How do I keep this potted azalea?

March 21, 2011 4:13 PM

Can I plant this potted azalea in the ground? If so, how? If not, what then?

I was sent a potted azalea through a flower delivery service in honor of my first child's birth. It was nice to get a living, rooted plant alongside all the bouquets of daffodils, and I'd like to keep it if I can. I live in Portland, Oregon, where I know azaleas do well (but assume that's the extent of my knowledge about flower gardening). Can I plant this in my yard? What do I need to know to do that properly? If I can't, how do I keep it happy in its pot for a long time? It's a lovely plant.

posted by linettasky to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

It's an acid-loving plant. It's generally a good idea to dig plenty of ericaceous compost into the ground before planting an azalea, unless your soil is already quite acidic.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 4:16 PM on March 21, 2011

Buy a ph meter, and test your soil ph. You should be able to get one cheap at a hardware store. It'll give you an idea of what you need to do to the soil (if anything) to help the plant live. As Le Morte said, they like acidic soil.
posted by dortmunder at 4:18 PM on March 21, 2011

We sell these where I work, and yes you are supposed to plant them outside.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:24 PM on March 21, 2011

There are florist-grade azaleas and there are hardy azaleas. You may want to contact the delivery service to see which you received, if there's no enclosed care card. Florist-grade azaleas are generally meant to be kept indoors and don't usually bloom again, but I'm not familiar with your zone, being on the east coast myself. Here we can't plant florist-grades, which are grown mainly for show. A good hardy azalea is a really robust plant that will thrive in most soils outdoors, but will grow best in an acidic soil, as le morte de bea arthur says. Again, it's always best to try to go to the source (the delivery service) and post your questions, if possible. And congratulations on your n00b!
posted by iconomy at 4:28 PM on March 21, 2011

If you have an oak tree, a great place to plant it is just inside the dripline of the tree (that is, inside the furthest extent of the tree's leaf-umbrella). Oaks either grow in acid soil or make soil more acid (forget which) and so they and azaleas are natural companions.

See if there's a card to tell you the projected size. If it's a standard azalea, you will eventually (should you live so long - seriously, a look in the dictionary under "slow-growing" should get you a color picture of an azalea) get a big, muscular, 8-10 foot tall roughly cylindrical shrub. If it's a dwarf azalea, leave it in the pot and stick it under the tree in the summer, or else go buy 50 more, as it will never grow over like 2 feet tall and will look absurd under an oak tree, until the sad day when you mow it by accident, due to the disparity of scale.
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:57 PM on March 21, 2011

I know I am late to the party but just wanted to add my two cents. Yes, you can plant the azalea and it will likely be successful if you do the following.

Dig a hole in a spot that get filtered sun during the day (azaleas like some shade so don't plant them in full sun) and has good drainage. The hole should be about two feet across. Fill it with peat moss. Do not mix the peat moss with the existing dirt unless you are planting the azalea under pines or japanese maples. Remove the pot and plant the azalea without disturbing its roots. Doing all this will give you a good chance of having a healthy azalea for years to come. The plant is most likely a dwarf so you should expect it to grow about three to four feet around (but won't reach that size until your child starts middle school.)
posted by eleslie at 6:24 AM on March 22, 2011

Check potted plants for root girdling before planting. If the roots make a circle around the perimeter of the pot, cut them with a utility knife. Some experts recommend a vertical cut in three places equidistant around the edge of the root ball. New roots will grow out from the cuts.

If the plant is planted with the roots encircling the root ball or stem, they will remain in place like that. Then, as new roots grow out into the soil, the girdling roots grow thicker and will eventually strangle the plant. In shrubs this usually results in stunted growth. In trees, it can be fatal to the tree and to people as well - girdling roots can seriously compromise the anchoring ability of the roots.
posted by Xoebe at 9:54 AM on March 22, 2011

Don't just stick a greenhouse-grown plant out in the yard- you need to "harden" (acclimate the plant first. Keep it in a cool sunny place in your house for a wee;, and then in a warmish, sheltered (from cold wind, direct afternoon sun, and the north sky), morning sun type place for another week to ten days; and then find a spot for it outdoors. Don't plant it too deep, because azaleas are surface rooting. Mulch will help regulate moisture and temperature. Don't fertilize it right away, you don't want to boost a lot of top growth and have the roots lag behind in the cold soil.

Do not mix the peat moss with the existing dirt unless you are planting the azalea under pines or japanese maples.

I would not do this because it can cause problems with water movement. Water will not flow easily between soils of wildly different matrices. You can end up with a saturated, anaerobic peat hole in the middle of sandy soil, for example. When the peat decomposes, you also run the risk of soil subsistence, and then your azalea is in a hole, which means poor drainage as well. Mixing organic material into the planting hole is fine, but ultimately top dressing every year with compost is the most helpful thing to do. If your soil is not suitable for azaleas too alkaline, poor drainage, too heavy, too sandy) plant it in a pot.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:41 PM on March 22, 2011