Midwest ARS

Midwest ARS plant sale at CBG a great success

mwadmin — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:11:35 +0000

At the Midwest Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society Mother’s Day Sale this past weekend we had one of our best sale ever. We sold all but 2 plants and made a lot of friends when we gave away the member donated trusses at the end of the sale. Below are some of the people who visited our plant sale.

And here are some of the Midwest ARS member who helped out.

Ted, John, Dave & Jack

Make sure to join us next year

April 2012 Superior Rhododendron Blooming Season – Fred Stanton’s Garder

mwadmin — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:56:17 +0000

Happy Rhododendron Display at Fred’s house in April, 2012. The best Rhododendron blooming that I’ve ever seen! The mostly cooler April compared to the very warm March was perfect for the longevity of the Rhododendron blooms this year.

I have had the Greer hybrid called “Hallelujah” for at least 4 years. Thia year, partially due to the very mild winter, the Hallelujah Rhododendron had two bloom clusters. The individual flowers were 3 1/2 inches across and the cluster was 7 inches across. Quite a show, but I feel that many of the hybrids that we have are equally as pretty.

Thank you for keeping me posted on the Midwest Chapter’s activities. I hope that you are having a great time at the Plant Nurseries in Southwest Michigan!

Rest Wishes and Warm Regards to all of you,

Fred Stanton

Images from Fred Stanton’s garden

Chapter Meeting

tonygreco — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:17:16 +0000

Successful Chapter Meeting! Our board just finished the second officer meeting since Ted Nyquist has become our president. A lot to go over and a lot to do! No question our chapter is heading in the right direction and our next meeting is scheduled in September.

Pruning Azalea bushes

jackstrom — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:18:54 +0000

(Question posted to Ask the Expert page Jan 11, 2008)

We recently moved into a new house. The previous owner had planted azalea bushes up to 35 yrs ago and she cherished them. While they are beautiful, they are very close to the house and have overgrown the front window. We also need grading done around the outside of the house,and the azalea bushes are in the way. Is there any way of drastically trimming them down without killing them.

(Reply by Tony Greco)

Azaleas can be drastically pruned but I wouldn’t cut them down more than 50% at one time to not put too much stress on the plants. If you need to remove more, consider trimming back in two stages.

Azalea roots grow laterally and close to the soil surface so if you’re regrading, try to avoid putting too much soil over the roots.

I would also wait for the plants to bloom before pruning. This way you can enjoy the flowers and then prune before the growth spurt that immediately follows bloom. Fertilize the plants after you prune them with an acidic fertilizer and mulch your plants with pine bark mulch. It may take a year or so for the plants to completely revive but they should be fine.

Try not to let the plants become overgrown. It’s better to judiciously lightly prune right after they bloom to keep them in bounds once they are the size you desire. Also, don’t wait until late summer to prune since the next year’s flower buds form in late summer. You don’t want to prune off next years flowers.