The homeland of rhododendrons is the Mediterranean. Flowers are accustomed to a cool and humid climate, so those who plant them in mid-latitudes tend to create familiar conditions for them. Among gardeners, rhododendrons are very popular. In summer cottages, these spring flowers can be found in the gardens of most summer residents. Attracts the beauty of the tone of flowers, the abundance of flowering. The main flowering period lasts from May to June.
To achieve the desired result, gardeners do top dressing of rhododendrons. This happens in August. As elements of nutrition, various drugs are used. The right choice of a drug that stimulates the growth of rhododendrons is the key to their lush flowering that adorns the garden.
Rhododendron Care
In what cases additional feeding is needed
If the soil is too weak and the flowering of rhododendrons no longer has the same splendor, additional top dressing of rhododendrons is added to the main preparations. The reasons for their use can be flower diseases, rotting of plant roots, leaf fading.
Feeding rhododendrons after flowering
Additionally, it is possible to stimulate the growth of rhododendrons by various types of fertilizers that are not included in the main composition of the preparations. The following varieties of supplementary feeding are known:
- Zircon. Adding this drug will help the plant adapt quickly when transplanted;
- Epin. The drug is used in the spraying process. It is an effective anti-stress drug for rhododendrons;
- Eco-gel antistress. A liquid with a high effect;
- Ferovit. The drug has a good effect on a plant susceptible to chlorosis.
- Emerald. It is used if the foliage has become brown and faded. The healing effect that rhododendron receives gives its foliage a rich green color;
- Fitosporin-M. Feeding with this drug is carried out in order to form an immunity to the disease in plants. What is very important, the drug acts on the root system, preventing its decay.
Basic feeding rules
When planting rhododendrons, gardeners advise to adhere to certain rules.
Important! These plants require a special relationship. To achieve their lush, healthy flowering as a result, you should know what kind of care they need and how to choose the right nutrition.
Those wishing to have such a decoration in their garden must take into account several simple requirements.
- it is necessary to choose what to fertilize with rhododendrons and in what form. For young bushes, for example, fertilizers are recommended to be used in liquid form;
- the root system absorbs better liquid fertilizer solution;
- preference should be made towards the domestic manufacturer. Preparations manufactured in Russia are designed for local conditions of plant germination;
- you need to know about the dangers of wood ash. Its use changes the acidity of the soil, developing chlorosis in plants;
- with an excess of phosphorus in the soil, poor absorption of iron occurs, which also leads to chlorosis. This has a particularly negative effect on young seedlings.
Compliance with the rules
Important! A complex mixture cannot be used to supply rhododendrons. At the same time, preparations containing calcium do not fit the rosewood. Lime, wood ash, and other calcium-containing substances reduce the level of acid in the soil. As a result of ignoring such a warning, plants develop chlorosis. Bushes are depleted, their support forces are reduced.
Types of fertilizers for rhododendrons
The two main varieties of fertilizers used: organic and mineral types. Gardeners make choices based on their own preferences.
Organic Fertilizers for Rosewood
Rosewood is otherwise called room azalea. This is a rhododendron representing the heather genus. Organics are used for it in liquid form. A solution is made. Mullein is diluted in water in a proportional ratio of 1 liter per 20 grams. The composition is cleaned in a dark place and insist it there for 7-10 days. Then filter and do watering. It is important to know how to water the rhododendron. So that the composition is quickly absorbed into the soil, it must first be moistened before watering. Fertilizer is applied not directly at the place of plant germination, but at a distance of 25 cm from the shoots.
Note! Rose bushes can not be fed chicken droppings, fresh manure. Mullein is used in conjunction with rotted fertilizer in the winter. Mullein itself is scattered in the snow. In the spring, when the melting period begins, a diluted nutrient penetrates the soil. Spring feeding of rhododendrons occurs.
Mineral Feeding
Mineral nutrition of rhododendrons is carried out in August. Special combined preparations are required that do not affect the acid state of the soil.
It is recommended to use domestic products. Foreign manufacturers of fertilizers produce their products taking into account their own climatic conditions and soil conditions.
The main components in imported drugs have some difference in type and quantitative composition. To completely abandon them is not worth it. In the spring, deciding how to feed the rhododendron, you can take imported fertilizers. With the onset of autumn, domestic mineral fertilizers are taken for rhododendrons.
Important! Top dressing is done in the morning or in the evening. The optimal time is the days before it rains.
Mineral and organic top dressing
Fertilizer Scheme
First of all, it is necessary to clarify that if the soil was prepared in advance for planting seedlings and acted according to all agrotechnical rules, then fertilizing the flowers in the first year after planting is not required.
Further, in the second year, the distribution of feeding rhododendrons follows according to the scheme developed by specialists:
- the first feeding is carried out during the ripening of flower buds, at the moment when the leaves begin to bloom. You can use Azofoska - a combination of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. For feeding, choose mid-spring. Caring for rhododendrons in the spring and feeding them is considered an important step. The composition is taken so that it is enough for 20 grams. under each bush. Fertilizer is placed under the root. After 15 days, organics are added in the form of a solution or ammonium nitrate;
- for a second meal, you must wait until the buds begin to blossom. After the first feeding, from 1 to 1.5 months pass. Fertilizer does not change, use the same azofoska. In rhododendron, branches are strengthened, which is important for maintaining healthy plant growth in a given period;
- the third top dressing is done at a time when the flowers have already withered. By time - this is summer, the end of July. At this time, the plant is fertilized with compounds endowed with potassium and phosphorus. This is the calculation for a new flowering next year. The best option for the third top dressing can be considered potassium sulfate 20 gr. and superphosphate in the same amount.
Experts, when asked what to feed rhododendron after flowering, recommend a potassium-phosphorus composition;
Important! After flowering with a potassium-phosphorus composition, rhododendrons need to be fed, since a lack of trace elements can adversely affect the flowers. In the future, they may lose their former splendor.
- the fourth feeding falls in the fall. Rhododendrons are prepared for winter, so certain rules must be followed to give the plant more support. Only potash-phosphorus fertilizer, thorough watering is used. At the end, the root system of the rhododendron is covered with lapnik. Coniferous needles go to the powder.
Stages of feeding rhododendrons
Popular fertilizers
The most effective top dressing for rhododendron, according to experienced gardeners, is a mixture with potassium-phosphorus buffer composition. Here are all the necessary trace elements in the soil.
Important! Single cultivation of "rosewood" in the garden also involves the use of solutions of mineral salts.
Preparations designed for long-term action are taken to gradually replenish flowers in a certain period of time with a single application. The following fertilizers are in demand
- Pokon. Gardeners use the drug when young seedlings are planted. It is a spring top dressing, gives an effective result;
- ASB-Greenworld. This tool prefers decorative vegetation. Suitable for flowers if their place of growth is an acidic environment. The drug stimulates growth, develops culture, accelerates budding. Deciduous color improves. The tone of the flowers becomes more saturated. According to the instructions, fertilizer for rhododendrons is used every 3 months;
- Agrecol. During planting, 10 to 50 g of fertilizer is sufficient. The quantity depends on the size of the seedling. Adult plants are fed with granules, which are laid in the soil under the bush and then watered abundantly.
What happens if you stop fertilizing rhododendron
The answer to this question is quite simple. At first, rhododendron develops on the soil, where mineral elements are contained. It blooms beautifully and gives off a pleasant aroma. Then the soil is no longer fertilized. Nutrients gradually dry out. Soil acidity is reduced. The plant loses its decorative appearance, gets sick and dies with the most negative result.
The beauty of flowering as a reward
Thus, flower beds in the gardens are designed to delight, create spiritual harmony. But to achieve this, it is worth working hard. Growing rhododendrons, gardeners should take into account the needs of the plant, its whims. Only then will it give them its bright flowering, splendor, aroma.
