Will azaleas survive in South Florida?

SFDrake

Shohin
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I am new to this and recently aquired a satzuki azalea in a bonsai pot, as well as 2 nursery azalea in 1 gallon pots. Not sure if they will do well in this hot environment. I have them in a.m. sun and afternoon shade
 
Probably not for long. I’d let them get AM sun and PM shade in the winter, but by April and through November, I’d keep them inside the screened-in pool area sitting on the deck in AM sun and shade for the rest of the day. Might get a year or two out of it.
 
Probably not for long. I’d let them get AM sun and PM shade in the winter, but by April and through November, I’d keep them inside the screened-in pool area sitting on the deck in AM sun and shade for the rest of the day. Might get a year or two out of it.
Ok thanks for the help!
 
They have native azaleas in Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Maybe those work well in south Florida? What about the American Southern indica's? The more cold-loving narrow leaf satsuki may struggle.
 
I would consider looking around local nurseries for cultivars sold for landscape use. Those cultivars SHOULD be ok for your climate.
 
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Well the little guy has made it so far, growing well after flowering and deadheading. But I think I showed it little tooo much love with the water, as evident by the algae on the surface of the soil. I had it covered with a metal screen to keep the squirrels out and did not realize it wasn't draining well. It's basically all roots so I think it need an emergency repot. I have some leftover Kanuma from last year. Is it a good time of year to repot? It flowered a few months ago, and the temps here are above 75 at night now. I'm planning on putting it back in the same pot...

As usual, any and all advice is greatly appreciated
 
Two thumbs down on the “Emergency Repot”
Azaleas have lots of roots by nature.

Best thing to do imo is either get a steel 3/16” rod or 3/16” long concrete drill bit and slide/drill it multiple times through the media around the nebari multiple times 10ish to improve drainage.

Then ensure your drain screens and wiring holes are clear. If not back flush with hose

Next rinse out well, immerse in water to short of the top of the media, drain… repeat 3x

Repot late winter when all the frost warnings are clear.

Cheers
DSD sends
 
Two thumbs down on the “Emergency Repot”
Azaleas have lots of roots by nature.

Best thing to do imo is either get a steel 3/16” rod or 3/16” long concrete drill bit and slide/drill it multiple times through the media around the nebari multiple times 10ish to improve drainage.

Then ensure your drain screens and wiring holes are clear. If not back flush with hose

Next rinse out well, immerse in water to short of the top of the media, drain… repeat 3x

Repot late winter when all the frost warnings are clear.

Cheers
DSD sends
Thanks for the tip, appreciate it! I'm just trying to keep it healthy through my crazy humid summer down here. Will wait for repot til next year...not too many frost warnings down here in 10b though..
 
That azalea looks perfectly healthy. You can always put it in a new, larger pot, with good potting mixture, as long as you do not disturb the roots too much and as long as there isn't a dry heatwave.

As for the list of azaleas on the Florida Nursery site, Lady Cavendish likely is part satsuki. Otherwise, those are subtropical azalea's that deal better with both draught and heat than satsuki. They are called southern indica's but more accurately, they are Hirado hybrids.
 
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Welp......might be getting too hot or too humid. Moved into more of a shady spot, im tryin my best here but I might be losing this battle....
 

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Looks like chlorosis. Could be water quality or just needs fertilizer. Try Miracid. If that doesn’t help after two applications, look up the local Water Quality report. Carbonates is what to look for. Likely you have hard water issue.

The latter is very likely.

However an easy fix is to use distilled water and add a small amount of Miracid every week so the plants get nutrients as distilled water has no nutrients.

Cheers
DSD send
 
I’m in zone 9b, Orlando area, and I’ve been able to keep them alive here. Kurume and Encore Autumn Fire. They don’t like full sun and they don’t like full shade. I’ve got them growing under a canopy of bougainvillea where they get dappled sunlight morning till about 2:00 pm and then full shade. They are in practice bonsai pots and bonsai soil. Mix of Akadama, lava rock, pumice and kanuma. Just took the pictures and it’s getting dark. I think there are 8 of them.

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Looks like chlorosis. Could be water quality or just needs fertilizer. Try Miracid. If that doesn’t help after two applications, look up the local Water Quality report. Carbonates is what to look for. Likely you have hard water issue.

The latter is very likely.

However an easy fix is to use distilled water and add a small amount of Miracid every week so the plants get nutrients as distilled water has no nutrients.

Cheers
DSD send
I've been giving it miracid (miracle grow for acid loving plants?) Once a month. Also i give it some granular azalea fertilizer, which i alternate. Could it possibly be fertilizer burn? I started it on distilled water today. Thanks for the help as usual!
 
The chlorosis could be because the roots are too wet? That plant looked great earlier, but now it has a nutrient deficiency. Likely, iron. Which may be because the roots are not functioning properly because of the wetness.
Secondarily, it may mean the pH is too high. I would try chelated iron as well. dissolve a very small amount of EDDHA-iron(II) in water, then dilute until you barely see the pink colour.
Many fertilizers will also have chelated iron. Just add a tiny amount a few times. Like every week to three weeks. It can be slow to resolve.
This wouldn't necessarily be the heat. But maybe you had to water a lot to keep the plants hydrated.
 
Thanks everyone for all the helpso far!17523423587132971813410264741272.jpg
Water test says ph between 6.8 and 7.2
Not sure how accurate this amazon test kit is. Semi soft water. Low iron. 1752342589072466066697748315559.jpg
Also bought this to supplement with the miracid
Am I on the right track? I haven't watered in a couple days and the soil is still wet, and the tree is fading quick. 17523428337723619158995817762218.jpg1752342848333390904536222037622.jpg
Looks like im running out of time on this guy....
 
This is not how plants work. You can't just try to outscience & throw the kitchen sink at a plant that is not doing well.
Likely, it is both too wet and got too much fertilizer. The pH of your water seems low and soft.
When you do an adjustment, you make a small one and wait for a couple of months.

It seems that it is wilting now?
 
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