Azalea help?

[jrsygirl]

I have a few azaleas in my yard and am not afraid to admit that I have a black thumb. Can someone give me some pointers? Right now they are looking a little scraggly. I definitely need to prune them but I don't know how or when is the best time....
Thanks!

[oceaneast]

You prune azalea's after the blooms have faded.

[JillyBean]

I love azaleas :) I grew up in a town famous for the azaleas. I know that Miracle-Gro makes a plant food specific to azaleas:
http://www.miraclegro.com/media/media/images/productGuide/2005/brand/gardens/2MGACRBox.jpg
Here's what the Azalea Society of America (http://azaleas.org/index.pl) says about pruning:
Pruning azaleas
The sooner you prune the better:
- The best time to prune azaleas is in early spring, before the plant puts out new growth. Although you'll be cutting off that year's blooms, it gives the plant the full growing season to fill out, and time for the new growth to mature before winter.
- Pruning while they are in bloom is next best, and gives you some cut flowers, or pruning just after they bloom lets you enjoy the flowers on the plant.
- Since most azaleas start growing next year's flower buds soon after they bloom, pruning after mid-summer cuts off next year's bloom. Late pruning also runs the risk of the tender new growth being killed in cold climates.

Before you start, look at the plant you intend to work on, remembering that branches which are shaded out often die back and become dead wood anyway. Remove these first, as the effect of removing them may alter the way you approach pruning the rest of the branches to maintain the shape of the bush.

Use clean cutters, and keep them clean as the work progresses, using a sterilizing solution such as denatured alcohol or a 10% Chlorox solution, particularly if any cuts are in infected wood.

Older plants may have a number of tall branches which need to be eliminated. Doing that over several years reduces the shock to the plant. Remove two or three of the tallest branches, taking care to cut back to a side branch which is heading in the desired direction, and which is about 1/3rd the size of the cut branch. Cut close to that side branch, as any stubs will die back to the side branch anyway, and leave dead wood which may become infected later.

Next year take out two or three more branches using the same process, spreading the pruning over a three year cycle. This approach will result in the plant sending out new growth near the base, and lets you manage the shaping of the plant to achieve a nicely shaped bush.

[jennylou]

Can I keep these plants in pots?

[JillyBean]

Can I keep these plants in pots?

Jenny, the site that I listed before said this about gift/potted azaleas:
Florist azaleas
Some varieties of evergreen azaleas are grown for sale by florists in full bloom at almost any time of the year. Try to find out the variety of your gift azalea, and look it up in a reference book or in the azalea database, to see if it is cold-hardy in your area (most of them can't stand a frost). If it is, enjoy it inside until spring and then plant it outside in a part-sun, part-shade place in the garden (see planting azaleas). If you want to prune it, do that soon after it blooms, to avoid cutting off the buds for next year's blooms.

While it is in the house, remove its pretty paper wrapper, and water it deeply and infrequently. A good way is to soak it in a tub of water until the bubbles stop, and then let it drain out the excess water. Do this about once a week. Exactly how often depends on its potting mix and the temperature and humidity of the room. The goal is to have moist soil, rather than having it either saturated or dry for more than a few hours at a time. Keeping it in a cool area of the house will lengthen the bloom period. Putting the pot on or near a saucer of water and gravel will raise the humidity and help it hold its leaves.

If the azalea is not cold-hardy, you can plant it outside after the last frost, still in the pot, with the rim of the pot even with the soil level, or use it as a potted plant. Remember to water it, as the roots can only get the water in the pot. Bring it back into the house during the winter as a potted plant, and put it in the coolest part of the house during the winter.

If it will be staying in the pot, fertilize it lightly every month or so through the fall, with a fertilizer low in nitrogen and high in phosporus to promote root and bud growth without promoting plant and leaf growth. Then let it rest during the winter, but don't forget to water it. Also, carefully remove it from the pot every six months or so to check the roots. If you see fine roots circling the root ball, put it into another pot, 2 to 4 inches wider than the old pot. Before repotting it, cut those circling roots by making top-to-bottom cuts every few inches, all the way around the root ball. A good potting mix is a 50/50 mixture of potting soil and fine pine bark.

I hope that helps :)

[oceaneast]

Azalea's can be kept in pots, they do okay through the first blooming after that they really should be potted. I have received gift azeleas but they never do well unless I plant them in the ground after the blooms fall off. FYI Azelea's are the only plant I know extensively partially because of our big annual Azelea festival here in town.

[ktsb]

Jillybean took the words right out of my mouth about the Miracle Grow. I've used it extensively on all of my acid-loving plants as I know my soid is anything but acidic.

It works great!