lace azalea ( Rhododendronspp . , USDA works hardiness zones 4a to 8b ) are not a natural phenomenon . They ’re create in nurseries where their bloom is usually timed for indoor color around the winter holidays . make your own tree diagram with intertwining stems is not a unmanageable task .
About Azalea Trees
hoi polloi of white , pink , red and purple funnel - shape spring flowers bloom on azalea trees . The Rhododendron genus hold back more than 1,000 species of plant that can be deciduous or evergreen , although most azalea are deciduous .
Azaleas are technically bush , but they take on a tree - like appearance when the stems are braid and the branches are trained . The blooms are mildly fragrant , and greenhouse cultivator can manipulate growing condition so that the braid azalea you buy at a baby’s room may bloom at specific metre of the year .
Satsuki azalea ( Rhododendron indicum ) have been develop for century as bonsai . Bonsai expert Melvin Goldstein , writing at theMatthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum , explain that in accession to Satsuki azaleas , the bush can be grown in the style known asshohin , where the tree can not be more than eight inches tall . braid azalea is considered a mannikin of bonsai .
Creating an Azalea Topiary
Braided azaleas are readily useable at nursery , but creating your own ask only a little skill and a mountain of patience :
about the same height . Use sharp scissors or pruners to cut all the other stem off at their bases .
remaining three stem about two - third of the style to the top .
up to the leaves you left near the top . If the braided staunch wo n’t contain their shape , employ gardening string or a twist tie-in to hold them broadly together .
stems .
In time , the top of the flora will become shaggy-coated , and — yield the right care — it will bloom .
Weeping fig ( Ficus benjamina ) , hibiscus ( Hibiscusspp . ) and Dracaena ( Dracaenaspp . ) are also in effect candidates for braid .
Warning
All parts of the azalea are poisonous to human beings and animals , according to theNorth Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . Ingesting the bark , flowers , leaf , roots , seeds or stem causes symptom range from sickness , vomit and diarrhoea to paralysis , cardiac failure and comatoseness .
Caring for Braided Azaleas
A braided azalea tree necessitate caution relate to light , water system and fecundation , along with attention from the possessor to manipulate the bloom time .
Light and Water
Light and water are critical to an azalea ’s well - being . The plants like a bright , cheery positioning when they ’re not blooming . Direct sunlight can glow the flowers , so when the plant is blooming , move it out of the sun .
Do n’t allow the azalea to wilt from underwatering because it will abbreviate the blooming sentence . Conversely , do n’t let the plant sit down in water system . utilise a pot with a drain dish and keep the land moist but not soggy .
Fertilization
Braided azaleas should n’t be fertilized when they ’re in bloom of youth . Use a liquified plant food recommended for azalea slenderly at other times of the yr .
keep on to prune shoot from the stems of the braided azalea as they come along and cut back off dead bloom . Pinch back young maturation at the top of the plant occasionally to further the plant to mature a bushy header .
Prompting Blooms
Getting the plant to bloom every year can be tricky . If your climate allow it , put the bush out of doors in October and bring it back in spite of appearance on January first .
If you have hard freezes in your region , try place the flora in a nerveless position indoors for a few month . It should bloom in a couple of month .
Even if you ’re not successful at pull a fast one on the braided azalea into blooming again , do n’t project it off . You ’ll still have an attractive indoor tree diagram .
