CHAPTER XXVI 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 



The Azalea 



There are few more beautiful plants than the 

 Azalea. A half dozen varieties will give a succession 

 or bloom for two or three months. A good plant will 

 be literally covered with flowers. I have counted over 

 one hundred on a plant not more than a foot and a 

 half high. 



It is greatly to be wondered at that we so seldom 

 see this plant in the collections of amateurs. I think 

 this is to be attributed to the fact that the impression 

 prevails that it is a most difficult plant to grow well. 

 As ordinarily grown, it is true that it generally fails 

 to give satisfaction, but I think this is owing solely to 

 wrong treatment, and that when the amateur comes 

 to understand the requirements of the plant, and gives 

 the treatment demanded, he can succeed with it under 

 conditions where a Rose would be a failure. 



The Azalea will not do well in a soil containing 

 lime. If you cannot get a peat for it that is wholly 

 free from lime I would not advise you to try to grow 

 it, for, though the plants may live on from year to 

 year, they will not flourish, consequently they will 

 afford you no pleasure. If peat in which there is no 

 lime is not attainable at home, send to some of the 

 large florist firms at the East, and they can furnish you 

 all you want. When it comes, mix with enough fine, 

 sharp, gritty sand to make the mass light. In such a 

 soil, packed firmly about the roots of your plants, you 



