Help Azaleas dying !

18 years ago

I planted 80-90 North Tisbury azaleas on a hillside about 8 years ago. The slope varies from about 30 to 40 degrees, the soil is mostly clay and is not well drained as moss grows on the hill. The plants received dabbled sun under a number of large white oaks.

The azaleas spread and did very well until last year. I had die back on a number of branches (which I trimmed) and lost 7 plants. I attributed the problem to the drought we had then. The problem continues this year and we have had plenty of rain. The plants die one branch at a time. That suggest insects but I cannot see anything except pill bugs on the ground. I have aerated a number of them by hand but that does not seemed to have helped much. The soil is poorly drained as I said, but their is no way for water to stand on the slope. I would be very grateful of any tips!

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Comments (5)

rhodyman
18 years ago
Last years drought caused lots of problem and is still causing problems. The dieback that accompanies a drought is opportunistic and will continue to attack weakened plants. The drought caused extensive die back but it also weakened plants and other problems moved in on these weakened plants. The carnage may continue until after a good growing season.

Insects such as borers tunnel through the stems. If, when you cut a dead branch off, there is signs of tunneling between the dead part and the live part, then it is borers. There is not much you can do about borers. They will prey on weakened plants.

Too much shade can be bad. You might remove some of the lower branches from the oaks if they have any.

A good mulch will help the azaleas cope with extremes in weather. Oak leaves provide an ideal mulch.

Aeration can kill azaleas. Azaleas have shallow roots that can be killed when you aerate. Do not cultivate around the roots at all. Just mulch.

Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow rhododendrons and azaleas.
maddie_2008
17 years ago
The leaves on my encore azaleas are turning brown on the tips and falling off. Some plants have very few leaves but are blooming. They look sick and unhealthy. These plants looked great all spring and summer. Now are dying.
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morz8 - Washington Coast
17 years ago
Leaves browning from the tips usually indicates either drought/not enough water, or too much fertilizer.
henrietta39
17 years ago
henrietta39 hl52639@yahoo.com
I have encore azaleas that were planted 4 or 5 years ago,they flowered once and have not flowered since,right now they have nothing but leaves which don't seem to very healthy. what should I do? Can I transplant them to a different area where they would get more sun?
morz8 - Washington Coast
17 years ago
henrietta, you don't say where you are. Encores perform best in full sun to light, filtered shade. ( minimum of four to six hours of direct sun for best blooms). They are also bud hard to approximately Z7, if you are in 6 or colder buds may not survive without winter protection.

If you are in an appropriate zone for growing these and feel they need a sunnier site than you have been giving them, yes - you can move them. Be careful to plant no deeper than they were originally growing, make sure to give them adequate water until fully established.