Every proper Southern garden needs a beautiful bank of naturally shaped azaleas.
Learn how and when to give yours a trim to make them look their best.
Key Takeaways
Each spring,azaleas light up our gardenswith a profusion of colorful blooms.
Credit: Van Chaplin
These classic mounding shrubs drift across the landscape like showy clouds.
Once established, they need little care.
Prune them correctly to keep their natural shape, and watch plants produce layers of beautiful bell-shaped flowers.
Pruning can be intimidating, and not doing it right might delay your annual display ofspring blooms.
There are two classes of azaleas:native azaleasand Asian azaleas.
Both are subclasses of the rhododendron family.
They never need pruning unless it’s to remove a broken branch or diseased area of the plant.
Asian azaleas are the evergreen ones almost everyone in the South plants.
Evergreen azaleas originally hail from Japan.
Within this class, there are two popular groups: Kurume hybrids and Southern Indian hybrids.
They bloom early and the flowers nearly hide the foliage.
‘George Taber’ (pink), ‘Formosa’ (purple), and ‘Mrs.
Gerbing’ (white) are popular varieties.
It can also keep some plant diseaseslikepowdery mildewat bay.
When to Prune Azaleas
Timing is critical if you want your azaleas to bloom next year.
Since azaleas bloom on old wood, they produce flower buds on last year’s growth.
When to Prune Re-blooming Azaleas
Encore Azaleasbloom several times a year.
These low-maintenance azaleas need little pruning.
Light shaping can be done to established plants to encourage growth and flowering.
If an azalea needs a more severe pruning, do this during late winter or early spring.
You will likely lose the buds set for spring, but the plant will grow back quickly.
Instead, use mostly hand pruners to shape the bush into a soft, cloudlike shape.
Many quality clippers have replacement blades.
Small files designed just for sharpening blades can also be purchased.
Dull tools make pruning more difficult and will crush and tear stems.
Southern Indian azaleas grow fast and may need trimming every year.
Here’s how to clean them up.
To prevent removing new growth, start pruning in the spring and complete pruning by mid-summer.
Late pruning can cause a loss of spring blooms, as azaleas flower on old wood.
