Pink, red, and white azaleas grace South American lawns each spring. This flower is weather and environmental resistant and easy to care for as this plant can thrive in many locations and conditions. Learn how to prune azaleas to keep them in bloom year after year.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Performing Annual Maintenance Pruning
Step 1. Know your type of azalea
Azaleas come in two main classes: native azaleas and Asian azaleas. Real azaleas grow like vines, and they don't need pruning. If you have an Asian bush azalea, it could be one of the two main varieties of the evergreen (seasonal) plant:
- Kurume hybrids are typically bright red in color and don't tend to grow very large – no more than 3 or 4 feet (0.9 or 1.2 m.) tall. This plant grows well with some maintenance pruning, but may not need much pruning at all.
- South Indian hybrids grow very large and fast, and are most likely to require pruning - especially if you have one planted near the house.
- Keep in mind that when you are choosing azaleas for planting, choosing Kurume instead of south Indian will be your best bet if you don't want to worry too much about maintenance.
Step 2. Cut off the dead stems in the spring
While both types of evergreen azaleas are supposed to be winter hardy, you may notice some dead or diseased looking stems and branches on the bush the following spring. Use hand pruners (or plucked shears, for large branches) to remove dead or damaged stems where they connect to healthy stems.
Try to make the cuts as clean and small as possible, so as not to leave large cuts on healthy stems; it can be an entry point for fungi and disease
Step 3. Prune the bush carefully after the flowers are gone
When spring comes and goes and the bright flowers start to die, it's time to do your annual light pruning. Use a hand pruner to carefully trim the long stems. Carefully make cuts to correct the shape of the azalea bush. Trim anything that looks too dense, and don't overdo it in thin areas.
Do not take large plant shears and cut the bush into a specific shape. Make carefully selected precise cuts instead. Otherwise, you will accidentally create an unnecessary place where no flowers will bloom
Step 4. Do not prune more than three weeks after the flowers die
If you wait long and prune in late summer or fall, you'll be picking up a growing shoot that will turn into flowers the following spring. If you forget to prune, it's best to just wait until next spring, unless you don't mind having gaps in your flowers.
Method 2 of 2: Doing Drastic Pruning
Step 1. Assess your azaleas
You may not need to do drastic pruning unless you have a South Indian variety azalea that has grown quite large. If your shrubs have started blocking windows and taking up areas you would like to use for other plants, you can trim them down drastically without causing any long-term damage. Decide how much you want to streamline your azaleas, and think of a shape when you start making the cut.
Step 2. Cut each branch one foot (30.5 cm) from the ground
You can safely prune these stems heavily without worrying about the bush dying. Use plucking shears or a hand saw if necessary to cut individual branches. Aim to make a round shape at the top.
Step 3. Fertilize azaleas
Use a slow fertilizer labeled 12-6-6 to keep the plant healthy while it is recuperating. Keep watering until next spring. You don't have to wait for more seasons to see more flowers; the azaleas you drastically pruned should produce plenty of leaves and flowers in the spring.
Tips
- Azaleas bloom only once a year in spring. The best time to prune azalea bushes is right after the blooms have faded.
- If you prune any branches from your azalea bushes that appear diseased, clean the pruning shears with diluted bleach before pruning the next branch. This will help to prevent the spread of disease to healthy branches.
- For the most attractive and healthy azaleas, prune every 3 to 4 years.
- When learning how to prune azaleas, only use pruning shears to trim them. Shearing hedges will cause your azaleas to grow branches that are small and weak and not very attractive.
- Consider wearing a pair of gardening gloves while pruning azalea bushes to protect your hands from abrasions, cuts, and scrapes.
Warning
- Do not prune the azaleas after mid-June or the azaleas may not bloom the following season. Azaleas produce new shoots around this time, and if you cut them, they won't reproduce new shoots until next summer.
- Do not try to prune azalea bushes into a box-like shape. Due to the way the branches grow, the azaleas will not maintain their shape and will end up looking deformed.
- Fungus can develop on azalea branches in late summer, resulting in wilted leaves and dead branches. If you notice these changes in your azalea bushes, prune them until you see white wood to prevent the fungus from spreading.
