AZALEAS 
For the past several years the City of Mobile has been 
known to the World as the ‘‘Azalea City.” Besides the 
Azaleas planted many years ago, annual plantings in 
public places and at private homes total many thousand 
bushes. We dare say that there is no floral display equal 
to that of Mobile in the spring when the Azaleas are in 
full bloom. No wonder so many visitors pour into this 
Gulf City from every direction during the blooming sea¬ 
son, March to May, simply to see these beautiful flowers. 
Azaleas, contrary to general belief, or rather guess, are 
by no means hard to grow, provided a certain require¬ 
ment is fulfilled. We are strong in the belief that the 
Azalea Indica can be raised without any trouble in all 
Gulf Coast regions and the Atlantic Coast as far north 
as North Carolina; and hardy Japanese Azaleas will grow 
as far north as the state of New Jersey. We earnestly 
recommend this flowering bush to fellow nurserymen as 
well as florists in these territories. Try them out as we 
did several years ago. 
The following are a few cultural suggestions; 
1. Azaleas thrive in acid soil. Use plenty of leaf mold 
(oak leaves most desirable), pond muck or peat moss. 
2. Lime or alkaline soil is poisonous.In case the Azaleas 
are to be planted in such a soil, remove original soil and 
use plenty of leaf mold or peat moss mixed with the other 
soil, containing no alkali; or, if alkaline, apply Aluminum 
Sulphate at the rate of one 4-inch pot full to a wheel¬ 
barrow of soil. 
3. As the Azalea root system is very shallow, it dries 
fast. Apply sufficient water to keep roots moist always. 
4. Azalea delights in a moist soil but it will not toler* 
ate a water saturated soil condition; so Azalea beds 
should be made where all surplus water will run off 
quickly. 
5. Azaleas thrive best in partial shade (when tne bush 
grows larger, it will stand the full sunlight) but many 
good blossoms cannot be expected if the bushes are 
planted under complete shade. 
6. The Azalea is not a gross feeder. If plenty of leaf 
mold or like organic matter is applied, it does not re¬ 
quire any commercial fertilizer. On the contrary, very 
often heavy application of fertilizer injures the root 
system. However, if necessary, light application of well 
rotted cow manure, sheep manure or cotton seed meal is 
beneficial. 
7. Red spider and Thirp sometimes trouble the plants. 
Frequent spi'aying of the plants with plain water will 
usually keep this trouble away. If this does not work, 
spray or dust the plant with sulphur mixture. 
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