Azalea care

[E. Anne Coakley]

Followed your online suggestions for planting an azalea.....really want to get this right..I planted mine in memory of my dad...he loved Pride of Mobile....how often should I feed...what should I do.....for the weeks immeditaely following planting? Are coffee grounds good for the acidity?

[CaptainCompostAL]

The old idea of all coffee grounds being acidic is just an old myth! All unused coffee is very acidic. However brewed, used coffee grounds have a near neutral pH. Read this article about composting coffee:

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002015354019975.html

For acid-loving plants like potatoes, azalaes, bluberries, etc., I wouldn't worry too much about getting that "perfect acidic" soil pH. Keep in mind that the aerobic microbes and humus in good rich homemade composts, buffers and balances native soil pH, around plant roots anyway over time.

All I do is feed all my acid-loving plants, lots and lots of rich compost, either mixed in the soil, or as a heavy mulch around the roots. Then I feed my plants and soil, lots of creative sugary aerobic compost tea recipes, in both a foliar and soil drench application. All microbes love sugars. The more these organisms breed, the more they will release soluble nutrients in order to feed and protect your plants, at the correct levels and rates these plants need them, regardless of your native soil pH.

As long as your native soil pH is between 6.0 to 7.0, you can grow anything that makes sense in your zone fine, as long as you've done your homework on sustainably building up the organic matter and beneficial aerobic microbes in your soil underneath. That is where the compost and tea brews come it.