Gardening is a very relaxing occupation© John Bottomley
Sep 19, 2000
It is also a very rewarding one, especially when one is looking at the possibility of planting a few more of those wonderful flowering shrubs - by name Azaleas. For months of the year these beautiful flowers inhabit many gardens around the place.
Many of the varieties seen these days are hybrids of many species, but are predominantly from the Azalea indica. Indica means, I believe, it comes from India. As Charles E Newman said in an article on Azaleas, 'this is misleading. The true botanical name is Rhododendron simsii and this comes from China. In the early days India was a term applied loosely to al East Asia, and anyone with a dark skin was Indian.' Just shows how confusing definition and names (or misnames) can be. I believe Indica can also be used to mean 'red'. How confusing can species naming be?
I believe that because plants are potted very efficiently these days, it is possible to plant these wonderful flowers at any time of the year, except February in this part of the world, when it is extremely hot. However, plants in full flower may be under a slight amount of stress if planted at this stage in their life. Perhaps the best time could be in the autumn, or the spring. We are in the spring now, and getting a lot of run off from the excellent rains we have had. The soil is also still very damp.
The azaleas do not have many problems, as long as we make sure the soil is acid, does not dry out, and the mulch around the plant is kept topped up in spring, at least. The following are what one should watch out for: leaf miner, thrips that cause a silvery effect on the leaves in summer, two spotted mites can cause bronzing of the leaves, especially if the plants are grown in a warm protected area next to a wall or fence. In winter, some of the leaves may get brown spots and the flower may become mushy and collapse. However, Azaleas are very much hardier than we believe but this should not mean we should be careless in cultivating them.
As I said earlier, gardening can be a rewarding and relaxing occupation. After the first few days of the Olympic games, perhaps we could suggest gardening as the next sport to be included in the ever-growing list of games to be included. I am sure, like everyone else, I am writing this piece in between the commentary on the games. We are getting almost an all day coverage here. Looking at some of the flowers presented to the medal winners, we need to suggest a better way of keeping the plants fresh.
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