This is Weed. And this is Wack with WOWD gardens. And we are an organic gardening show. We like to talk about all aspects of our gardens. And DC and Tacoma are very famous for our azaleas. So today we’re going to talk about azaleas. That’s right. Right now they’re in complete bloom. They’re in full bloom. And you know, my wife says, well, they have a very long bloom period. What happens is,
each species blooms for about two weeks and they overlap. And they start basically at the end of March, the light purple azaleas come out first. There are some in that park right across from Tacoma. And those are called Glendale azaleas. And it’s easy for breeders to have a field day creating all kinds of colors and and fragrances and stuff like that. There is a species that is native
to America. But I believe a lot of our ornamental ones are the Asian. There are actually three types that are native to America. I learned them when I was taking those USDA classes. They’re all deciduous. Right. And of course, I can’t remember those names. And you know, back then, all we did is learn the Latin name. So it’s even harder to remember. But the there was one type called the conversation piece that I ended up planning quite a bit of. And that’s a white one that has a yellow streak in the center.
I guess it struck up a whole bunch of conversations. I believe our ornamentals are a zone six to nine loving plant. And so where I spent a lot of time growing up in Western Pennsylvania, up in the mountains, we didn’t have azaleas. And I mean, we had beautiful rhododendron and mountain laurel that were blooming and just every bit is gorgeous. So when I moved to D.C., I was hit by hard by azaleas. The colors almost
caught me off guard, you know. Yeah, and they just completely. Particularly when one of my first trips when I moved to Washington was the National Arboretum and they have some there that I think are 10 feet tall. Yeah, there’s an area called Azalea Hill. Yeah. And you go there and you check them out. They’re huge there. Okay. Well, this real quick talk about obtaining azaleas and planting azaleas. Best time of the year to obtain your
azaleas are spring or fall and they like well drained soil. So you have to dig a hole and sometimes leave the crown of your azalea out on the top if there’s a lot of clay below and fill it up with the surrounding soil. They do like sort of an acidic soil and just water them quite well for the first year and then they should be on their own. Well, I would say shop for your
azaleas in the spring because then they are flowering and you know what colors there are and then you know what colors you’re going to get and put in your yard and figure they’re going to grow very slowly. They tend to grow very slowly. And most of them are evergreen or semi evergreen. If you get a real cold winter, they might lose their leaves. But generally speaking, they are evergreen. Just about all of them in this area are Asian, although there are some types that have really cool exotic
colors and are more like trees that these are called Xbury azaleas and they were developed in England. So, you know, the area, like I said, is known for Azaleas. I think Tacoma is called, you know, Azalea City. I have a good little, it is called Azalea City and rightfully so. It’s just gorgeous. Being a landscaper, I say that they’re very common to me. And so I did not, I basically had a couple of azaleas in my yard and I pulled them out to plant other things.
Right. Well, a lot of the azaleas in my yard are fond of because I purchased them from Gil Grovner, one of the patriarchs of the National Geographic Society. I worked there for many years, our CEO, president. Anyway, he loved breeding azaleas and he had an azalea farm out in Virginia and he bred azaleas. And every spring,
he’d come in with his suburb and loaded up with azaleas and you’d contact his office assistant and say, “Oh, give me a couple. I want a couple of these.” And you go down to the basement and you pick up your azaleas. So, you just say, “I want a couple ones that are pink or red.” And like you said, they were flowering. So, you could tell what they were. But he had them quite well. Like three gallon pots or five gallon pots? Yeah. And they were such healthy things that
when you’re working full time and everything, you’re getting azaleas for almost nothing. You leave them in the backyard, you’re on the fence line and stuff. These things were so hearty that even with me forgetting about them, the roots would grow through the pots and they would keep on living until I finally got around to planting them. Yeah, they’re pretty hearty. They’re pretty hearty. I could say these one plants are, you’re not supposed to transplant things when they’re flowering,
but the job worked for some friends of mine that needed to have some big azaleas moved and they were completely flowering. And I said, “Well, good chances these aren’t going to survive. Every single one of them survived.” So, they’re very hearty. They are hearty. And as far as propagating them goes, with my azaleas, if I want to propagate one, I’ll push a branch down, a lower branch against the ground and weigh it down with a stick or something and then put soil over one of the branches.
The branches against the ground and I’ll water that like normal, but I’ll water it, keep it moist. And in a year or two, or maybe even less, it will root and you could dig it up and transplant it and have a new azalea plant anyway. So, you’re propagating this way. Well, there are certain types of azaleas that are low-growing ground cover type. Right. And there are other types that are upright type. Do you know what kind yours is? Mine’s an upright type. It’s white right now.
Yeah. And I also had success doing that when one is starting to die off and you notice that you start working with one of the branches that you want to root and by pushing it down to the ground. I first discovered this because the branch fell on the azalea bush and I never did anything with the branch. Just pushed it on the ground there. And I came back to it and it was rooted. Sweet. Yeah. So, what did we learn here today, folks? Azaleas are beautiful. Plant them in the spring.
They’re extremely hardy. They’re extremely hardy. And they will root if you bury a branch. And, you know, just water them well for the first year and then you can sort of forget about them. Okay, folks. So, goodbye from weed and whack. Join us next week. And we’ll be back.