Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 24, 2011 12:42 pm Hi everyone
Whilst planting and weeding, I came across a lonely struggling azalea. It's so small and woody, with only a few leaves, and is not a happy plant! I know nothing about azaleas, except that they don't like to dry out and generally shade. This guy is planted, here... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ (The bottom of the drive is pointing approximately north, give or take a bit of a degree) He's on the right, approximately level with the NSW Christmas Bush (more of a tree!), which you can see on the left. This means he's approximately half way between a melalceua and a camellia, plus being shaded by the mystery tree to the left, a maple of some sort from behind and some of my neighbours gums. He's labelled as being sun tolerant, but does get plenty of shade from the strongest sunlight due to the plants mentioned above, plus our front gums and my neighbour's house. Somehow I doubt this means that he likes northerly winds and not being watered (we didn't know he was there!!), or being right next to the drive (he may have been driven on by me when I was first getting used to reversing up oops::) and the slope. It is a free draining, sandy loam, that's acidic, and in good condition from lots of natural mulch that's fallen on it from the trees. I think that the amount of rain we've had during summer has started to revive him, and now I'm wondering what I should do with him. I'd like to see if I can baby him back to life, but I don't think this spot is a good place. Besides, he'll be competing with some prickly moses once it gets going and we wouldn't even see him. I'm tempted to dig him up, stick him in a big terracotta pot, and put him on the patio. That way he would get protected from the worst of the sun and winds, but would be in a good position for us to keep an eye on him. Would also mean he'd indirect bright light and some protection due to the shade sail and shadow of the house. We could even position him to get morning, or evening sun, as our shade sail is positioned to maximise both. Would that work? THe Acanthus is about 2m further up the drive, under a melalceua. You can see it to the right in the pic. Other than the snail issues (won't mention the mozzies that feed on it), it seems to do well here until we get a day with a hot northerly, then the plant starts to fall to pieces. It goes from being a beautiful green leafy clump, to looking sparse and unhappy. Now, I'm not sure if this is because it's a coincidence and it's starting to die back for the year, so I was wondering if anyone in the Melbourne area who has one could let me know when this happens. Thanks Edited to remove the 'mystery tree' point because I now know it's a NSW Christmas Bush! Re: Azalea Miyagino and an Acanthus 2Jan 24, 2011 1:00 pm Azalea, yes dig him up and put it in a pot. It will be fine. Hit it up with Seasol and molasses after you have repotted it. try using a certified organic potting mix. I don't muck about with so called specialised mixes. The cert organic mix will do just fine Mulch the top of the pot with some straw too. Acanthus will often wilt in the heat. Like Hydrangeas do. Might be a good candidate for a big pot as well. Just shove it down the side of the house in winter though Or relocate it somewhere else in the garden Re: Azalea Miyagino and an Acanthus 3Jan 24, 2011 1:55 pm Thanks Fu - will rescue the azalea and get him in a pot. As for the Acanthus, have been considering splitting it and moving part into the entrance to the fernery. It's west facing and does get sun from midday on, but doesn't get those winds because it's sheltered. What do you think? Re: Azalea Miyagino and an Acanthus 4Jan 24, 2011 2:08 pm Yep, have a go. It has to be better than where it is I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 9872 OK it's been a little while! I've been busy getting time where I can to work on this. I started by grading a pad (borrowing a… 26 19966 Unless the room is for storage then it's non compliant BCA V2 2019 S3 P3.8 You have 2 options 1. The builder deconstructs the section and rebuilds as per plan /… 7 10665 |