When it comes to prune azaleas, the first thing you should know is what type of azaleas you have as that plays an important role in the pruning of your plant. Different type of azaleas will need different kind of pruning.
Before we move on to how to care for azaleas and when to prune azaleas, here are some facts about azaleas that could interest you
Pruning of Azaleas
They is timing is everything. This is also true when we prune the plants and trees. In the case of azaleas, time is one of the most important factor to consider for their growth and health. The best time to prune an azaleas plant is few weeks after their blooming season is over. Do not wait for too long as three week wait after their blooming season is perfect. Remember to not wait till summer or fall to prune them as then they will not bloom in the next season.
When you get down to pruning, examine the overgrown shrub to plan out how will start the pruning. The most traditional way of pruning is by cutting off the top branches and the ones on the side in order to promote new growth.
Begin your pruning by locating the dead and dying branches and use clean and sterile pruning shears to remove those dead and dying branches. By removing damaged, or dead branches you are cutting off the possibility of spreading the diseases through those branches.
If your azalea plant or shrub needs to be cut drastically, then you can do that. There is no harm in removing the overgrown plant or shrub.
When the pruning days are on for your azaleas, make sure you water them several times as it will encourage the new growth of the plant.
You must also trim the bush carefully after the flowers are gone. Dead and diseased stems can be found and you must trim them carefully.
Lastly, do fertilize your azaleas. You can use a slow release fertilizer.
Even though we hardly use traditional methods for healing, Mother Nature has blessed us with an abundance of beautiful medicinal plants. It always good to have a natural alternative to your everyday health woes and worries. Coming with a variety of qualities, these plants help nurture and heal our bodies from any sorts of injuries or sicknesses.
Here are few of the most powerful medicinal plants that you can use to stabilize and advance your health.
Thyme
Apart from its high demand for culinary purposes and beautiful fragrance, thyme is an amazing herb that is antibacterial and antiseptic in nature. The oil extracted from this is known to provide quick relief from cough. So, next time you are tormented because of sore throat, incorporate some thyme in your tea. Thyme also regulates the blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels and improves the immunity holistically. It soothes flaky and dry skin as well.
Catnip
Catnip is widely known as an effective detoxifier for the human body, you can use it during fevers to facilitate sweating as well for calming your nerves. Apart from this, it also aids in soothing the digestive system and treats migraines too. If you’re suffering from pain in tooth and gums, you can use catnip to relieve yourself from the discomfort.
Sage
Sage is popularly known for its healing properties, which is rich in antioxidants and fights against inflammation and bacterial infections. It also helps maintaining a healthy digestive system and provides relief from stomach cramps. Sage is also known for its anti-ageing properties and can be used renew skin cells.
Ginger
A common ingredient in the Asian cuisine, ginger is known for relieving motion sickness and nausea, especially for pregnant women. It also effectively deals with indigestion, you can have it incorporated in your health drinks. It beneficial for people suffering from diabetes and heart ailments, as it prevents the blood from clotting. A cup of ginger tea everyday will elevate your overall immunity tolerance against bacterial and fungal infections.
Lavender
The fragrance of lavender is not foreign to us, and therefore it is used widely in aromatherapy. But apart from its sweet smell, lavender is rich when it comes to healing properties. It can treat skin disorders as well as slow down aging. A few drops of lavender oil can instantly add radiance to your face. It also treats burns and cuts excellently. If you happen to suffer from sleeping disorders, depression, anxiety or excessive hair fall, lavender oil is a must have product in your medicinal closet.
The ancient Chinese philosophy of fengshui has found its way into modern homes and work spaces. This is mainly because its implementation harmonizes the spirit of a place. The use of plants for the order and the arrangement in homes is a great way to increase a positive flow of energies as well as for attracting good vibes.
Here are some plants that you can incorporate in your space to enhance the synchronization and serenity of living.
Silver Crown
Blessed with silver luster on its leaves, the silver crown is regarded as the luckiest plant in fengshui. It attracts good luck and fortune for its owner. This plant can be placed in your house or in your office space to boost prosperity.
Money Plant
It isn’t uncommon to see a money plant in houses, gardens and office spaces. And why wouldn’t one see it everywhere! It is said that the money plant boosts wealth, abundance and prosperity for the owner.
Jade Plant
Known as the friendship plant, this auspicious shrub is considered as an incredible addition to your space. Its succulent structure looks magnetic and acts magnetic for luck, relationships and money. Just make sure that you don’t soak it with excess water.
Peace Lilies
This mesmerizing plant with white flowers is not only aesthetically endearing but also beneficial to your health. It absorbs toxic matter from indoors and improves the air’s quality for breathing. You can place this in your bedroom or in room where you where you exercise and meditate.
Lucky Bamboo
These plants might be hollow from the inside but they have an immense amount of substance and wisdom. The hollowness of a lucky bamboo facilitates the easy movement of positive energy. This can be a perfect gift for someone who has just got a new home.
Chrysanthemum
These spellbinding flowers symbolize ease and optimism. They diminish the level of depression and anxiety in a household. Chrysanthemums are known to bring balance and stability for a person, by increasing happiness and good luck.
Make sure that you remember the specific needs of the plants while buying. You don’t want to water it too much or keep it in the sunlight unnecessarily. Such uninformed actions can lead to the falling and drying of the leaves which counters the purpose of having a fengshui plant. Place it in the correct position to channel the energies in house for the best possible outcomes.
Having plants in your home can gently enhance the mood of your space. It is not just aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but has plenty of benefits for human health.
If you’re thinking why you should include plants in your home, don’t think hard! Here are a few reasons why they should be nestled along with your furniture and decorations.
Reduces Stress
Do you remember being on a nature trek or driving through road canopied by woods on both sides? Memorize how peaceful and refreshing you felt. The point is having a plant in your vicinity can change your vibe and emit positivity. Even when we happen to be in our homes, we are constantly harrowed by responsibilities and work. House plants can make the ambience tranquil and your mind relaxed.
Cleans the air
Plants assist in purifying the air by absorbing toxins like formaldehyde which can be found in your furniture and fabrics, as well as in cigarettes. Plants improve the bad air standards indoors and lowers carbon dioxide levels. They are known to help sustain a better room temperature by increasing humidity levels at a healthy range.
Lowering illness levels
Due to their ability to absorb toxic matter and release oxygen, plants lower the risk of illnesses in homes. Sick individuals are often able to recover more quickly when they have plants placed in their room. They also observe a lesser rate in uneasiness and exhaustion while they are in a room with plants.
Helps diminish noise
Plants tend to absorb and deflect sound waves, which helps lessen the background noise intensity. If you live in a loud neighborhood, house plants will be an amazing addition to your space.
Improves sleep
There are certain plants which release oxygen during the nighttime as well. This will aid in having a better and a peaceful sleep. People having sleeping disorders can experiment by placing house plants in their bedroom.
Elevates productivity
House plants due to their powerful presence can increase concentration levels and productivity. This soothing quality of a houseplant is not only useful for your home, but also for classrooms and workplaces.
Visually appealing
A houseplant can add fresh and natural colors in your home decor, which are instantly calming to the eyes. You don’t have to worry about them fitting in, as they easily blend anywhere. Place them besides a sofa, a desk or a window, they will just elevate the beauty of your furniture.
Before making a purchase for a houseplant, just remember to make sure that there is no scope for allergies. Also check if the plants you’re planning to buy are toxic or not for your pets.
While plant zones and heat zones are extremely helpful, they do not cover everything you need to know about plantation. There are many other weather and climatic effects that can determine how well a plant will grow, this includes humidity, rainfall and wind. The growing zone maps that were compiled were based on average temperatures, hence they don’t account for unusual weather patterns, and sudden climatic changes such as temperatures hitting -10 degrees Celsius on a Halloween night with no previous frosts or wintry climate for that matter. The hardiness zone maps are neither an assurance that the winter temperatures will never be colder than what is stated on the map. Other factors that cannot be included on a large national map are the effects of soil and soil fertility. Also, the health of your plants in general cannot be predicted alone through a growing zone map.
Planting Zone maps also don’t tell us about micro-climates. Micro-climates are nothing but small areas with different weather. A good example of a micro-climate is a mountain. The largest micro-climate would be the whole mountain. Micro-climate of a mountain have different weather based on its elevation, but smaller micro-climates are the north and south sides of the mountain. Factors such as wind-sheltered pockets on the south side or areas beside a mountain stream are also independent of the planting zone map. A very small micro-climate might be the north side of a house or a south-facing brick wall. Several micro-climates can exist in one place, with one adding to or canceling out the effect of another, hence these factors are also independent of the planting zone maps.
So know if you have a micro-climate where you live, Take your own temperature readings around your yard. The best indications are the plants you grow. Use your plants as a guide, if certain plants that are supposed to be hardy to your zone continue to die in your yard, you may have a cold pocket. Or if you’re growing a Zone 8 plant in Zone 7, you may have a warm pocket. So it is advisable that you consider these factors even while relying on planting zones as they (together with planting zones) will give you a better insight on growing a particular plant in that particular region.
Planting zones or hardiness zones are a geographically defined area that specifies the category of the plant that will be able to survive in that area. This includes its ability to withstand minimum and maximum temperature. Developed by Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum from Massachusetts, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the year 1960 and revised in 1965, the planting zones help decide what crops and plants can be grown in the specified area, so that they do not wither away because of the unfavorable climatic conditions.
A plant in Hardy zone or plant zone 1 is less resilient to the ones in plant zone 2. Most of the warmer zones (8, 9, 10 and 11) are in the southernmost part of United States and the relatively colder zones move towards the northern territory. There are zones where in it is difficult to choose the type of crop or plantation to go with as they experience severe climates throughout the year.
The planting zones are 6 degrees apart from each other. For example, zone 1 is in the temperature range of 51 degree Celsius and zone 2 is of the range -45-degree Celsius zone 3 is 6 degrees warmer and so on. The central and northerly regions have less fluctuations in the temperature thus have limitations in these areas.
One of the drawbacks of planting zones is that they tend to overlook the fact that the snow cover actually acts as insulator to the roots of the plant that are hibernating. many plants may survive in a locality but will not flower if the day length is insufficient or if they require a particular duration of low temperature. With annuals, the time of planting can often be adjusted to allow growth beyond their normal geographical range.
Different plants grow under a different planting zone. If you are planning for home gardening and have gone to buy plants to grow them into your garden, then you might have come across plants tagged with holly or plain numerical, what do they mean exactly? The tags define the hardiness zone of the plant. For instance, if you cultivate Zone 3-7 (plants that dwell in the colder regions, Alaska for instance) plant in a zone 9 or zone 10 territory (much warmer regions, Florida for instance) the plant might as well wither away as it cannot withstand warmer temperatures and vice versa. Almost all the plants have been assigned Hardiness zones. Some plants might have a tag of two zones (4-5 / 6-7 for instance), this means the plant is from the hardiness zone that has a particular range of temperature for particular number of days.