How to Cultivate Potted Rhododendron (Maintenance Skills of Potted Rhododendron)

Rhododendron is also called azalea. Its lush foliage, delicate and beautiful flowers, strong ornamental. It is very popular among flower lovers and is also known as the "beauty in flowers". So how can we raise beautiful azaleas at home?

Rhododendron likes humid and cool environment, and the cultivated soil should be slightly acidic. In daily maintenance, we should pay attention to the concentration of fertilization, so as to achieve "thin fertilization and diligent fertilization", and keep it in a semi-shaded environment in summer to avoid direct sunlight.

I. Requirements for planting soil

Rhododendron has a thin root system and strict requirements for growing soil. The soil should be fertile, soft and breathable, and the PH value should be between 4.5 and 6. Pine needle soil, humus soil and mountain mud can be mixed evenly according to the ratio of 2:2:6. This kind of cultivated soil is comprehensive, loose and breathable, which can make it grow healthily.

Second, reasonable watering every day

Rhododendron likes moist soil, is not drought-tolerant, and the watering frequency is different at different growth stages. When it is dry at high temperature in summer, it is often necessary to spray water on the leaves for humidification. Daily watering, generally speaking, should increase the amount of water in the vigorous growth period and bud gestation period of plants to ensure that there is enough water for their growth. If the basin soil is dry and water is scarce during the growing period, the leaves will wither and turn yellow, the new leaves will not come out and the plants will stop growing. In severe cases, all the leaves will turn yellow and die.

If the flowering period is short of water, it is easy to make the flowers fall, the color becomes lighter and the flowering period is shortened; Similarly, if the daily watering is too much, the soil in the basin is too wet or accumulated water for a long time, it will also lead to yellow leaves, fallen leaves and rotten roots. If these things happen to azaleas, potted azaleas should be moved to a ventilated environment in time and the watering amount should be controlled. Too much water and serious yellow leaves should be ploughed and changed in time.

Third, fertilization increases nutrition.

Rhododendron has a great demand for water and fertilizer, and different growth periods have different requirements for fertilizer types. Spring is the growth period of rhododendron, and nitrogen fertilizer should be used mainly to promote the growth of branches and leaves. At this time, you can apply some mature cake fertilizer or sibling fertilizer in the basin, and be careful not to apply undecomposed raw fertilizer.

In July and August, the flower bud differentiation period of rhododendron usually comes, so it is necessary to increase phosphate fertilizer, and some bone meal or potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be added to promote flower bud differentiation and increase flowering. After each fertilization, it should be watered once in time to dilute the concentration of fertilizer solution, so as to prevent the roots of rhododendron from being burned by excessive fertilizer solution, loosen the soil and increase the air permeability, which is more conducive to the healthy growth of plants.

Fourth, pruning and modeling.

Rhododendron grows faster and is resistant to pruning. After pruning, branches and buds germinate quickly. In order to increase the beauty of the tree, it can be shaped when pruning. Rhododendrons are usually pruned in May. At this time, the dead branches, weak branches, long branches, cross branches, overlapping branches and over-dense branches are mainly pruned. After the bud is formed, the flowers should be properly thinned to save nutrient supply and make the flowers bloom bigger and more gorgeous.

In the daily maintenance of rhododendron, besides water and fertilizer management, there is also a certain demand for light. In summer, in addition to shading, astigmatism is usually properly accepted, especially before flowering, and proper illumination is beneficial to flowering.