AZALEA. 



Sib, — I should be pleased if you would 

 kindly furnish me with some information 

 regarding the care and culture of the Azalea. 

 I have three varieties, and as the blooming 

 season is over, I wish to know how to care 

 for them during their resting period. Should 

 they still be supplied with water during this 

 time ? I have been told that in renewing the 

 earth in the pots it will be necessary to pur- 

 chase from a florist, that they will not live in 

 ordinary garden or flower pot soil. Is this 

 correct ? 



The Crimson Rambler rose received from 

 you last spring is growing nicely and full of 

 bud.«. The \'ellow Rambler received this 

 spring has also made a good start. The 

 Lilium Rubrum distributed two years ago, 

 has developed and multiplied into a nice 

 clump. 



Mrs. W. R. Vaxdervoort, 



Sidney Crossing, Ont. 



The Azaleas referred to in the above 

 questions, are, I presume, varieties of 

 the Chinese or Indian Azalea, and are 

 generally catalogued by florists as Azalea 

 Indica (greenhouse varieties), and are 

 not the Ghent or American Azalea, the 

 last named being sometimes forced and 

 sold when in flower, and require quite 

 different treatment from Azalea Indica. 

 Some of the Ghent varieties are quite 

 hardy in some localities in Ontario, and 

 are of a deciduous nature, requiring a 

 period of rest, which they get naturally 

 during the winter season when planted 

 out of doors as shrubs. The Azalea 

 Indica requires no very decided period 

 of rest ; that is, so far as the withholding 

 of water is concerned ; they must never 

 be allowed to become quite dry at the 

 roots at any time, being of an evergreen 

 nature. 



Immediately after the flowering season 

 is over the plants should be repotted, if 

 necessary, which can be ascertained by 

 knocking the plant out of the pot and 

 examining the roots ; if the plant has 

 fairly well filled the pot with roots, and 

 is in a healthy condition, repot into a 

 larger pot ; one size larger will be 

 sufficient, as overpotting must be care- 

 3 2 



fully guarded against. In repotting 

 remove all the old drainage, and a little 

 of the old soil from the top edges of the 

 ball of roots, then place in a clean pot 

 of the size required. First put in some 

 broken pots or coarse gravel about an 

 inch deep, covered with a thin layer of 

 sphagnum or common moss ; place the 

 plant in the pot, so that the top roots 

 are about half an inch from the top of 

 the pot ; fill in with a compost of one 

 half peat, the other half being equal 

 quantities of fibrous loam and sand, all 

 well mixed together. Take care not to 

 fill in too much of the compost at once, 

 as each layer of compost must be packed 

 firm around the plant with a potting 

 stick ; a broken shingle or thin piece of 

 lath will answer very well for that pur- 

 pose. Continue filling in the compost 

 and packing until nearly level with the 

 soil around the stem of the plant, so 

 that when finished, the soil near the 

 stem is slightly higher than near the 

 edge of the pot ; this is very essential 

 to the well being of the plant, as the 

 Azalea dislikes its roots to be buried 

 deep beneath the soil. The packing 

 process prevents the water from draining 

 too quickly from the roots. After pot- 

 ting, water once thoroughly, but do not 

 over water at the roots, until the plants 

 are well established and root action well 

 commenced, when water may be more 

 freely given ; syringe daily with tepid 

 water, and keep the plants growing in a 

 temperature of 60° or 70° until growth 

 is completed, which generally takes 

 about two months, after which the plants 

 can be stood out of doors, say about the 

 end of June, to harden the new growth. 

 Stand the plants or plunge the pot into 

 a bed of coal ashes, where the plants 

 can have plenty of air and sunshine ; I 

 have found that too much of the latter 

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