Question
We bought a big Azalea bush about a month ago. we are spending lots to have a nice front yard. It seems this plant just drooped, died or what. The flowers have gone, the branches look dead. I don't know whether to return it & get a new one or what. We planted it in a bright sunny spot, dug a big hole, put Azalea fertilizer around it, & it still looks like it is dying. Please advise. Kathy Watters

Answer
More important than Azalea 'fertilizer' my friend: the right Soil.

Azaleas can take a certain amount of difficult drainage.  But if you don't have at least a moderate rate of moisture relief, your Azalea will not be able to grow the roots it needs to get through Winter, through Spring, through Summer and Fall after the shock of transplant.

First, dig up your Azalea, and before you re-plant it, make sure the Soil has a LOT of Organic Matter in it.  That would include Humus, Compost, Peat Moss.  The hole should be nice and big and you should make sure the water drains out of it quickly.  NO SAND.  Lots of people assume Sand is going to fix a drainage problem.  It's the worst thing you can do unless you want to build a parking lot, in which case it's perfect.  (Azaleas do not grow through cement in parking lots, so this is not an option for you.)  Then re-plant your Azalea.

Next, run out asap and pick up a package of something called 'Messenger'.  This is a self-healing hormone trigger that works beautifully on damaged plants, particularly in the case of NEWLY transplanted Perennials and Shrubs.  It will work less well on a plant that is languishing, and if you do not correct any trouble with your Soil, it will not work at all.  But it is a good thing to have in your Plant Medicine Cabinet.

Messenger is a patented product that was developed at Cornell University under their agricultural research work.

You won't see it advertised much, but many plant professionals have tried it and it is an excellent product.  It may be precisely the kind of VERY fast biological recovery treatment this plant needs.

This is NOT a fertilizer.  So apply it differently.  Messenger should be SPRAYED ON THE LEAVES and the balance should be watered in.  One treatment.  NO FERTILIZER!

You just need a small container, one dose.  And remember to use a spray bottle -- nothing fancy.

I would also like to know what the pH of this Soil is.  But it is very hard to know that without testing it.  Can you do that?

L.I.G.