4 TEN OAKS NURSERY AND GARDENS 
Successful Azalea Culture 
SOILS AND ITS PREPARATION—Soils good for 
growing azaleas occur naturally in many places; in 
fact, it is borne out that by far the greater proportion 
will produce good plants with little preparation. Where 
soils are not suitable, there is usually no great diffi- 
culty in making them so without much trouble or 
expense. Soils suitable for azaleas should be in good 
mechanical condition, open and friable; it should be 
acid, well drained, moist, and furnished with organic 
matter in quantities. 
All that is necessary in preparing for the planting 
of azaleas is to see that drainage is adequate—where 
water does not stand on top of the ground for hours 
after a rainstorm is generally a well-drained place. 
Next is to see that the soil is proper; for the very best 
results, we dig the hole that is to receive the plant 
twice as deep and twice as wide as the nursery ball on 
the azaleas, then cart away all the soil and make up 
the soil that we are going to plant the azalea with, as 
follows: one part peat moss, one part coarse sand, one 
part good garden soil, mixing with this, half a handful 
of cottonseed meal, or a good special azalea fertilizer, 
not both. When this is thoroughly mixed, use it to 
plant your azaleas with entirely, both under and around 
the plant, watering well as you fill with soil to the level 
of the ball; never plant deeper than it was in the 
nursery. If your soil is sandy, leave out sand in your 
mixture; if your soil is sticky clay, make your hole 
larger, so you may have a larger amount of the proper 
soil mixture around your plant. When the azalea is 
completely planted and thoroughly watered, mulch the 
top of the ground with four or five inches of peat moss 
to keep the ground cool, moist, and acid; add to this 
mulch every Spring and Fall to keep it at this level. 
Never use lime or allow lime to be used on or near 
azalea plants. It may mean their death. Well de- 
cayed oak leaves, not maple, may be used in place of 
peat moss if it is handy. 
PLANTING AZALEAS—Aczaleas are easily planted 
and at almost any time of the year, except when there 
is too much frost in the ground, but when you dig them 
or bring them home from the nursery, get them back 
into the soil as soon as possible; never let the roots dry 
out. If you plant in hot or dry weather, it is very wise 
to shade the plants as well as water for a few weeks 
until they are well established. The distance apart to 
plant azaleas will depend upon the type you buy; 
always ask for that information or study the descrip- 
tive list. Azaleas bloom better if planted out of the 
prevailing winds and where they get at least half the 
Don’t plant an Azalea 2 ft. from a big tree. 
