How much can I chop back this azalea

[Salcomine]

Hi, my azalea is done flowering and I'd like to cut it back to get smaller internodes. If I remove the leaves on a branch will it rebud lower?

Thanks
Salcomine

 

[HorseloverFat]

Hi, my azalea is done flowering and I'd like to cut it back to get smaller internodes. If I remove the leaves on a branch will it rebud lower?

Thanks
SalcomineView attachment 309104

They definitely backbud!.... almost aggressively.

I recently “whacked” one all the way back to basically nothing, my 5-year Azalea contest entry.. It is currently starting to push potential buds.

I am learning about Azaleas, also.. so the only piece of advice i can warrant “passing on” is; “Backbudding? ...yes!”

Nice specimen, by the way.

Can’t wait to “see what happens.”

 

[Harunobu]

If you prune back all branches, leaving just stubs without foliage where your branch was, it will bud back. How much kind of depends on how vigorous it was. I like to find a spot where I can at least leave a few leaves on, without affecting the way it buds back, to help keep the sap flow going a bit with the evaporation of those leaves keeping the fluid moving from roots to leaves. But I don't have any evidence if that actually batters. So yeah, cut those branches back to the point where you want your new buds to emerge. They will emerge slightly below the cut site. The nearest dormant bud will create the backbudding. But you can't see where they are.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If your weather is warm, above 25 C daytime high temps, at least 4 days a week, you can prune back azalea quite severely, even to bare branch stubs. If your environment is cool summer, where temps are often below 18 C for daytime highs, you need to keep a few leaves on every branch you want to keep. If your temperatures are "in between" the two example, I found most of the time you get good results, but not always, so I try to leave a leaf or two on every keeper branch. Warm and humid, you can cut azalea to totally bare stubs.

 

[Harunobu]

There is this theory that if you mist an azalea that you cut back hard, you make the bark softer and buds can easier come through. And that if the bark is too hard, they fail and that specific bud will die/stop trying.

 

[Cadillactaste]

If your weather is warm, above 25 C daytime high temps, at least 4 days a week, you can prune back azalea quite severely, even to bare branch stubs. If your environment is cool summer, where temps are often below 18 C for daytime highs, you need to keep a few leaves on every branch you want to keep. If your temperatures are "in between" the two example, I found most of the time you get good results, but not always, so I try to leave a leaf or two on every keeper branch. Warm and humid, you can cut azalea to totally bare stubs.

Really good information there! Thanks.

 

[barrosinc]

I use this as my guide

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I use this as my guide

The author, or artist is John Geanangel. He is a very experienced azalea grower and bonsai artist. I forget whether he is North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia, be he lives less than 150 miles from Asheville North Carolina. That means the climate he is reporting from is warm, humid summers and a moderately long growing season, maybe 180 to 200+ days between last frost and first frost. Knowing the climate from where the cultivation advice comes from is key.

 

[Adair M]

The author, or artist is John Geanangel. He is a very experienced azalea grower and bonsai artist. I forget whether he is North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia, be he lives less than 150 miles from Asheville North Carolina. That means the climate he is reporting from is warm, humid summers and a moderately long growing season, maybe 180 to 200+ days between last frost and first frost. Knowing the climate from where the cultivation advice comes from is key.

South Carolina.

He is pretty good friends with Arthur Joura, and he’s always at the Carolina Bonsai Expo, and often wins awards there. You’ll get to meet him there for sure. He usually attends the bonsai events in Kannapolis, but he doesn’t show there.

in addition to his azalea, he has spectacular Bald Cypress that’s collected. Lately, he’s really gotten into doing rock plantings.

 

[bunjin]

Obviously Mr. Geanangel was successful with this drastic pruning effort. I personaly no longer attempt to reduce the top and the root ball at the same time due to the loss of a couple of valuable specimens. It looks like you have already reduced your root ball, so you should be good to go.

 

[Salcomine]

Thanks for all the replies. So Gave it a pretty hard trim about 2 weeks ago and nothing yet. Hopefully its warm enough for some back buds to form, its highs of 18C here now, not really warm at all. Depending on how this guy does I'll trim my other guy next year.