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Re: Azalea

   Jan Stetson wrote:
   > 
   > Last December I received a potted azelia, gloriously in bloom with
   > deep pink flowers.

   > I'm wondering if it's likely to be winter hardy here in zone 6?  
   > 
   I doubt that you can grow an azalea outside in Massachusetts.  You must
   be doing something right if yours has grown so well in its pot.  If you
   like you could put it outside in a shady spot while the weather is warm,
   and bring it inside in the fall.  When the roots begin to show at the
   drain hole in the bottom of the pot, it is time to put the plant in a
   larger pot or trim the roots.  If you re-pot it you might use special
   azalea soil or peat moss in the new pot.  Azaleas like to be kept moist
   but not wet. Here in San Jose, I grow azaleas outside in the ground, and
   use a water=measuring device to check this.  I also use Miracid
   fertilizer according to the directions on the package.  I hope your
   pretty plant will live for many years.
   
   Vera Diehl
   San Jose, CA

Well, there's more to azelias than you might think.  I have three
growing outdoors already, that came with the house.  One is white,
about 5 feet tall, another is red and grows so close to the ground
that it gets shaded by the sweet woodruff ;-(, and another is orange
and about three feet tall.  All have been getting on famously in the
decade or so I've lived here. 

So I know there are azelias that DO survive zone 6 winters, but I also
know there are others that DON'T.  Concensus seems to be developing
that the type forced in winter by florists DON'T.  

I called the florist it came from and asked, but the woman I talked to
said I could plant it out, but didn't speak with that crisp sense of
authority I wanted to hear.  More like "Oh, I think they're OK..."
rather than "Oh yes, that's a Latinmumble latinmumble, they are easily
hardy to zone 6a, sometimes 5b with protection from winter winds."

------------------------------------------------------------
Jan Stetson          Gardening in Massachusetts, USDA zone 6
jks@concentra.com

Concentra Corporation
21 North Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803-3301
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