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Planting small gift Azalea outdoors?
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Posted by greattigerdane z5NY (My Page) on Mon, May 11, 09 at 12:01
| Ok, you all have probably been asked this quite a few times....
I received a 6" potted gift plant on Sunday that is flowering with lots of pink blooms. My brother said it should stay as a houseplant, but unless you have a cool place for it, it won't do all that well in the winter months with the heat on, I tried it before and many of the leaves looked brown dry and just plain terrible from lack of humidity.
I have two Azalea's that do very well in my yard.
Can my "gift Azalea plant" be planted outdoors and survive our cold NY winters? If not, why not?
Thanks for any information you may have:)
Billy Rae |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Planting small gift Azalea outdoors?
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I do not think anyone can answer the question 'can it be planted outdoors' reliably. If the plant would have come with a plant label that showed the variety name and given the USDA Zones where it is hardy, then the answer would be obvious. But without this hardiness information, it is difficult to know. The big majority will thrive in Zones 7-9, with a few being able to grow into Zones 4-6. These gift azaleas, a.k.a. florist azaleas, can be hardy varieties in the range 7-9 but iffy elsewhere. You really have to know the variety to know for sure. And there is only one way to find out.... and that is to plant it and see. Your odds improve if you are in warm zones of course.
An alternative is to grow it outside in a pot. Then bring the plant into the garage or a protected inside area when it becomes dormant in the fall/winter, watering it every other week or so.
As you have already determined, Azaleas do not do well when grown indooors. |
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