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Prep Your Azalea Plants For The Winter Season With These Tips
By SAKSHI KHAITAN
Azalea plants need special care to survive the winter, as their flowering buds and leaves can turn black, shrivel up, and fall off. The branches could also rupture and flake away.
To winter-proof your azalea plants, you should stop applying fertilizer during late summer or early fall and reduce watering by at least two-thirds during the fall.
Next, use a combination of leaf mold, aged wood chips, and pine needles as a 3 to 5-inch organic mulch layer around the plant’s base. Remember to remove it when spring arrives.
If your azalea is newly transplanted, it's ideal to move it indoors or provide shelter to prevent winter injuries. You can use canvas, bed sheets, or burlap to create a windscreen.
Another option is to install a tent made up of evergreen branches around your plant by driving the twig ends into the ground and tying them together on the top.