My azalia's leaves are turning bright yellow. Is this indicative of a problem?
Question:I have 3 azalias. The (oldest) one in the north of the house has yellow as the predominate color in the leaves, but the leaves still look alive. The younger one in the northwest has dark green leaves with some turning brown at the bottom (I am watering more to correct for that) and the younger one in the west is just fine. The two younger ones are the same age, but all 3 are likely to be different varieties. Does my oldest plant have a problem? If so, what is it and how do I fix it.
Answers:
Yellowing leaves could indicate too little water or too much water. Monitor the soil moisture content to determine which may be the cause.
Yellow to white leaves, with black specks on the underside, may be due to azalea lacebugs. They feed from the undersides of the leaves, and suck out the chlorophyll.
Yellow leaves with green veins indicates chlorosis. The most common chlorosis (soil element deficiency) is iron. Sufficient Iron can be present in the soil and still be deficient for the plant because of a too high or too low soil pH. The only way to tell is to perform a soil test. Azaleas do not need much in the way of fertilizers. Better to mulch with organic mnaterials to provide the nutrients needed by these plants. Here is what the Azalea Society of America has to say about fertilizing azaleas: "In general, azaleas in the landscape require little or no fertilizer. Having humus (decomposed organic matter) in the soil and maintaining an organic mulch around azaleas are more important than applying chemical fertilizers, and much safer. Decomposition of the mulch normally provides the nutrients needed for the good health of the azaleas.
If chlorosis of the leaves (yellowed, with green veins) or stunted plant growth suggest there may be nutritional deficiencies, a soil test may be useful. This can usually be arranged through your county agent at little or no cost. Soil test results will show the specific amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and various other important elements that are present in the soil. The results may be accompanied by specific fertilizer recommendations to correct any deficiences. If not, your county agent may be able to provide specific recommendations.
Applying chemical fertilizers without knowledge of any deficiences in your soil may not help much, and may actually harm your azaleas. As a very general rule, more azaleas are killed by kindness than by neglect."
They need fertilizer and/or iron. Azaleas are acid loving plants. Miracid is a good product (mix with water) as is Green Light's Chelated Iron and Soil Acidifier. The Green Light product is a liquid. Also mix with water. There are lots of azalea fertilizer products at Walmart, Lowes, etc. The two mentioned above have worked great for me, the Green Light especially. (greenlightco.com)
Sounds like shock of some type - sharp cold sounds less likely, though water logged often causes yellowing.
They need ericaceous plant feed, to allow all the nutrients to be absorbed by the plant for growth. There is a good range of them on the market today, go for a prolonged release one, if you can find it locally.
Mine did this also and I applied Miracle Grow to them. They perked right up..
give it fish emoulsion or blood meal and it will flourish
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