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Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Yep You can Grow Azaleas in the Desert. But Why?


Q. Is it possible to grow azaleas in the Mojave Desert?  We want to get more color in our yard and having lived in the east for many years we know that azaleas add an abundance color in the spring. I have terrible soil so I know I would need to drastically amend the soil. Suggestions or comments?

A. You can grow any plant in the Mojave Desert including azaleas. It’s a matter of how much you want them because plants that don’t belong here, like azaleas, cost more to maintain. These non-desert plants struggle in our climate and force you to take care of them if you want them to succeed. My second point is that your “sense of place” has never changed. You are still thinking like an Easterner. You live in the Mojave Desert now. It’s time to adjust.

Sense of Place

            Your sense of place relates to where you think of as home. I remember moving from the Midwest to the dry Western states many years ago and missing all the “greenery”. After adjusting to this new “home” I found all of the “greenery” hurting my eyes on return visits. It was just too green. After an adjustment period, my new sense of home was the dry Western United States, the different shades of brown, pink, purple and yellow I saw in rock. Plants were found sparingly.

Desert Color

            Before I tell you how to grow an azalea here, consider desert perennials that grow easily in the desert and add color. They are easier to grow, require less frequent watering and still provide a great deal of seasonal color. I am talking about  colorful plants such as penstemon, sage, salvia, and others. Many of these desert or desert adapted perennials provide a great deal of color at different times of the year and most like lots of sunlight!

Some websites to visit on small plants for color:

Red Penstemon

            A good place to look for these plants is online before you go shopping. Get familiar with these names of desert perennials because it can get confusing at the nursery. Try looking online at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) searchable database of plants and Arizona’s AMWUA (Arizona Municipal Water Users Association) database. Become familiar with their recommended plant lists and the plants they recommend. Once you do that, then it’s time to go shopping!

Growing Azaleas

            Now to your azaleas. Azaleas are considered an ericaceous plant. This means they prefer acidic soils, not alkaline desert soils. Prepare to add a chemical amendment to the soil to acidify it such as aluminum sulfate. Aluminum sulfate is much more powerful in its soil acidification properties than soil sulfur. You will probably need to add it to the soil once or twice a year to adjust the alkalinity. One of the ways that azaleas tell you there is a soil problem is by its yellowing leaves or a brown “scorchy”  edge. 

By the way, if you end up using sulfur to lower soil alkalinity, make sure it is a fine sulfur powder and not sulfur granules, sometimes called soil sulfur. The sulfur powder reacts much faster with warm, wet soil than soil sulfur as granules.

Try Brooks Hybrid Azaleas (red and white) developed in the Modesto area for the hotter drier climates. Another possibility are the Indica Hybrid Azaleas which are supposed to be more tolerant of sunlight.

            Azaleas also like lots of woody debris, leaf litter and organic soils. So, using compost as a soil amendment and covering the soil with woodchips will be a good first step. Select a cool microclimate in the landscape that is shady but still bright. Azaleas NEVER like intense sunlight. North exposure or early morning sunlight with shade the rest of the day might be a good choice. Filtered light is preferred, never direct sunlight. Under the shade of a tree but lots of reflected light is a good spot.
            Stay away from planting azaleas that were gifts in pots. These are “greenhouse azaleas” and not a good choice for our landscapes in most cases.

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