Third, keep the soil around the plants cool with a two-inch mulch of pine bark or pine needles. Avoid using peat moss, either as a mulch or in the soil around the plants. Peat moss holds too much water and can contain the Phytophthora disease spores. Last ~ test the soil and try to maintain a pH of about 4.5. Insect pests are prevalent on rhododendrons and pyracantha in the landscape at this time. One bug to look out for are lace bugs. They feed on the leaves of many trees and shrubs, but azaleas and rhododendrons seem to have the most problem with this pest. Azaleas that stand alone in the landscape, or are exposed to full
Spider Mite sun all day long, really are hammered by lace bugs. Avoid this problem from the beginning by not planting these shrubs in full sun. Lace bugs feed on the underside of leaves, causing whitish-yellow flecks called stipples on the upper
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