Salvaged tree question

[Noobjuice]

So as I was leaving for work today I noticed a house up the street had an azelea dug up and sitting by the road, just waiting to be taken off to the landfill. So of course I grabbed it and walked it home. Stuck it in an old cooler with water and a bubbling stone used for fish tanks. (All the time i had this morning before going to work.)

My question is what are some steps to take at this point to better the odds of survival? Just slap it back in the ground when I get home and let it recover?

What do you guys do with salvaged trees that have been sitting out a few days and are extremely dried out?

 

[StoneCloud]

Nothing wrong with saving a tree!!! Pics would be great though so we can see the condition of a tree.

But in general, if you collect something like this pot it, put it in a shady spot and let it recover (that is if it isn't dead already) w/o pics and sometimes even with pics it's hard to tell how the tree is faring.

 

[just.wing.it]

I had a buddie last year who dug up an azalea this time of year, and I tried to save it, but the effort was futile.

 

[Noobjuice]

Nothing wrong with saving a tree!!! Pics would be great though so we can see the condition of a tree.

But in general, if you collect something like this pot it, put it in a shady spot and let it recover (that is if it isn't dead already) w/o pics and sometimes even with pics it's hard to tell how the tree is faring.

I will get pics as soon as I get home.

 

[StoneCloud]

@just.wing.it Futile...............


It would make a great name for planting tiles

 

[Noobjuice]

I had a buddie last year who dug up an azalea this time of year, and I tried to save it, but the effort was futile.

I have a feeling the same will happen here but I'll at least learn something. And maybe I'll get lucky.

One thing I'm curious about is a lot of the azeleas I've seen around town have very little foliage. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with lack of pruning. Seems people plant azelea's then forget about them. Just to later dig them up because they don't have that huge bush with lots of pretty flowers

 

[just.wing.it]

Yeah, when properly pruned, they'll look dense and be covered in blooms every year...no pruning, they get scraggly and leggy.

It's always worth a shot to try and save it...

 

[leatherback]

Was it YOU!
You better bring my azalea back bud. The gardener told me the plants that he took out to be moved to the other side of the houde were stolen from the street. Did not believe him, so sent him packing. Now I realize it was you. friking bonsai thieves.
Return to me in Germany please

 

[Noobjuice]

As promised pictures. Starting off with a scratch test.

 

[leatherback]

This azalea looks a lot like ligustrum to me. Are you sure about what you nicked?

 

[Melospiza]

I rescued an azalea like this mid-June this year, which is not the right time to dig up obviously. I noticed that what I thought was a bush was actually two, planted close together. I cut back the roots hard to separate them, and cut the bushes pretty hard too, leaving no leaves behind. Then potted them up in shade. The smaller one, with little branching and roots, died. The other one seems to be doing wall and is putting forth lots of growth. Hope you have success too!

 

[Melospiza]

This azalea looks a lot like ligustrum to me. Are you sure about what you nicked?

Looks just like an azalea. Twiggy growth with leaves bunched at the tips, as opposed to ligustrum which has opposite leaves evenly arranged on its branches. The traces of black might be sooty mould, which is common in summer in hot, humid climates.

 

[Noobjuice]

I'm pretty sure it's azelea, it looks identical to the 4 I pulled out of my mother in laws yard a few months ago. This one is just bigger

 

[StoneCloud]

Looks good! Not as dried out as you made it seem

Wish you luck and keep us updated!

 

[CWTurner]

I've collected azalea from the curb before too. Some live, some don't. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on them until you know if they'll live.

Whenever I collect something that I did not dig, or see dug, I always leave it in a pot, or contractor bag, of water overnight.

I'm pretty sure it's azelea

Does it have the azalea smell?
CW

 

[Noobjuice]

I've collected azalea from the curb before too. Some live, some don't. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on them until you know if they'll live.

Whenever I collect something that I did not dig, or see dug, I always leave it in a pot, or contractor bag, of water overnight.


Does it have the azalea smell?
CW

I put it in the shade in a cooler full of water for about 7.5 hours. Then planted it in a shady spot in the yard that only gets a few hours of morning sun a day. I'll just forget about it and see if it survives. If it doesn't I'll just have a hole in the yard to fill in a couple years.

As far as the azelea smell, not really sure what an azelea smells like compared to other plants. However I could be numb to it since everyone around here has multiple azeleas in the yard. I could spit and it will hit an azelea.