Azalea fungus

Question: Is this bad? See pictures. Please and thank you!!!

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 14, 2023, 1:46 PM EDT
response: Hi,  This is not a fungus but appears to be a type of scale insect infestation. Usually when scale is recognized on a plant, it is at a rather progressed stage unfotunatley.  There is a scale that is typical of Rhododendron and Azlaea plants, however this appears to be maybe the Cottony Camelia Scale or the Cottony Maple Scale (see photo further down on the Introduction to scale insects page).  You may want to consider removing the plants at this stage since it does appear that they have lost a lot of leaves as well. You can also explore some management options on the Introduction to scale insects page, however any chemical controls at this point may not have much immediate effect and with other potentially harmful impacts, removal may be easier at this point.  Azaleas that are planted near brick walls or house foundations tend to not be in their ideal environments. Often the soil conditions are not acidic enough for them plus if they are in more sun then they like, it can cause stress to the plants from the sun exposure and residual heat off of the brick surface during hot summer months.  If you would like suggestions or guidance on different plants to replace them with, please feel free to attach photos of the entire area and guide us on the general site conditions: sun exposure (which direction that side of the home faces: North South East West etc,) deer presence, soil condition - wet/dry/ presence of a nearby down spout, etc. You may want to get a laboratory soil test done for future plants or if you haven't done one before/ in awhile. It can tell you any lacking nutrients and the acidity (pH) level of the soil needed for certain plants.  Please reach out with further questions.  Emily

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 14, 2023, 8:39 PM EDT
response: Thank u for the reply. I have almost 0 time invested in these plants. Came with the house. See image below. South facing. Large poplar and large maple shade this for part (about less than 1/2) the day. Great indirect sunlight and partial sunlight. We also have a 6’ tall fence the deer do not jump because they can’t see through. Suggestions in edible plants or flowering pollinator plants?  On Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 1:46 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 15, 2023, 10:40 AM EDT
response: Thank you for the photo. It would probably be simpler to replace the plants, as Emily suggested, given the site conditions combined with the current state of the azaleas. We can't quite see if the one or two roof downspout outlets that appear to be nearby empty close to this planting bed or further away. If close, the occasional saturation during rainy spells (whenever we get those again, given our current drought) might suffocate roots of anything that isn't very wet-tolerant.  Fruit-bearing plants are higher-maintenance than ornamental (flowering/decorative only) plants, and the expected growing conditions in this kind of location (compacted soil, possibly not very acidic, and not full sun) would make success in growing the most common berry bushes -- blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry -- difficult. Lower-care types of fruit like Elderberry might be fine, but they grow too large (to the top of those windows, potentially) and are not available in a dwarf form, nor can they be drastically pruned shorter as this will come at the expense of fruit production. There are several shrubs that might work well as decorative (inedible) berry producers, and many that just offer flowers and/or interesting foliage.  For pollinator attraction, there are lots of choices. Some shrub options include those listed below, but it's not an exhaustive list and plenty of perennials are also suitable that you can fill-in with or place in front of the shrubs if there is space. The plants below are selected for a preference for or tolerance of a part-sun/part-shade exposure with average soil, and we're ignoring deer palatability for now since you mention they tend not to enter the yard. Botanical names are in parentheses since occasionally some plants are known by more than one common name. Not all of these will be the same mature size, as some cultivars within these species are more dwarf than others, so you'll have some flexibility with selecting what height they reach. Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) - native, showy flowersSummersweet (Clethra alnifolia) - native, showy and very fragrant flowersBlack Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) - native, showy flowers and fruits the birds will enjoy; Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) is equally showy but grows taller and unless you don't mind blocking a window or it's used on a corner, it might be too bigNew Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) - native, showy flowers (though the flowering period is fairly brief)Glossy Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora, might be listed under its new name, Linnaea x grandiflora) - long-blooming, semi-evergreen (meaning it might keep leaves in winter, might not)Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) - native, some varieties have showy foliage colors but those most beneficial to insects are green-leaved or golden-leaved over those with red-purple-bronze foliageBeach Plum (Prunus maritima) - native, though how compact or large it gets (it's a shrub, not a tree) can depend on plant genetics so is a bit pot-luck; blooms are showy and fragrant and fruits are edible but also can be left for wildlifeWinterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) - native; will need a male pollinator to fertilize the flowers on a female variety so it can produce berries (for the birds, though they usually last most of the winter before birds try them; the male could be planted nearby in another part of the yard and doesn't have to be immediately next to the female)Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) and Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum) - native; typically needs cross-pollination between two different varieties of the same species, but this might not always be the case; as with Winterberry, the second plant could be used elsewhere nearby in the yard if you didn't want both in the same space  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 15, 2023, 12:19 PM EDT
response: Wow!!! Very helpful. The previous owner of the house had the drain pipes spilling water and compacting the soil over many years. We burried the pipes and now most of the water from rain does not go anywhere near this location. How would u recommend mending the soil after I take the azaleas out? Before planting something suggested. I will look into the inedible suggestions below and find something nice. On Thu, Jun 15, 2023 at 10:40 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 15, 2023, 1:32 PM EDT
response: A soil amendment might not be necessary, but compost is the preferred material as it helps compacted clay drain better and fast-draining sand retain moisture. Our Organic Matter and Soil Amendments web page provides more information, such as adding a couple or so inches of compost on the soil surface and working it in gently by inserting a garden fork and wiggling it back and forth, repeating the process over the planting area. Or, you can mix-in compost to the soil removed from the planting hole, but the former method is probably easier prior to planting. You don't want to over-amend as this creates problems with moisture drainage down through the soil layers, so only add enough to give the soil a more crumbly texture if what you currently have is tough clay.  Miri