In message , Kate Brown
writes
On Wed, 20 May 2009, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote
In message ,
writes
Apologies for another beginner's corner question.

I'm trying to do the best for a couple of azaleas which look to me to
be in serious need of some TLC.

Now that they've finished flowering I've nipped off the spent flower
heads, done a careful pruning - there was some towering sort of growth
and I'd like to encourage a more spreading habit - and I'm about to
dig in some ericaceous compost for a feed and a more acid environment
but here I've hit a snag.

One of the plants appears to have been planted quite high in the
surrounding soil and whatever might have been the medium it was
originally planted in is almost impervious to the trowel - it's a kind
of inseparable peaty mass.

Is it ok to dig as aggressively as would be required to penetrate into
it in order to introduce the ericaceous stuff or should I just lay the
compost on top of what's already there?

Rhododendron's have a reputation for being shallow rooted. If this is
equally true for azaleas aggressive digging would seem to
contraindicated.

On the other hand (writes a beginner at this gardening thing), I had an
azalea that had outgrown its pot and I wanted to put it in a trough. I
managed to separate it into three clumps, pulling the roots apart, and
replanted the clumps in a line in the trough. Three years later they
are flourishing well, even though they are neglected most of the year
(they are in the French garden. They did get a bit of gall trouble this
spring but are otherwise lovely). So it seems that cutting into some
roots didn't destroy them.


Rhododendrons are tolerant of some root damage; it's been said that
there won't flower well until they've been taken for ride round the
garden in a wheelbarrow.

Digging up an azalea is not the same as digging over all the ground
around its stem.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley