Several years ago, I had a reader ask, “Why should I use an anti-transpirant?”
As landscapers, we would use this product to reduce water vapor escaping from the plant. Anti-transpirants or anti-desiccants are compounds that are applied to the leaves of plants to reduce transpiration.
They consist of a colorless film sprayed onto a leaf surface, which allows the diffusion of gases but not of water vapor. Anti-transpirant is also the material you might see sprayed on Christmas trees when they’re harvested out in the fields, or on flowers that are going to a florist.
Some of the compounds in anti-transpirants are liquid resin, polyethylene glycol, waxes, silicone oil, and surfactants, which are combined to protect the plants.
One benefit of anti-transpirants is reduced water loss. Broad-leaf evergreens are more likely to survive a drought.
As a landscaper, I have used this material to protect new transplants during installation and to keep them in place during a drought.
Sometimes, after a leaf curls in the winter, you can lose it. The anti-transpirant can protect against low temperatures or other extremes. Broad-leaf evergreens do better when in winter dormancy and protected from the cold.
Care and protection will enhance the evergreen’s appearance.
Each year during the winter, when the temperatures are cold for an extended period of time and the soil freezes below the roots, you will see the evergreen leaves that look normal as you may see them during any time of the year.
When the temperatures rise after an extended period, you begin to notice that the leaves curl and look a little like a stick. What is happening is that the leaf is bringing water up from its roots and leaves through its pores, or stomata.
The problem is that when the ground is frozen, the plant can’t perform as it usually would, and the curling leaf is the azalea’s or rhododendron’s normal reaction to the transpiration process.
The rhododendrons and azaleas that have leaves on during the winter will have this stick appearance, and this is considered a normal reaction.
This normal stick appearance can be an extra stress on a plant that you’ve just planted, and putting this compound on the surface of the leaves can give your plant an additional chance at survival.
You would only want to apply this material before you begin to experience freezing temperatures. Hopefully, we have several weeks left before we experience freezing soils.
If you have planted some new azaleas or rhododendrons in your garden this year, this may be a significant consideration for preserving your investment. If you apply this compound to the plant too early, it may cause other problems.
We want to continue to allow carbon dioxide uptake by the rhododendron or azalea, which is part of the plant’s normal functioning, and to retain water vapor in the plant.
Therefore, gases can exit the leaf, while the water remains. All I can recommend for your azalea is that, if it does not lose any leaves during the winter, it makes a lot of sense to use an anti-transpirant or anti-desiccant and apply according to the directions.
My recommendation for watering any plant is to have at least one inch of moist soil down from the surface of the ground near the plant, as you would when watering your plants before you apply the anti-transpirant.
The water retained in the plant will help it maintain a healthy moisture level.
If you can put your finger into the soil and it is moist one inch down, all around under the drip line of the tree or shrub, the wetness indicates your moisture level is acceptable for plants 5 years old or less.
Repeat this process about once a week for new plantings. For older plants, you should stretch out that perimeter another three to five feet and beyond, and the moisture should drop 12 inches.
I learned that if you water your recently planted azalea or rhododendron well before the ground freezes, your plants will also have a better chance of surviving.
Winter is around the corner. We all need to be prepared for the colder temperatures and what it means for our plants.
When you apply an anti-transpirant, you are protecting your investment in new plantings.
Hope you enjoy your stroll through your garden. If you have any questions about your garden, please don’t hesitate to email me at ericlarson546@yahoo.com.