Moon's Graden

My parents live in upstate NY and have purchased some Azaleas which they
plan to plant in pots and keep outside during the summer.  They wanted me
to get some advice on what to do with them in the winter?  They could keep
them in the ba***t where it probably doesn't get below 60 degrees.  They
could also keep them in a detached garage or shed, but these places will
get much colder (very close to outdoor temperatures).  How much light would
they need?

Chris Owens

The solution depends a great deal on the variety and its hardiness.
Winter hardy plants are left outside.  Tender varieties are basically
throwaway greenhouse plants.  Some people raise them as house plants with
success.  To over winter them out of the house you need a place that gets
down to 40F to 50F and has low light levels to promote dormancy.

I use a Nearing frame.  It is a cold frame that is dug into the ground to
insure a stable temperature and shaded to the south to avoid any direct
sunlight onto the glass.  My frame is made out of cement block with
vermiculite poured into the core spaces of the block.  The top is sloping
facing north and is a double plastic greenhouse roof material. Then I have
tall vibernam plants planted on the south side to insure good shade.  I
leave it open until the first frost and then close it for the entire
winter.

Visit my rhododendron and azalea web pages at:
http://www.moonsgarden.com/~shenning/rhody.html

--
Cheers, Steve Henning, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Visit my home page at http://www.moonsgarden.com/~shenning

<>
<> > My parents live in upstate NY and have purchased some Azaleas which they
<> > plan to plant in pots and keep outside during the summer.  They wanted me
<> > to get some advice on what to do with them in the winter?  They could keep
<> > them in the ba***t where it probably doesn't get below 60 degrees.  They
<> > could also keep them in a detached garage or shed, but these places will
<> > get much colder (very close to outdoor temperatures).  How much light would
<> > they need?
<>
 What kind of azealeas did they get? Evergreen or deciduous? The deciduous
kind can take the cold quite well(some down to CDN Zone 3 or US zone 2).
The evergreen kind are quite variable in the zones which they can stay
outside. If suitable to your parents zone probably should be wrapped with
burlap to prevent too much drying out in the leaves. The first thing would
be to determine the variety and hardiness. I don't think putting them in
the ba***t is a good move if they can stay outside.

--
Don***son
Remove first "x" from xcx666 when replying by e-mail.

Hi - I'm planting azaleas outside in zone 5 (very windy). Label says hardy
to zone 5 but the wind worries me. Could you please tell me exactly how you
wrap plants in burlap - one by one, around the bed, all winter, just at
times? Help - I'm a Florida transplant. Also, do you water at all in the
winter?

Hence, the burlap only makes sense when the ground is frozen.  Second, it
only does good when it breaks up the winter wind and winter sun.  I have
used plywood barriers on the northwest side of new rhododendron and
azaleas beds which are in the open.  This works great success to protect
plants in my yard from wind burn.  I take my chances with sun exposure.

The winter sun is from a very low angle, so any usable shading needs to be
to the south of the plant.  In most areas winter winds come primarily from
one direction.  A local meteorologist or gardener can tell you which
direction.

When the ground is not frozen, watering in the winter is very often a good
idea. However too much water is a bad idea.

Visit my rhododendron and azalea web pages at:
http://www.users.fast.net/~shenning/rhody.html

--
Cheers, Steve Henning, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Visit my home page at http://www.users.fast.net/~shenning