Marianne's Response

my azalea are dying

I created a new bed of composted soil to plant azalea on the front of mothers house and they are dying. They have been in the ground about 2 months. they bust be watered every day or they wilt. regardless of the watering they turn yellow then brown and dye. some it hits early some later. I only put a teaspoon of osmocote on them but it seems like to much. I have consulted the nursery for answer but have no explanation. there is no mold, no animal or insect eating the roots, not sitting in water. The only thing that . I planted them in 3 different location. They are also not growing much. it really strange. Please help

Posted by David Blackwell on July 8, 2019

Marianne's Response

My best guess is that you water too much. Compost holds moisture and if you water often the new roots could be rotting so the plants start to droop and it looks like lack of water but is instead too much water. Try uprooting one plant and moving it into potting soil. If the plant improves you know it is the soil that is to blame. So sorry about this mystery of death. My other guess would be a burrowing rodent but I do know that one teaspoon of Osmocote or a small amount of other fertilizer would not cause this problem.  Too much plant food shows up at leaf burn or brown edges not wilting. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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