Urban yamadori Azalea

Poink88 wrote:So far so good...no sign of wilting on any of the foliage even when we hit 109.

I spoke too soon, lost half of the foliage already and no signs of new growth either.

Collected plants have a lot of reserves built up in the tissues which can sometimes fool us into thinking they're ok for a while. If the roots don't kick into gear before those energies are used up, branches die back. Remember that pile 'o boxwoods I told you about finding, roots in the air in the sun? All have kicked the bucket. They hung on as long as they could, even pushing a little new growth, but eventually ran out of steam. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't. On the other hand, I've had dwarf yaupons that have actually formed a new nebari by sending out roots like a cutting when the old roots were goners. So you never know... Fingers crossed for your azalea.

Today I found three Silverberry bushes (Eleagnus pungens) that were out by the trash in my neighborhood. Spent a few hours cutting back and potting them up, but who knows if they'll make it! We do what we can...

Joey,

I have a similar Yaupon that I picked up pre-dug months ago...it sprouted a little then stopped. It stayed like that for months then last week it just dried up. I believe I can tell/differentiate now how a stored energy sprout is vs "healthy" growth (with corresponding root growth). My recent pick up yaupons are good though. 3 out of 4 are growing like crazy. The 4th is still green on a few areas but mostly dead everywhere else and very likely to die. The 2 large boxwood are also leafing well (considering the heat).

Keeping my fingers crossed on this azalea though.

Today, I noticed multiple tiny green spots in various branches...BUDS!!! WooHoo!!!

Added an update pic at OP.

Winter protection question.

Considerations:
1. plant was growing & collected locally
2. unknown variety
3. recently collected (3 months ago)
4. late, short, and mild Austin. TX winter (usually)
5. still growing today with 3"-4" shoots now

Given above info, do you suggest any winter protection for this azalea? If yes, what kind?

Thank you.

Hi Dario.

If it were mine I'd sit it on the ground against a solid fence or wall to protect it from a burning north wind. Throw some mulch up around the roots/pot. On nights when you're expecting a severe freeze cover it with a blanket.

As for "unknown variety"... I've already mentioned that it's a Southern Indica, and which varieties are most likely. If you can post a good picture of the foliage, we can narrow it down better.

Thanks Russell.

Sorry, I thought your input earlier was just a probable/intelligent guess. I will take pics of the foliage (with ruler as scale) tonight and post. They are not matured yet though and might not help you as well.

I really appreciate all your help.

Russell,

Here is a shot of the leaves as requested.


Thank you!

Definitely Indica. If it's in the South, big leaves, big flowers, BIG PLANT - it's an Indica.

Now, which one? You'll know instantly when it blooms, and you can narrow it down to one or two when that new growth matures. It's hard to say with that young, tender foliage.

Here are three... 'Formosa' on the left, the most common, 'George L. Tabor' in the middle, also very popular, and 'Pride of Mobile' on the left, sadly the dog of the bunch.



There are many Indicas avaiable that have the same foliage as 'Formosa', so that has to be narrowed down by flower. The foliage of 'GLT' in the middle is distictive as far as Indicas go. It's more narrow, bigger and a paler green. There are only three with foliage like this: 'GLT' with a pale pink flower with a dark blotch, 'Mrs. G. G. Gerbing', the white form, or 'O-murasaki' the violet Japanese parent of the 2 pervious sports. The chances of it being 'O-murasaki' are very slim as it isn't grown by anyone commercially as far as I know. They are really all three the same plant, like the satsuki 'gumpo' with its 3 flower forms sold. I have a giant 'GLT' in my garden that has all 3 colors on it. I think your plant is one of these going by the color of the bark and the muscly trunks, but I'm not 100% on that yet.

Thanks Russell!!!

As you said, I will wait until it blooms. For now, I am just glad it survived and want to make sure it receive all the help it needs this coming winter.

Dario,
I have a couple of scrubby looking Indica varieties and wintering them isn't an issue here. They've taken the worst our weather can throw and laughed it off. BUT since you have fresh new unhardened growth up top and down below, precautions should be taken this year. What Russell said about being on the ground and covering it, should probably be enough. If you're extra concerned, it can be taken in for the 2-3 nights that we get a really hard freeze. This would be the only winter I'd worry about it.

Thanks Joey! I plan on setting up an area in my small porch for this and the yaupons with a heating cable (used for roof defrosting) and cover it with mylar plastic during hard freeze. Sound like this planned setup would be sufficient (please let me know otherwise).

All the tropicals will be inside the garage.

Thank to you both again!

Actually with your overhead covering, and plastic you're talking about, I don't think you need any supplimental heating at all for any of these. Tropicals yes, but not Yaupons, Boxwood, Azalea or any of the others. I'll bet the heat from your home would keep it just fine. After all, a freeze is ok, but a deep hard freeze with burning winds on newly collected... not so much.