Blooming azalea (azalea), also known as rhododendron, will certainly become a decoration of the garden. Over time, the number of plants on the site can be increased if you master the technique of propagation of the bush. Experienced gardeners are well aware that there are many ways to get new plants. However, each method used has subtleties that only connoisseurs of garden rhododendrons know about.
How to propagate azalea at home
Use 4 methods of propagation of azaleas: seeds, cuttings, layering and division of the mother bush.
Propagation by seeds is a long and laborious process. To see how the azalea grown from seeds blooms, it will take a lot of patience and time. Therefore, flower growers prefer propagation by cuttings or layering, which is much faster.
Azalea bush in the garden
Growing Azaleas from Seeds
Experienced gardeners rarely use the seed method of propagation of azalea due to its complexity and low productivity. Having chosen this method of plant breeding, the following conditions must be strictly observed:
- create a greenhouse effect;
- use a special substrate;
- maintain a high level of humidity;
- provide constant lighting (especially from September to April).
An important step in breeding azalea with garden seeds is to choose the right planting material.
Important! Often, beginners acquire seeds, relying only on cost or a vivid picture, and subsequently, after planting, get a bad result.
In order for the propagation of the azalea flower from the seeds to be successful, when buying seeds, you should pay attention to the fact that the products must be certified, with good expiration dates, have a strong packaging without damage. Do not be shy to get advice from the seller about the best variety and number of seeds in the package, in order to correctly calculate the desired number of plants during cultivation.
Azalea seeds
It is better to sow seeds in the spring (March-April) when daylight hours increase. If you start planting earlier (in February), you need to use phytolamps for continuous lighting at home. Any container is suitable for sowing (low containers, cups or special planting pots for seedlings), the main thing is to choose the right size depending on the number of seeds sown and pay attention to the presence of several drainage holes at the bottom of the container.
The substrate can be prepared independently from equal parts of sand, peat, humus, turf and deciduous land. The soil must be acidified (pH 4-4.5). It is allowed to buy ready-made substrate for rhododendrons in specialized flower shops.
After preparing the container, the seeds are laid out in a thin layer on the soil surface and periodically sprayed with warm water from the spray gun, not forgetting to cover the crops with glass or polyethylene.
For reference! Usually, azalea seeds germinate at home after 3-4 weeks.
After all the seeds have sprouted, the greenhouse is carefully removed and a dive is carried out. The strengthened sprouts are gradually taken out onto the balcony for further hardening.
Separation of cuttings from the mother bush
The easiest and fastest way to get a new plant is to divide the mother bush. This method is used exclusively for breeding street varieties of azalea, but for indoor plants it is not suitable.
The essence of the method is that the side shoots are leaned against the ground, fixed and sprinkled with earth. With regular watering, this shoot will begin to take root and already next spring a young plant can be separated from the mother bush.
Propagation by layering
Garden azalea: reproduction by dividing the mother bush
Very rarely, this method of propagating azaleas is also used. The fact is that it is extremely difficult to completely dig out a large bush of rhododendron for division. And young plants do not have a powerful root system, which is not afraid of such manipulations.
The division of a small azalea bush is carried out in the spring, before the beginning of the movement of juice. Separation of the roots is carried out using a sharp shovel or knife. The resulting delenki are transplanted to a new place.
Azalea cultivation by cuttings
The best time for propagation of azaleas by cuttings is March or April. The cutting process takes 1.5 to 4 months. For this method, apical cuttings with a length of 7-10 cm are used.
For the successful rooting of sprouts, special conditions must be created.
Important! The most important condition for how easy it is to root the azalea is to observe the temperature regime. To maintain a constant temperature (18 ° C), it is better to place containers with cuttings on the lower heating (for example, close to the battery).
The surface of the soil must always be moist. After about 1.5 months, you can plant rooted sprouts in open ground.
Cutting azaleas
What is cuttings
The method of vegetative propagation of a plant when a part (cuttings) separated from the parent plant is used is called cuttings.
Important!By grafting, new plants with the same species and varietal characteristics as the maternal specimen are obtained. Other methods do not always give such an effect.
The propagation method has been used as plant propagation for about 150 years. This method is widely used in indoor floriculture and decorative gardening, forestry, etc.
Propagation by stem cuttings is the main way to obtain planting material of some fruit, berry and decorative species (currants, grapes, etc.). Such a process of growing crops requires certain conditions. Cutting cuttings is best during active shoot growth, and growth stimulants are used to quickly root the cuttings.
There are several techniques for cutting cuttings, depending on the ability of the plant to root. It can be a cut in internodes, hammer-shaped, nodular, etc.).
Features of growing various varieties of azalea cuttings
There are many similarities in how azaleas of different varieties reproduce. The cut of the handle can be either straight or oblique. For rooting, a mixture of peat substrate with sand is mainly used with the use of drugs that stimulate growth. It is also important to control the acidity of the substrate - it must be acidic. Before planting the petioles, the soil should be treated with fungicides to prevent the development of infectious diseases in the rooting process.
Cuttings of evergreen azalea shrubs should be ripened - if the shoot breaks with the characteristic crack of wood, then it is suitable for cuttings. On the handle there should be a formed kidney that has completed the vegetative development, leaves also formed, of normal size.
Attention! The size of the cuttings is 10-15 cm, sometimes they take 20 centimeters, but not more.
After the cuttings are separated from the mother bush, they act as follows:
- The cutlery is immersed in a solution with a growth stimulator for 10-15 hours.
- Then it is deepened into the substrate by 2-3 cm.
- The soil is well compacted and covered with a film.
The rooting of cuttings of evergreen rhododendrons continues for 4 months, after which they sit for another 2 months before they begin to grow. The film can be removed when the cuttings have grown.
Cuttings are carried out at a temperature of + 22 ... +27 ° C in good light. Evergreen azaleas can propagate by cuttings from mid-summer to mid-autumn (from July to October).
There is a slight difference in the rooting of deciduous azaleas - the growths of the current year, which have not yet completed development, are taken on the cuttings (the vegetative bud continues to grow, the apical leaves must be small, not completed their formation).
Important!If the top of the shoot has completed development, and the leaves have become dark green in color and of normal size, then such a stalk will not give roots.
Cuttings of deciduous varieties of azalea have a limited time period (approximately the end of June - beginning of July).
All further steps for rooting are similar to manipulations for evergreen varieties of azalea. The cuttings are placed in an acidic substrate, creating a greenhouse effect, a stable air temperature and sufficient lighting are controlled. The rooting process takes from 1.5 to 4 months.
Flowering, exactly the same as on the parent bush, in young plants obtained by cuttings, occurs 2 to 3 years after planting with proper care of the bush.
Rooted azalea cuttings
Step-by-step instructions on how to propagate azalea using cuttings
Propagation by cuttings is a time-consuming process that can sometimes drag on for 4 months. But all other methods are even more complicated and require a lot of effort from the owner.
The optimal time for grafting is the beginning of spring, although this is not prohibited in any other period. Experienced gardeners recommend propagation by cuttings for an azalea bush according to the following algorithm of actions:
- Cut the cuttings at least 10 cm in length by removing the lower leaves.
- Treat slices with a growth stimulator.
- Deepen all cuttings into the substrate by 3 cm and moisten it well.
- Create a mini-greenhouse with a film or plastic cup.
- Start airing the plants after a week for 15 minutes a day.
After successful rooting, the seedlings are moved to containers with suitable acidic soil, and after a year they are planted in open ground.
Rooted cuttings
Difficulties and problems in the propagation of azaleas
When propagating azaleas at home, flower growers may encounter difficulties such as decay of cuttings, lack of rooting and growth, or death of seed.
The causes of decay may be due to the use of diseased shoots, or inappropriate substrate infected with infections, low temperature of air and water used for irrigation.
The lack of growth and rooting of the stem can be if the stem was taken for cultivation with inappropriate vegetative development. As a rule, such processes are doomed to death.
Attention! The death of the cuttings can occur after rooting, since azalea is considered a capricious plant. Any changes in the environment (changes in temperature, humidity, drafts) can be fatal.
Of all the methods for propagating azaleas, cuttings are considered the most affordable, since the plant requires frequent pruning and bush formation, planting material will always be enough. If all conditions are met and given the capricious nature of the plant, you can still propagate azalea yourself at home and, thereby, decorate your site with beautiful bright bushes.
