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Hard prune azalea


How to prune azaleas: to keep them healthy and beautiful

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Learning how to prune azaleas is easy and worthwhile. You will be rewarded with healthy plants that continue to bring color to your garden. 

Azaleas are popular flowering shrubs in the rhododendron family. They are prized for their wide range of hues, including warm oranges and cool and tranquil pale pinks. 

It is easy to grow azaleas and to take care of them, making them a very popular choice for gardeners. They can be prone to some disease though, so knowing when to plant azaleas and regular pruning is a great way to ensure that your plant stays healthy. 

When learning how to prune azaleas, you must first consider that there are two different types. It is therefore important to ascertain which type you have, so that you get the pruning correct. 

It is just as important to know when to leave azaleas alone and not prune. Taking the time to acquaint yourself with the practices using this simple guide will keep your azaleas beautiful year after year and a worthy addition to your flower bed ideas.  

How to prune azaleas of different types

(Image credit: Getty Images/ Teresa Kopec)

Azaleas have large showy flowers that cover the plant in spring. They are tolerant of some shade and add a huge burst of color in spring to any border, so are a good choice as shrubs for shade. 

Before you can know how to prune azaleas, determine which of the two types of these flowering shrubs you have. Although they are part of the same family, there are differences from how to prune rhododendron:

Once you have determined whether your plant is deciduous or an evergreen shrub, you can then focus on how to prune azaleas.

Deciduous azaleas only need to be lightly pruned to remove diseased or damaged stems.

Evergreen azaleas, so long as they are placed in the correct position with the right soil type, and are well tended to according to the conditions in your hardiness zone, only need pruning either to remove dead wood, or reduce their size if they are starting, for example, to grow over a pathway.

'The first rule of pruning evergreen azaleas is to select the right varieties in the first place and plant them where they will do what you want without a lot of pruning,' is the advice from The American Rhododendron Society .

Pruning azaleas step by step

(Image credit: Getty Images/ Jacky Parker)

Azaleas have been popular since the days of Victorian garden design – and it's easy to see why with their beautiful blooms. Follow these steps for pruning azaleas t keep them looking their best:

'When pruning back, try to leave some leaves on the shoot, as you will get better branching from the buds near the leaves,' advise the experts at rhododendron and azalea specialists Millais Nurseries .

(Image credit: Getty Images / Cyndi Monaghan)

How and when should azaleas be pruned?

How and when you should prune azaleas will depend on the type that you have, and its condition. Using this guide, you can identify the type of azalea that you have and apply the correct pruning regime. 

You should lightly 'prune evergreen azaleas immediately after the blooms have faded in spring', advise the experts ay Wilson Bros Gardens .

Azaleas can be lightly pruned after flowering to remove any diseased material.

You should not prune evergreen azaleas at the end of summer or in fall, 'because you want to avoid cutting off fall-produced flower buds that will be next spring's blooms,' they continue.

Pruning azaleas should therefore stop by mid-summer. Heavy pruning of azaleas should be done in late winter and early spring – see tips on rejuvenation pruning below.

(Image credit: Getty Images / Photos by R A Kearton)

How often should you trim azaleas?

'Regular light pruning of azaleas after flowering can dramatically improve the habit of a misshapen azalea plant over the course of a few seasons,' advise the experts at Millais Nurseries.

It may also be necessary to control azaleas which are taking up too much space next to a drive or a path, especially if they have been included as shrubs for the front of the house.

(Image credit: Mtreasure/Getty Images)

How far back can you trim an azalea?

How far back you can trim an azalea will depend on how large and old it is.

A plant that is in good condition may require little or no pruning. If you want your plant to grow large, especially if it is a shrub for privacy, avoid pruning it too much, and just stay on top of any diseased-looking material. 

If it is a scraggly azalea or has grown out of control, 'sometimes radical action and heavy pruning is required,' says the experts at Millais Nurseries. 'But there are no half measures and it will open up a large hole in the landscape.' 

A plant that has grown too large, particularly if you're trying to develop a bonsai tree type, or is starting to look unkempt, can be pruned back hard to re-establish its shape and to keep it under control. But bear in mind it may not flower the following year. This will be worth it, though, if an old shrub past its best is then transformed back into a young, healthy and well-shaped azalea in future years. So don’t be afraid to take drastic action when required.

(Image credit: Getty Images / Keith Getter)

How do you prune azaleas to rejuvenate?

How to prune azaleas to rejuvenate them if they are overgrown or old is to give them a new lease of life with a harsh trim.

Rejuvenation pruning azaleas should be done in 'late winter or early spring,' explain the experts at Miracle-Gro . 'You'll have a year without flowers when you do this,' they add.

You can also 'spread the rejuvenation pruning of azaleas out over several seasons,' advise the experts at Wilson Bros Gardens , pruning some of the plant each year. This will maintain some of the blooms and will feel less daunting.

This more gradual approach is done over a three-year period, as follows:

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Can azaleas be pruned back hard?

You can prune azaleas back hard, but it may affect their ability to produce flowers the following year. This course of action might be necessary, however, to stop one from taking over your bed or border, and stop it crowding or shadowing other plants. 

How hard you cut an azalea back will depend on how large and how old it is. Larger, older azaleas can be cut back harder than smaller plants.  

(Image credit: Getty Images / Teresa Kopec)

Will azaleas grow back if cut down?

Azaleas will grow back if cut down with the method used for rejuvenation pruning, as above. You need to make sure that you do this at the correct time of year, in late winter or early spring, before the growing season, so that the plant will produce new growth.

Azaleas are fairly fast growing shrubs, and the plant should have grown to a nice shape and produce lots of beautiful blooms within about three years after this manner of extreme pruning.

This feature was created by H&G sister brand, Period Living magazine

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Period Living is the UK's best-selling period homes magazine. A subscription provides you with all you need to know about caring for and improving a traditional house and garden

Rachel is senior content editor, and writes and commissions gardening content for homesandgardens.com, Homes & Gardens magazine, and its sister titles Period Living Magazine and Country Homes & Interiors. She has written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts, but started out her journalism career in BBC radio, where she enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories. Rachel then moved into regional lifestyle magazines, where the topics she wrote about, and people she interviewed, were as varied and eclectic as they were on radio. Always harboring a passion for homes and gardens, she jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team, then the wider Homes & Gardens team, specializing in gardens.

Give Old Plants New Life- The Kitchen Garten

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Not sure how to prune azaleas or even if your old azaleas are worth pruning? I’ve got you covered! Cutting back azalea bushes to get healthy, new growth is simple and beneficial for your plants. Find out how to get beautiful azaleas with some easy pruning!

Why Prune Azaleas?

What shrub erupts into beautiful blooms for several weeks in the spring then instantly reverts back into a boring shrub? That’s right, the azalea. Being from the south, I have a bit of allegiance to this classic southern plant.

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But let me tell you, when they’re done blooming, but still holding onto wilting brown flowers, they can be tough to love. Not to mention that many older homes, including ours, have yards slap-full (that’s a technical term) of these temporarily pretty plants.

The Best Time to Prune Azaleas

As with most plants, knowing when to cut back azaleas is important. And the answer is similar for many plants and shrubs. Immediately after blooming is the best time to cut back or trim azaleas.

Cutting back right after blooming gives the gardener a chance to get the dead blooms off of the plant and to shape up the shrub. If you wait and prune the azalea later in the year, there’s a chance that you could prune off next year’s blooms.

Azaleas blooming in the spring

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Cutting Back Old Azaleas (Hard Pruning)

But what about those old, old azalea shrubs? The trouble with older azaleas begins with their shape. They’re hard to shape up without having bare spots and noticeable holes. The fact that I can see the side of our house through the plant is a problem. Years of trimming and shaping have left leaves just on the ends of branches and no real fullness to the shrub.

If you’re not sure how to prune azaleas, you can certainly trim here and there to shape them up. But what if your poor plant, like mine, needs a complete overhaul?

Unlike other flowering plants, such as the hydrangea, azaleas don’t need yearly cutting back. (See my full post on Why and How to Prune Hydrangeas.) But could my plants benefit from being completely cut down?

Old, leggy azalea

While we’ve pulled up five or six azaleas over the past few years, I wondered if it was possible to bring new life to the remaining older plants. They still bloomed every year, so I knew that they were relatively healthy.

To test my “grow back better” theory, I chose a bed on the side of our house with three overgrown and honestly, ugly, azaleas. (At least on the side of the house, fewer people would be a witness to my shrub slaughter and potential gardening disaster.) 

How to Hard Prune Azaleas

I’d like to say that the process was super complicated. But in all honesty, I simply used a good hand saw for pruning azaleas back to four or five inches from the ground.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Old azalea cut down to the base

The bonus of cutting any plant back this far is the ease of cleaning up any vines and weeds growing up around the shrub. You can see that the azaleas are still healthy by the color of the cut sides. No dead wood here.

Now, waiting for your azaleas to grow back may take some time. I cut these particular azaleas back over a year ago. Though you will begin to see new growth just weeks after cutting back, patience is key.

How to Shape Up Azaleas

If your azaleas are younger or have lots of new growth coming in, then chances are they just need a light pruning. I gently shaped up the new growth on my azaleas several times. Now I have three very vibrant azaleas in place of the overgrown mess that was there before.

To shape up azaleas, use a good pair of hand pruners and trim off any limbs that extend beyond the shape of the bush. I usually trim a bit, then take step back to make sure the bush is shaping up the way I want.

Repeat this process until the shrub is the shape you’d like without any straggly limbs sticking out. This process can be repeated later in the year, but be wary of cutting off any buds that could be there.

Azaleas one year after being heavily pruned.

Not too shabby considering these azaleas are quite old. It didn’t cost me anything (but labor) to have what looks like new plants growing in our side yard. I know our next door neighbors are glad they’ve grown back.

I’m sure they’d given up all hope of ever seeing a nice looking bed on their side of our house. Some azaleas I’ll choose to dig up simply for some variety in our yard, but overall, I’m very pleased that these grew back so healthy and full.

I’d love to know if you’ve had success pruning azaleas or other shrubs to give them new life! Happy Gardening! 

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Prunes azalea from Japan 🌿 All about gardening and garden design

How to carve an azalea from japan to ensure proper preparation and proper maintenance?

Article content:

Japanese Azalea does not require complex size surgery, except for bonsai, but this method is intended for an informed public. We will stop here to detail the gestures required for his training at a young age and his routine maintenance during his adult life. nine0003

When to cut azalea from Japan?

Volume of training for the resumption of vegetation in April / May on young subjects.
Service size after flowering.
The seam size will be practiced in the first two years on cuttings or seeding, while the maintenance size will be carried out throughout the life of the shrub.

How to carve an azalea from Japan?

Required tools:

Workout size:

Be careful, after this size the bush will not flower next year, but will give a beautiful frame with many branches, which will further ensure the beauty and vigor of the plant. nine0023 Another training size option: stem. It is necessary to shape objects carried on high stems very visually and always delightfully in pots.

Service Size :

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