About 2 yrs. ago, when I was in our old house (which we just moved out of a couple of months ago), I (stupidly) planted a row of evergreen azaleas (sorry, can't remember the variety now!) against the front of the house, under the dense shade of a HUGE magnolia... Not only was the dense shade a problem, but the tree roots as well (there were two large magnolias in that yard). FYI, I didn't really know what I was doing in the garden back then! The azaleas (which were 5 gal. each, I think when I bought them) never thrived or bloomed, naturally, and grew into an ugly, leggy shape.
When we were about to move, I decided just to prune them way back & try to transplant one of the plants into an extra-large container (24"), to see if it would do better - that was probably about 6 mos. ago.
The container azalea, now in a semi-shade/filtered sunny spot on the patio at our new house, has improved greatly since I moved it to the pot. Since I allowed the plant to grow some during the "normal" pruning period (May/June), should I give it a good prune now to encourage even better growth for next spring? The plant, though much better than before, is still somewhat leggy, but I'm afraid to injure it after so much TLC & effort! Oh yes - the plant has never bloomed, nor has it ever developed buds.
Thanks!! Kelly
Non-blooming azalea - should I prune back now?
Kelly
Generally pruning is done right after blooming in the spring. Now is the time that the azalea should be setting buds for next years blossoms- that is assuming that the azalea will bloom this next season. If you are willing to sacrifice the potential blooms for the shape of the plant then go ahead. but if it were I, I would fertilize w/ appropriate fert., following directions and alternate feedings w/ some fish emulsion and/or seaweed extract & superthrive- in my book superthrive and fish emulsion are the cure for whatever ails you, then I would see how the plant looks after blooming period is over. If at that time you want to prune, then prune away.
On the other hand, if you cannot wait, or don't believe it's going to bloom anyway, then you could prune. I usually do my most severe pruning in spring when the plant is in the growing mode and not likely to be stressed by severe heat, etc.
Hope that helps. April