Azalea dying?

Hi!

Just like my other thread seem to be having problems with my Azalea, the leafs are going brown at the ends, ,not sure whether I have potted it correctly, & like my pieris it has been watered the same with few drops of Orchid feed, I am also using Ericaceous compost with mini bark chips put ontop of it.

any help would be good!

 

Have you recently re potted it Grant? it maybe a bit of shock or it may have got a bit frosted or caught by the cold wind

 

Yeah it has been repotted out of its standard pot that Homebase put it in, if it is shock - whats the best course of action?

Where my garden is, its right next to a large river & we often get a lot of cold winds so it could even be that! what do you suggest i could do? I planned on having it in the back garden but if its struggling there - i could try putting it in the front garden which has less wind but has more sun exposure during the day

 

I think just some time and TLC Grant and keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't dry out ,rain water is good for it...as long as it's in a sheltered spot i'll think it will recover nicely

 

Thanks! I'll keep an eye on it & if need be move it, just a shame I dont have much shelter :(

 

What time of year is the vine weevil threat? I've known them to see off an established rhodedron within about a week.

 

Can't say I have noticed any bugs like that crawling on my plants

 

You wouldn't. The threat from vine weevil is below the soil surface. When the eggs hatch the horrible grub things dine on your plant's roots until the roots are effectively demolished. Then the plant, no longer able to feed, just drops dead quite suddenly.

I'm not sure what time of year the weevils start to hatch though, and I'm not sure how to get a definite diagnosis without uprooting the plant, which would do more harm than good if its not that. Hopefully someone else will be along soon to either support or reject my theory.

 

Im not sure how much help it would be to diagnose the problem but I noticed little shells on the surface of the bark chips that looked like mini snail shells am i right saying it could just be the snail losing its shell or could this be what you describe? sorry for the vagueness in all this haha ! still learning

 

No shells on vine weevils. They're a type of beetle, but its the larvae that are most destructive.

 

Here they are.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=234

I'm not sure that's the problem though, just one to watch out for as a possible.

 

Thanks ill keep an eye out for that, I havent noticed any leafs with funny shapes, just that they are browning - im thinking it could be Wind scorch as like i said, i get lots of wind in my garden in the evening, I have a geenhouse so might even move it into there til the wind eases or the front garden.

is Vine weevil easily treated?

 

bought from places like HB and similar at this time of year, they may have come out of cold glasshouses so protected from the worse of the weather then a trip in a lorri and then in to the outdoor garden center , leaves haven't hardened up to the weather outside , and I think with the other post about your Pieris same problem , I think they will bounce back , but Pieris dont like to be in a windy spot otherwise the leaves get wind scorch and will turn brown on the tips or all over.

Spruce

 

hmm so with love & attention they will repair themselves?

A little side question - I want to grow my own Azaleas & Pieris plants but from scratch, but where can i get the seeds to start from scratch? I've looked everywhere but with no luck, as appealing as they are in the store, I want the satisfaction of being there from day 1

 

have a look on Amazon they sell both you are looking for