Landscape azalea leaves turning white?

[ForeverRaynning]

Posted these pics in my project thread but figured a targeted post would be best.

This small azalea is in our front garden at my parents house so my dad is the one who tends the garden. I’m wanting to dig it up but the leaves are looking a little wierd.



We have another, larger azalea a few meters to the right of this one and that one is absolutely fine. This one also used to grow forward but seems to be growing away from the pavement now, maybe it was just pruned too far back in a previous year but it may also be relevant, I don’t know.

Anyone know whats going on? It doesn’t look like anything I can see online thats common. It doesn’t look like mildew, chlorosis seems like it usually leaves green veins (and also no mention of it turning leaves white).

Thoughts appreciated!

 

[rockm]

Can’t really tell from the photos but the white looks like spent blossoms and blossoms that have been wet. Rain can spoil flowers sometimes. Spent blossoms are just old flowers that have served their purpose and the plant is abandoning.

It’s part of the azalea life cycle

 

[ForeverRaynning]

Can’t really tell from the photos but the white looks like spent blossoms and blossoms that have been wet. Rain can spoil flowers sometimes. Spent blossoms are just old flowers that have served their purpose and the plant is abandoning.

It’s part of the azalea life cycle

Clicking the photos will pull up high res versions if that helps (or at least it does on my phone, computer browsers may do the same) sometimes bnut tells me my images are too big so I just insert my pics as thumbnails.

Yes, the flowers are coming to the end of life and turning brown at the tips, which I know is normal, its the leaves that are the odd part. Also had a dry, and warmer than normal couple of weeks.

 

[rockm]

Clicking the photos will pull up high res versions if that helps (or at least it does on my phone, computer browsers may do the same) sometimes bnut tells me my images are too big so I just insert my pics as thumbnails.

Yes, the flowers are coming to the end of life and turning brown at the tips, which I know is normal, its the leaves that are the odd part. Also had a dry, and warmer than normal couple of weeks.

Thanks. The leaves may be chlorotic because the soil may not be acidic enough. Could also be lacewing bugs eating the leaves. Imported satsuki azaleas are notorious for having thrip insects that do something similar

Could also be a fungal issue too or a combination of all this. Hard to tell from just photos

 

[ForeverRaynning]

Thank you! So it seems there is something up with it then. Clorosis was my first thought but it was the leaves going bleached white that confused me. If it is clorosis, would digging it up and potting it into something like kanuma help?

Will have to look for signs of lace bugs, have found a page that mentions them causing white spots on leaves so it could well be those. Luckily its seperated from the larger azalea we have.

 

[ForeverRaynning]

@Deep Sea Diver sorry to tag you but I know you also have a ton of azalea experience so you may have seen this sort of thing?

Had a very quick look under the leaves and can’t see any bugs, but wasn’t a thorough look and looking at other threads of people issues with lacebugs they seem to cause small white dots (and clumps of them) on leaves. This is more of a solid, possibly spreading area that starts as a paler green/yellow then progresses to white?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

The leaves may be chlorotic because the soil may not be acidic enough.

I'm agreeing a lot with @rockm recently

@ForeverRaynning The term "chlorosis" is a plant condition, versus a cause. It means that the plant's leaves aren't producing enough chlorophyll, or are losing chlorophyll, and can be caused by environment, disease or pest. Chlorophyll is what gives leaves their green color. Azaleas are acid-loving plants, and prefer soil pH around 6.0 or so. If you have alkaline, clay soil, or rely on mains water for irrigation (which is usually high pH), you can sometimes bring on chlorosis, particularly if you live in an arid place, or are experiencing a drought with reduced rainfall. Azaleas are most prone immediately after blooming, since the process of blooming requires a lot of plant resources and can stress the plant.

Do you know your soil pH? Do you use acid fertilizer on your azaleas? (Something like this