6 TEN OAKS NURSERY AND GARDENS 
day’s sunlight. They will grow in the shade, but will 
benefit from some sunlight. Dappled shade is best. 
CULTURE AND CARE—Because the greater mass 
of azalea roots is found in the top few inches of soil, 
cultivation with hoe is not advisable. You will not 
only cut the roots, but disturb the mulch of peat moss 
that we advised you to keep around the plants at all 
times. Pull any weeds that grow by hand, and shake 
off the peat that clings to their roots. Water heavy 
during July and August for your azaleas are making 
buds at that time for the following year. If your water 
comes from a deep well, and you are in a limestone 
country, add a little sulphur to your soil every Spring 
and Fall. Much damage is done by sunshine following 
a night of low temperature. This can be prevented by 
shading in the late Fall and Winter with burlap on 
stakes, lath frames, pine branches, or trimmings from 
your evergreens. 
FEEDING AZALEAS—Use only special fertilizers, 
made by all the reliable firms, for azaleas only, or 
cottonseed meal is excellent food. Sprinkle lightly 
around each plant out to the furtherest branch and 
water heavy at once, twice a year, March and late May 
or June. Do not disturb the mulch by hoeing or raking 
the food into the soil. 
PRUNING AZALEAS—Little pruning is needed for 
garden azaleas other than to keep the long unsightly 
shoots off and a regular shaping up according to taste, 
but all pruning must be done before June 15th, or 
better still, just after the last flowers have died in the 
Spring. 
AZALEA PESTS AND DISEASES—Healthy plants 
that have been well fed and watered have few pests, 
but if you have neglected the above, here are a few 
that you may have to put up with. White-fly, Lacebug, 
Leaf Minor, Scale, Thrips, and Red Mites—are the most 
common insects to contend with, and these can be con- 
trolled by spraying just as soon as the danger of over- 
night freezing has passed and before plants have blos- 
somed. The material to use for this purpose is 1% tea- 
spoons 20% Vapotone plus 1% teaspoons 25% D.D.T. 
emulsion mixed with one gallon of water. A second 
spraying should be applied after blooming or June 15, 
a third around July 5, and a fourth may be desirable 
around August 5. Use a forceful mist and direct under 
the leaves. Chlorosis or Yellows—Dissolve one ounce 
Epsom salts in two gallons water and sprinkle over the 
plant and soil thoroughly; two weeks later use one 
ounce of iron sulphate to two gallons of water the same 
way, and you will have your plants back to a normal 
Azaleas like plenty of water. 
