White Spider Azalea

Beautiful and unique spidery white flowers absolutely cover this semi-dwarf evergreen shrub in mid-spring. This rare Azalea's compact growth habit, durability, and rare flower form make this a definite conversation piece. The lavender form of this Azalea, Koromo Shikibu or Purple Spider, lines the eastern border of the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Gardens at Stephen F Austin's Mast Arboretum. Azaleas need a humus rich, acid soil and adequate moisture during establishment as well as a good organic mulch. The mulch will keep the root zone cooler and at a more stable temperature, helps to conserve moisture, controls competition from weeds, and as it breaks down it's nutrients are slowly release back into the soil feeding your plants. Properly mulched Azaleas often need little additional nutrients once they are well established. Never use lime around Azaleas and realize that many of your 'garden' fertilizers like 8-8-8 and 13-13-13 contain lime as a filler so this could be toxic to them. Use a slow release, non-burning, acidifying fertilize instead when needed.