Thanks for the helpful info Jim.

My ultimate goal is to dig these older plants up and replace them with
new ones.
From your comments, it appears I should dig a much wider/deeper hole and
fill it with good soil.

I have a major project planned for this summer. I'm planning on digging
up all the flower beds around our house and replacing the solid clay
with nice soil. Hopefully all the newer trees/plants will perform
better.

Mark



-----Original Message-----
From: Internet Bonsai Club [mailto:] On Behalf Of Jim Lewis
Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 3:31 PM
To:


Unfortunately, the ground is almost solid clay, hence the 6
inch growth
in 6 years !!


Azalea have a very tight, compact root system. In clay soils --
as we have here too, in the heart of azalealand -- the hole you
dig for the freshly unpotted plant often serves as another pot,
and the roots never leave it. Few people realize this when they
plant azalea and do not dig the holes wide enough (and dig them
much too deep and thus flood the roots), so the plants don't grow
well. This is undoubtedly what has happened in your case.

I'd still not fertilize them. Chances are you will find that the
root system is very little larger than the 1- or 5-gallon pot the
plants originally came in.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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