Your wife's azalea won't bloom (for long) inside. While azaleas
most definitely are not full sun plants, they do need light (and,
I think, UV light which is filtered by the window glass).
As far as Miracid goes, I guess I missed the earlier posts in
this thread, but I'd hesitate to blame it on the brand or
composition (in
of a fertilizer.
For any plant, too much fertilizer is MUCH worse than too
little -- or even none.
For Azalea, fertilizer that contains Nitrate Nitrogen can be
dangerous. It has been so long since I looked at a Miracid
label, I don't know whether there is nitrate nitrogen in there or
not.
I've never experienced the blackening leaf problem you describe,
but I'd _guess_ that it was a watering (too much!) problem before
I'd blame it on fertilizer. Nor would I blame it on 200 days of
sunshine as long as you can keep your tree in light shade,
especially in the summer afternoon. Over-misting _could_ result
in a fungus problem on the leaves, I suppose, but my trees get
watered from the top (leaves and all) in a VERY humid environment
(72% yesterday!) and I see no fungal leaf problems.
What soil were you using?
The only leaf problem I have with azalea (aside from the
occasional gall, and, of course, azalea caterpillars) is
chlorosis, or something like it -- and that's from lack of
micronutrients in the (mostly) organic fertilizers I use.
Don't suppose you have pictures of your leaf problem
?
Jim Lewis -
jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Bonsaiests
are like genealogists: We know our roots!
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