How to Care for a Potted Azalea
Azalea plants are popular to give as gifts for holidays and birthdays. They are brilliantly showy in flower and can be kept from year to year with a little extra effort. Here are some suggestions to help your azalea thrive.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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Red Azalea close-up
Put your azalea in the coolest room where it will get good light but remain out of direct sun. And make sure the soil in the pot never dries out.
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Remove spent blooms to avoid encouraging disease.
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Water thoroughly and regularly. Since azaleas are acid lovers,there is a lot of peat mixed into the soil medium and that encourages it to dry out quickly. You may need to soak your pot in a bucket of water to make sure the soil actually absorbs all the water it needs.
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After blooming, an azalea can be moved into a bright window where it gets some morning sun. Avoid any direct hot sun.
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The azalea loves cool temperatures so if you can keep your plant in the 60's, it will grow better than in more heat.
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To grow your plant through the year, set it in dappled shade outdoors once most of the frosts have passed and make sure the soil does not dry out. If the plant grows too big for the pot and becomes root-bound, move it up to a pot one size larger and re-pot it with soil that is at least two-thirds peat moss. If the leaves start to yellow, the plant lacks iron, so try adding a little chelated iron or another garden iron product. Keep an eye out for insects.
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Azaleas can handle occasional cold.
If you live in an are that does not get hard frosts, you can plant your azalea outside or even leave it out in its pot. If you live where it gets hot, keep it in shade. These plants really do not like it hot and prefer winters that drop into the 30's and 40's with summers not much more than the 70'sF. That doesn't mean they can't grow in less than these ideal conditions, though.
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White azalea
Azaleas normally develop their buds in the winter and burst into bloom in the late winter and early spring. Most of the potted plants gifted for the winter holidays have been 'forced' into blooming early. If you keep your plant in a pot or plant it outdoors, expect it to be more than a year until it blooms again as it readjusts to a normal schedule of bloom.
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Comments
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Thanks those were good tips! : )
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Tips for potted azalea's was very helpful.
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Gardengates
Feb 27, 2009
'Deadheading' is as simple as pinching off the faded flowers. Spent blooms can deplete some of the plant's energy should the plant try to set seed and the plant looks better without them anyway. Good luck with your azalea!
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noellekl
Feb 26, 2009
I have a potted white azalea and had gotten it when it was in full bloom. How do I remove the spent flowers? Do I just pluck off the flowers? Or do I cut the greens stalks that the flower sits on right at their base? I had gotten this plant for the death of my spouse's father, so you can imagine how much it means to us to keep it alive. However, after the funeral we had put all the plants in the fathers house until we would be able to take them home since we live so far away. So the plant was not watered for about a week and when I took it home I only watered it once. I let it dry out once until I researched the plant and now know how to take care of it. So since it was not watered in that period of time the leaves are not drooping, dropping, and feel almost "wet", but they still have their dark green color. Is there anything I can do to ensure its survival right away? Thank You.
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noellekl
Feb 26, 2009
I have a potted white azalea and had gotten it when it was in full bloom. How do I remove the spent flowers? Do I just pluck off the flowers? Or do I cut the greens stalks that the flower sits on right at their base? I had gotten this plant for the death of my spouse's father, so you can imagine how much it means to us to keep it alive. However, after the funeral we had put all the plants in the fathers house until we would be able to take them home since we live so far away. So the plant was not watered for about a week and when I took it home I only watered it once. I let it dry out once until I researched the plant and now know how to take care of it. So since it was not watered in that period of time the leaves are not drooping, dropping, and feel almost "wet", but they still have their dark green color. Is there anything I can do to ensure its survival right away? Thank You.
