sunny mean solar day . Partial Lord’s Day obtain less than 6 hours of sun , but more than 3 hours . plant able to take full sun in some climates may only be capable to tolerate part Dominicus in other climates . Know the polish of the plant before you buy and plant it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is hit the stalk tips of a young plant to advance furcate . Doing this avoids the need for more severe pruning afterwards on .
cutting demand take away whole branch back to the trunk . This may be done to open up the interior of a flora to get more igniter in and to increase breeze circulation that can cut down on industrial plant disease . The best way to lead off thinning is to start by removing dead or diseased Sir Henry Joseph Wood .
Shearing is leveling the Earth’s surface of a shrub using hand or electric shear . This is done to maintain the desire conformation of a hedge or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old branches or the overall reduction of the size of a bush to restore its original form and size of it . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a works at a time . think back to remove subdivision from the inside of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenate plants with cane , such as nandina , issue back canes at various heights so that flora will have a more natural aspect . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor skillful industrial plant public presentation , it is desirable to couple the right plant with the useable light conditions . correct plant , right place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient light may become wan in color , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also require plants to grow dull and have fewer blooms when sparkle is less than desirable . It is potential to render supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamps . Plants can also encounter too much luminance . If a spectre loving flora is exposed to direct sun , it may droop and/or stimulate leaves to be sunburned or otherwise damaged . circumstance : Full SunFull Sunis define as exposure to more than 6 60 minutes of continuous , direct sun per 24-hour interval .
Watering
The key to lacrimation is water system deeply and less often . When watering , water well , i.e. provide enough water to exhaustively saturate the tooth root ball . With in - priming coat plant life , this mean thoroughly soak the grease until water has sink in to a astuteness of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plant , lend oneself enough water to allow water to menstruate through the drainage holes .
seek to water plant betimes in the mean solar day or later in the good afternoon to keep up water and cut down on plant accent . Do water early enough so that pee has had a probability to dry out from plant leaves prior to night fall . This is paramount if you have had fungus job .
Do n’t await to water until plant droop . Although some plant will reclaim from this , all plants will die if they droop too much ( when they gain the permanent wilting percentage point ) .
Consider water conservation method such as drip mould irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip systems which slowly drip wet directly on the base system can be buy at your local home and garden gist . Mulches can significantly chill the root zone and conserve wet .
believe bring water - save gels to the stem zone which will hold a reserve of water system for the plant life . These can make a world of departure especially under nerve-wracking condition . Be sealed to follow label directions for their economic consumption .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be maintain equally moist and watered regularly , as shape require . Most plant like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take care not to over water . The first two years after a plant is install , regular watering is authoritative for establishment . The first yr is vital . It is better to water once a week and water deeply , than to water oftentimes for a few second .
Planting
A week to 10 days before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of aged manure or compost and work into the planting situation to improve richness and increase urine memory and drain . If soil composition is weak , a layer of surface soil should be conceive as well . No matter if your soil is moxie or Lucius Clay , it can be better by adding the same matter : constitutional matter . The more , the better ; work deep into the filth . make bed to an 18 in deep for perennials . This will seem like a tremendous amount of work now , but will greatly give off afterward . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later on , once flora have been established . How - to : Pruning Flowering ShrubsIt is necessary toprune your deciduous anthesis shrubfor two reason : 1 . By removing old , damaged or dead Mrs. Henry Wood , you increase air flow , yielding in less disease . 2 . You rejuvenate new growth which increases flower yield .
Pruning deciduous shrub can be divided into 4 group : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only drained , diseased , damaged , or crossed ramification , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , novel emergence which produces summer flowers - in other words , flowers come out on unexampled wood);summer pruning after flower(after unfolding , cut back shoot , and take out some of the former outgrowth , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers seem on wood from premature class . Cut back flowered stems by 1/2 , to hard grow new shoots and remove 1/2 of the flowered stem a duet of inches from the ground ) Always remove dead , damaged or diseased wood first , no matter what eccentric of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . natural spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . summertime after blossom : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a hole twice the sizing of the base ball and deep enough to plant at the same stage the bush was in the container . If soil is poor , dig hole even broad and fill with a potpourri half original soil and half compost or dirt amendment .
Carefully absent shrub from container and gently disjoined ancestor . Position in centerfield of trap , secure side face forward . Fill in with original soil or an amended mixture if needed as key above . For expectant shrubs , work up a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the plant life is balled - and - burlapped , remove fastener and shut down back the top of natural gunny , tucking it down into hole , after you ’ve pose bush . verify that all gunny is bury so that it wo n’t wick piss aside from rootball during raging , juiceless periods . If synthetic burlap , absent if potential . If not possible , bring down off or make incision to tolerate for root to develop into the fresh soil . For larger shrub , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is spare - tooth root , look for a discoloration somewhere near the base ; this mark is likely where the soil line was . If soil is too sandy or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help with both drainage and piddle holding capacity . Fill soil , firming just enough to digest shrub . Finish by mulching and watering well . How - to : Preparing ContainersContainersare fantabulous when used as an ornamental feature , a planting choice when there is little or no soil to plant in , or for plant that command a filth type not retrieve in the garden or when soil drainage in the garden is subscript . If growing more than one plant in a container , check that that all have similar ethnical requirements . Choose a container that is deep and large enough to allow root exploitation and development as well as proportional proportionality between the to the full developed industrial plant and the container . imbed large containers in the place you think them to stay . All containers should have drain trap . A interlocking projection screen , broken clay tidy sum pieces(crock ) or a theme coffee filter place over the muddle will keep grime from launder out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate intermixture for the industrial plant you have chosen . Quality soils ( or soil - less medias ) occupy moisture pronto and equally when lactating . If urine scarper off land upon initial wetting , this is an indicator that your soil may not be as in force as you think .
Prior to filling a container with soil , wet pot soil in the bag or piazza in a tub or barrow so that it is evenly moist . Fill container about halfway full or to a level that will let plants , when planted , to be just below the brim of the pot . Rootballs should be level with soil line when project is complete . Water well .
Problems
Possible controller : keep green goddess down ; use screening in windows to keep them out ; remove infested plants away from non - infested plant life ; use a meditative mulch ( atomic number 13 enhancer ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with yellow sticky carte , apply labeled pesticides ; advance raw opposition such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good steady shower of pee will wash them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - bodied , slow - actuate insects that suck fluids from plants . Aphidscome in many coloring material , ranging from gullible to brown to black , and they may have wing . They attack a spacious reach of plant coinage causing aerobatics , deformed leaves and buds . They can channelize harmful flora virus with their pierce / suck mouthpart . Aphids , more often than not , are merely a pain , since it takes many of them to cause serious industrial plant hurt . However aphid do give rise a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive black airfoil growing shout out sooty mold .
Aphids can increase quickly in number and each female can produce up to 250 alive nymphs in the course of a calendar month without mating . Aphids often appear when the environment shift - leaping & fall . They ’re often massed at the tips of arm course on lush tissue paper . aphid are attracted to the color yellow and will often hitch on yellow vesture .
Prevention and Control : Keep weed to an downright lower limit , especially around suitable plant life . On victuals , launder off taint country of plant . Lady hemipteran and lacewing will feed on aphid in the garden . There are various product - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . Seek the recommendation of a professional and comply all recording label procedures to a tee . fungus kingdom : RustsMostrustsare host specific and overwinter on leaves , stem and spent flush debris . Rust often appears as little , bright orangish , yellow , or brown pustules on the underside of leaf . If touch , it will leave a colored spot of spore on the fingerbreadth . stimulate by fungi and spread by splashing body of water or rainfall , rusting is worse when weather is moist .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistive smorgasbord and bring home the bacon maximal air circulation . Clean up all rubble , specially around plants that have had a problem . Do not irrigate from budget items and water only during the day so that plants will have enough fourth dimension to dry out before night . Apply a antifungal labeled for rust on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis normally set up on plant that do not have enough breeze circulation or adequate light . Problems are bad where nights are cool and days are ardent and humid . The powdery white or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leave of absence or fruit . Leaves will often call on icteric or brown , kink up , and drop off . New leaf emerges crease and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often throw away ahead of time .
Prevention and Control : found resistant multifariousness and space plant life in good order so they experience fair to middling light and air circulation . Always H2O from below , keep water off the foliation . This is predominant for blush wine . Go slowly on the atomic number 7 fertiliser . practice fungicides according to recording label directions before problem becomes severe and follow directions on the dot , not miss any required treatments . Sanitation is a must - clean up and take out all folio , flowers , or debris in the fall and destroy . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the unfledged form of moth and butterfly . They are voracious feeders assail a wide variety of plant life . They can be highly destructive and are characterise as leaf feeders , bow borers , leaf rollers , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , pathfinder individual plants and remove Caterpillar , put on labeled insect powder such as grievous bodily harm and oil , take advantage of natural enemies such as parasitical wasp in the garden and apply Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar species . Diseases : Pythium and Phytophtora Root RotRot Rot , PythiumorPhytophthoraoccurs when grunge wet levels are excessively high and fungal spores present in the soil , come in in contact with the susceptible plant . The base of stems discolor and shrink , and leaves further up the stalk wilting and give-up the ghost . Leaves near base are affected first . The root will turn calamitous and rot or break . This fungi can be introduced by using unsterilized soil mix or contaminated water system .
Prevention and ControlRemove strike plants and their roots , and discard border soil . put back with works that are not susceptible , and only employ fresh , sterilized soil mix . deem back on fertilizing too . try out not to over water plants and ensure that land is well drained prior to planting . This fungus is not treatable by chemicals .
Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot symptoms look similar to Pythium Root Rot , but the Rhizoctonia fungus seems to flourish in well drained soils . cuss : Scale InsectsScales are insects , have-to doe with to mealy bugs , that can be a problem on a panoptic sort of plants - indoor and outdoor . vernal scales creep until they find a respectable feeding website . The grownup females then lose their legs and persist on a spot protect by its hard shell bed . They appear as swelling , often on the low sides of leaves . They have pierce mouth part that suck in the sap out of plant life tissue . Scales can de-escalate a plant leading to yellowed foliage and leaf drop . They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can direct to an unattractive black surface fungous growing called sooty mould .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are hard to control . Isolate infested plants aside from those that are not infested . Consult your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension business office in your county for a effectual good word regarding their ascendance . Encourage instinctive enemies such as bloodsucking WASP in the garden . Diseases : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the root at , or near , the dirt wrinkle . These lesion evolve rapidly , girdling the prow and resulting in a sudden and permanent wilt of the plant . High temperatures ( above 85 degrees F , 29 degrees C ) favour the disease . The fungus attacks a spacious reach of plants and survives for long menstruation in soil . To control , treat with a recommended fungicide according to label directions . Pest : LacebugsLacebugsare bloodless to pale brown , 1/8 inch long , orthogonal in physique with have lacy flank and usually found on the underside of leave where they take in sap . houri may appear spiny and darker than adults . Lacebugs , which do not fly , are sometimes befuddle with whiteflies that do take flight . Damage usually appear as stipples or " " discolorize - attend " " maculation on the leaves . Hard , mordant body waste can usually be discover on the bottom of farewell . wrong is most visible during the summer , particularly on trees . Flowering shrubs , though alive , appear weak and almost exanimate .
Prevention and Control : If infestation is mild , wash away with a squirt of soapy piddle or prune by infested farewell or limbs . Timing is important : spray harmonise to the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) in your country . To control insects , spray underside of leaf with a recommended insecticide according to recording label directions . Conditions : ChlorosisEntire leaves or area around veins in leaves appear yellow . This is the result of decreased iron consumption from the soil due to in high spirits pH or waterlogged grunge . It is important to know the pH essential of plants . Prior to planting , amend soil to improve drain and adjust pH , if necessary . Chlorosis is common in plant growing close to concrete or planted in alkaline soils . Treat with an Fe appurtenance allot to label directions .
Miscellaneous
The most important thing to consider is getting sufficient water taken up into the cut stem . deficient H2O can result in droop and unawares - live flowers . out to neck of rose , where the bloom school principal droop , is the result of pathetic water uptake . To maximize water consumption , first re - cut the stems at an angle so that the vascular organization ( the " " plumbing " " of the stem ) is clear . Next immerse the cut staunch in warm pee .
Remember when the flower is cut , it is cut off from its food supplying . Once water is taken care of , solid food is the resource that will run out next . The plants stem naturally feed the flowers with sugars . If you add a bit of sugar ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will help feed the heyday stems and prolong their vase living .
bacterium will progress up in vase water system and eventually clog up the prow so the blossom can not take up water . To keep this , change the vase water frequently and make a unexampled cut in the stems every few days .
flowered preservative , usable from florists , contain sugars , dot and bactericide that can extend cut flower life . These come in small mail boat and are more often than not uncommitted where cut flowers are sold . If used decently , these can extend the vase life-time of some cut flowers 2 to 3 clock time when compared with just plain water in the vase . Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to permit pic to an external condition(s ) . It does not mean that the plant thrives or prefers this situation , but is able-bodied to adapt and continue its life cycle . Glossary : Growth BudsPlant stems control legion buds that will mature and renew a plant when excite by pruning . There are three canonical type of buds : terminal , sidelong and dormant . Terminal buds are at the tips of twig or branch . They develop to make the branch or sprig longer . In some cases they may give emanation to a flower . If you geld the tip of a branch and remove the terminal bud , this will encourage the lateral buds to develop into side branches resulting in a thicker , shaggy works . sidelong buds are lower down on the twig and are often at the full stop of leafage attachment . Pruning them encourage the terminal bud , ensue in a long , thin branch . inactive buds may remain inactive in the bark or stem and will only grow after the plant is switch off back .