AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS II7 



will find that they will do well, provided proper care 

 is given them in other ways. 



The most important item, after getting proper 

 soil, is watering. This plant does not require a great 

 deal of water at its roots, but it wants just enough, 

 and must never be allowed to get dry, for if it does 

 it will often drop its buds before the flowering season 

 begins, the buds being formed some months before 

 blooming time. Its roots are very fine and grow in a 

 thick, thread-like mass about the bottom of the stalk, 

 and it frequently happens that the soil at this point 

 is so compacted by many roots that it is a difficult 

 matter for water to penetrate it. When water is 

 applied it runs off into the looser soil about these roots, 

 and the very place where moisture is most required 

 is the very place which gets least. In consequence, 

 the roots which fill this place where little moisture 

 jjenetrates suffer, and this leads to an unhealthy condi- 

 tion, which results in dropping of the buds and often 

 of the foliage also. It is a good plan to have the soil 

 lower at the center of the pot than it is at the sides, so 

 that the water you apply will run in toward the center, 

 rather than away from it. If it does this, and you 

 1 nake small holes in the central mass by running a fork 

 cir something similar into it occasionally, the roots 

 will be likely to get all the moisture they need. 



But while it is of prime importance that the soil 

 should be given all the water it requires, it is equally 

 important that it should not be given too much. Too 

 much water brings on decay of the fine and delicate 

 roots. This must be guarded against by making sure 

 that the soil in the pot is well drained. 



The roots of the Azalea, being small and very fine, 

 are produced in such compact masses that large pots 

 are not required. 



