Creating a Beautiful Landscape with Azaleas

Raleigh, NC – You know it's springtime when you flip on the TV and see the beautiful azaleas in bloom each April at the Augusta National Country Club in Georgia – the site of the Masters professional golf tournament. Azaleas are a large, diverse group of beautiful flowering shrubs with single and double blooms in many shades of white, purple, red, pink or orange. Most bloom from early to late spring with a few extending later into the growing season. To enjoy the beauty of azaleas at your own home, begin by choosing a variety that is well-adapted to your garden environment and local climate.

"Check with your local nursery, home center or cooperative extension service to see what they recommend based on your region of the country," says Bayer Advanced Garden Expert Lance Walheim, who wrote the best-selling book Roses for Dummies and who is a regular contributor to Sunset magazine. Choosing the right types and varieties for your area is the first step to success. "Then choose a consistent color theme as opposed to the Crayola Crayon approach of mixing them up."

Here are a few important tips for planting azaleas:

Choose a planting site with light shade (some varieties can take some sun) and well-drained, acidic soil rich in organic matter;
Dig a hole twice as wide as the root-ball. The top of the root-ball should be slightly above the top of the surrounding soil;
Lift the container off the plant and cut or loosen any matted roots off the root-ball;
After planting, apply a thick layer of organic mulch and keep soil slightly moist, never letting the plants dry out completely.

Azaleas can last for decades in your yard with proper watering and preventive measures to ward off destructive insects and diseases. Bayer Advanced Dual Protection Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron Insect & Disease Control protects against aphids, Japanese beetles, lace bugs and leaf beetles while controlling diseases such as leaf spot, powdery mildew and rust. One application protects for up to six weeks and is applied as a drench – so no spraying! Just measure, mix and pour – it’s that easy to protect your investment and keep your azaleas beautiful year round.

About Bayer Advanced

Bayer Advanced lawn and garden products are created by Bayer Environmental Science, a business unit of Bayer CropScience LP and part of the Bayer AG family, a Fortune Global 500 company that makes such well-known brands as Bayer Aspirin, Aleve® and Alka-® Research Triangle Park, NC, is the business headquarters of the company''s NAFTA Region. Kansas City, MO, is the company''s core technology center. The global headquarters of Bayer CropScience is located in Monheim, Germany.

Bayer Advanced products deliver Better Science. Better Results.™ and carry a money-back guarantee. They are available at major retailers and independent garden shops across the United States. You can learn more by visiting www.bayeradvanced.com or by calling 1-877-BAYERAG.

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