How to Groiv and Manage Azaleas 



To see a good specimen of azalea 

 during the looming period is to 

 determine at once to possess one. 

 This accounts for the fact that, not- 

 withstanding the reputation this plant 

 has of being hard to grow, thousands 

 are bought every year for the conserva- 

 tory and the window garden. True, it 

 is soemwhat fastidious regarding what 

 it eats and the way it drinks, but humor 

 it in these little peculiarities and it be- 

 comes at once one of the most docile and 

 accommodating plants to be found in 

 the whole floral kingdom. 



The azalea demands a soil of peat or 

 wood-dirt. Peat is that soil which is 

 found in swamps, the accumulations of 

 hundreds of years of decayed vegeta- 

 tion. A good compost, or soil for this 

 plant is made as follows : One quart 

 of peat, wood dirt or leaf mold ; one 

 quart of loam made from rotten sods or 

 good garden loam ; one pint of clean 

 sharp sand ; one pint of thoroughly rot- 

 ted cow or sheep manure ; one ounce of 

 hardwood ashes. We have given the 

 component parts in their order of prefer- 

 ence. Any further substitutions are not 

 advisable. The manure used must be 

 thoroughly decayed (about two or three 

 years old is the best), and it may be al- 

 lowed to dry, when it will pulverize and 

 mix more readily with the other mate- 

 rials. Clay, hard soil or fresh manures 

 are things the azalea will not tolerate ; 

 and unless the proper materials are ob- 

 tainable much time and labor as well 

 as disappointment will be saved by 

 throwing the plant away. Persons liv- 

 ing in the cities and larger towns may 

 find it somewhat difficult to gather for 

 themselves peat, wood dirt and leaf 

 mold ; but nearly all these, together 

 with the various fertilizers, can be ob- 



C. M. Bezzo, Berlin, Ontario 



tained from almost any dealer in flor- 

 ist's supplies. 



POTTING 



fiaving prepared the potting soil the 

 next thing is to pot the plant. If the 

 plant has come by express and has the 

 ball of earth intact about the roots and 

 is dry, stand it in a saucer of water and* 

 let it absorb all the water it can. By 

 this process you are able to gauge how 

 much water it has taken up. Note care- 

 fully the quantity of water the roots 

 and plant will absorb, as this knowledge 

 will be of considerable value when wa- 

 tering in the future. 



Select a pot about one size larger 

 (not more) than the plant has been 

 growing in. Into this put about one 

 inch of draining material. For this pur- 

 pose charcoal is good, as it helps to 

 keep the soil from souring, but pieces 

 of broken crock, coal cinders or pebbles 

 may be used. See that it is coarse 

 enough to leave crevices through which 

 the water may freely pass. A thin lay- 

 er of sphagnum or moss, the kind used 

 by florists, spread over the top of this 

 material will prevent the earth washing 

 down and blocking the drainage. 



This careful preparation for draining 

 off all surplus water is absolutely neces- 

 sary. Owing to the peculiar root forma- 

 tion of this plant and the kind of soil 

 in which it grows it is very liable to 

 root unless all surplus water is drained 

 away. Where good drainage has not 

 been provided for, the water becomes 

 stagnant and the earth sour, generating 

 a low poison which is distasteful to some 

 plants and sure death to others. Among 

 the latter is the azalea. 



Having made provision for the drain- 

 age, place in sufficient soil to bring the 

 plant to the proper height in the pot, al- 



lowing for about half an inch of space 

 between the finished soil and the top of 

 the pot. Press the soil down firmly. 



If the plant has the old earth about 

 the roots, place it in the centre of the 

 pot and fill in the space between the 

 plant and the pot with the soil prepared 

 for the purpose. The soil in this space 

 must be packed quite firmly, else the 

 water when applied will glide away from 

 the roots into this loose earth and out 

 through the drainage and be lost. Pack 

 it firmly and raise it slightly at the outer 

 edge, leaving a depression in the cen- 

 tre which will retain the water until it 

 has a chance to penetrate to the roots 

 of the plant. 



If the plants are of the mailing size 

 and with the roots denuded of earth, 

 sift the earth carefully about them, 

 pouring water on occasionally to settle. 

 After potting set it away for about a 

 week in a dark closet. Bring it gradu- 

 ally to the light and in about a week 

 from the time it is brought from the 

 closet it will be ready for direct sun- 

 shine. 



WATERING 



The root formation of the azalea is 

 somewhat peculiar and it is because of 

 this peculiarity that so many failures 

 are recorded. Unike most other plants, 

 its roots are a mass of fine fibrous 

 threads all matted and tangled to- 

 gether, and the difficulty is to get water 

 to penetrate this mass. Many deaths 

 from thirst might be recorded and yet 

 the owners water them every day ; the 

 water passing off between the pot and 

 the ball of roots, leaving the inside 

 quite as dry as before. 



While watering from the bottom is 

 not a method which we would recom- 

 mend generally, the azalea is such an 



A Corner of Monnt Pleaiant Cemetery, Toronto, that wat''Tranafanne(l Last Season from Unsifhtlineii to a Place of Beauty 



This cemetery is one of the best kept in Canada. The landscape effects are a credit to its superintendent. Mr. W. H. Foord. 



