Is azalea cold-resistant? How to keep azalea from dying in winter?

As people's quality of life improves, more and more people like to grow some flowers and plants at home, and azaleas are deeply loved by people because of their gorgeous flowers and high ornamental value. So is azalea cold-resistant? How to keep azaleas alive in winter? Let's take a look.

Is azalea cold-resistant?

Azalea prefers a cool, moist, ventilated semi-shady environment. It is afraid of both extreme heat and severe cold. The optimum temperature for growth is 12℃ to 25℃. When the temperature exceeds 35℃ in summer, new shoots and leaves grow slowly and are in a semi-dormant state. In summer, it is necessary to protect against the sun and shade, and in winter, it is necessary to keep warm and prevent cold. Avoid exposure to the sun. It is suitable to grow under scattered light with low light intensity. If the light is too strong, the tender leaves are easily burned, and the new and old leaves are burnt. In severe cases, the plant will die. In winter, measures should be taken to prevent cold when cultivating azalea in the open field to ensure its safe wintering. Among the ornamental azaleas, the western azalea has the weakest cold resistance, and it is easy to suffer frost damage when the temperature drops below 0℃.

When should azaleas be brought indoors for the winter?

Different plants have different cold tolerances. Generally speaking, most potted plants need to be moved indoors in late autumn before frost. But when to move azaleas indoors should be determined based on the actual local temperature conditions. Azaleas have a certain degree of cold tolerance, and a maintenance temperature of 0-3 degrees Celsius will not freeze the azaleas. You can wait until the temperature drops to around 0 degrees Celsius before moving it indoors, and then wait until the outdoor temperature reaches 5 degrees Celsius above zero before moving it out.

If you move the azalea indoors too early, it will not be conducive to its accumulation of nutrients and improvement of cold resistance. Therefore, when caring for the azalea in winter, you can delay the time of bringing it indoors without freezing it.

How to keep azalea from dying in winter

Maintaining Temperature

If you don't want azalea to die in winter, the most important thing is to maintain a good temperature. Azalea is very afraid of low temperatures and likes to grow in a warm environment. The most suitable temperature for azalea growth is between 15 and 25 degrees. If you want the azalea to survive the winter safely, we need to keep the temperature above 5 degrees. If it is below 5 degrees, the azalea will be frostbitten or even frozen to death.

Reasonable watering

Azalea likes moist soil and needs to maintain sufficient water during maintenance. If it is too dry, the leaves of the azalea will turn yellow and dry, which is not conducive to growth. However, water evaporates slowly in winter. If you water too much, it will cause water accumulation, which will cause the roots of the azalea to rot and is not conducive to keeping warm. Therefore, when watering azalea in winter, we must wait until the soil is completely dry before watering.

Proper pruning

Because the temperature drops in winter, azalea will enter a dormant state and basically will not absorb nutrients at this time, so we need to prune those overgrown and diseased branches. This can reduce nutrient consumption, allowing the azalea to better survive the winter and accumulate more nutrients to lay a good foundation for growth in the second year.

How to grow azalea in the north in winter

Due to heating in the north in winter, the indoor temperature is relatively high, generally above 20 degrees. At this time, azaleas will not enter dormancy, so we need to water the azaleas normally, keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. When watering, be careful not to keep the water temperature too low. It is best to keep it the same as the room temperature, otherwise it will irritate the roots of the azaleas.

Due to heating reasons, the indoor environment in the north will be relatively dry in winter, and azaleas like to grow in a high humidity environment. If the surrounding area is too dry, the leaves of the azalea will become dry and burnt. Therefore, we need to spray water on the azaleas and the surrounding areas frequently in winter to maintain the humidity of the air, so that the azaleas can grow better.