Rescued Azalea

[Munch9]

I just rescued a sad azalea out of the trash, I would like to know certain questions.
How can I downsize the root ball? It is just way to big to fit at anything.
Can I make a drastic cut on the trunk? When is the best time to do it?
To get more ramifications next to the main trunk can I just cut most branches in spring time?

I know it needs to rest after being rescued, but I'm already thinking of it.

 

[Shibui]

Azalea is very resilient.
You can just cut roots way back and it will be fine.
Azaleas back bud really well, even on old, bare wood so you can chop the branches and trunks fearlessly. I can cut any time of year but I guess in Brazil it will be the same. Regrowth is slower in our winter but is quite quick if chopped in spring or summer.
If it does not grow after it was certainly not the pruning that did it.

Given that this one is so sad now it may be better to delay trunk chop and root reduction until you have nursed it back to health. If you really need to reduce just cross fingers and go ahead and see what happens.

It will probably do far better outdoors. A sheltered place with part shade for the recovery period would be suitable.
Recovery is sometimes slow. Some of mine have taken 2 years to get enough new roots to fill a pot.

I guess you will have azalea lace bug there too so keep an eye out for silvery leaves. They can decimate an azalea if not treated and set recovery back a year or 2 if numbers build up.

 

[Munch9]

Azalea is very resilient.
You can just cut roots way back and it will be fine.
Azaleas back bud really well, even on old, bare wood so you can chop the branches and trunks fearlessly. I can cut any time of year but I guess in Brazil it will be the same. Regrowth is slower in our winter but is quite quick if chopped in spring or summer.
If it does not grow after it was certainly not the pruning that did it.

Given that this one is so sad now it may be better to delay trunk chop and root reduction until you have nursed it back to health. If you really need to reduce just cross fingers and go ahead and see what happens.

It will probably do far better outdoors. A sheltered place with part shade for the recovery period would be suitable.
Recovery is sometimes slow. Some of mine have taken 2 years to get enough new roots to fill a pot.

I guess you will have azalea lace bug there too so keep an eye out for silvery leaves. They can decimate an azalea if not treated and set recovery back a year or 2 if numbers build up.

Nice to hear that!!

I will wait and see until spring, if theres new growth through winter, Ill make the cut, if not I can wait.

About the bugs, yes, there was one type of bug in the plant, but I applied something to kill, seemed to work fine, I Will apply again next week.

 

[Paradox]

You need to let it recover and get healthy before you start cutting it back or repotting it.

Also, it needs to be outside.

I just rescued a sad looking one from a landscape nursery bargain area. I also have to let it recover and get healthy before I do any work on it. The only thing I did was cut off the seed pods left after it flowered so it puts energy into growing new foliage and not the seeds

 

[Munch9]

I'm slowly trimming it down, it's already budding back.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Good project material.

Azaleas kept indoors get lanky with widely spaced back budding… similar to what is shown in the images. So I echo the other folks previous who recommended this treatment.

Also, if you are not planning on growing out the branches at those stub locations, it would be wise to cut these back so that they are very close to flush with the surface of the trunk and ever so slightly convex. I use wood chisels to finish off the cut and cut paste.

Good luck!
DSD sends

 

[shinmai]

Something to note for future reference….when it blooms, after the petals drop the blossom base will develop five shoots, which the conventional wisdom will tell you to cut back to two shoots, and cut those back to two leaves. This is intended to facilitate binary branching/ramification.
I have been conscientiously observing this over the last three years. My conclusion is that inevitably there will be two noticeably stronger shoots, usually oriented toward the direction of outer canopy growth. I think it is a mistake to choose those two, because in my experience, they will [over the course of the summer] run very vigorously. In the process, they will run with very long internodes, irrespective of your fertilizing regimen. I have found it purposeful to instead select the two shoots closest to the end of the branchlet. They can always be wired for direction before the following growing season. They will, at least in my experience, develop into shorter and more attractive branchlets, with shorter internodes and more buds for ramification.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Totally. I have found the best results for me came from pruning the weakest and the strongest and using the two best placed medium growth.

That is that same as what you are describing?

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[shinmai]

Indeed.

 

[Munch9]

I was thinking about this project and probably will take some action just next summer (around december next year).
Cutting back the roots to a pot size or even smaller is okay then? The best time to do it is just around midsummer or in the beginning of spring?

 

[Shibui]

I've dug and transplanted azaleas and split the clumps into smaller pieces at all times of the year. They seem to tolerate root reduction at any time of year but I guess that means when winter is not too cold.
I usually repot either in spring before flowering (and prune off most of the flower buds) or after the flowers finish - mid - late spring.
Now is probably a suitable time for those of us in the southern half but I think any time through to summer should be good.

 

[Munch9]

I've dug and transplanted azaleas and split the clumps into smaller pieces at all times of the year. They seem to tolerate root reduction at any time of year but I guess that means when winter is not too cold.
I usually repot either in spring before flowering (and prune off most of the flower buds) or after the flowers finish - mid - late spring.
Now is probably a suitable time for those of us in the southern half but I think any time through to summer should be good.

Thats nice to hear, I'll give it another year of recovery and will need to buy some kind of saw theres a lot of branches under the soil probably and lots of unthinkable hard roots.

 

[Munch9]

Good project material.

Azaleas kept indoors get lanky with widely spaced back budding… similar to what is shown in the images. So I echo the other folks previous who recommended this treatment.

Also, if you are not planning on growing out the branches at those stub locations, it would be wise to cut these back so that they are very close to flush with the surface of the trunk and ever so slightly convex. I use wood chisels to finish off the cut and cut paste.

Good luck!
DSD sends

Do you think I can cut back those stubs all at once? Its maybe too harmful for the plant since most of its trunk are stubs haha.

 

[Munch9]

Cuts done, I'll apply something into them later...

 

[Belong]

Azalea is very resilient.
You can just cut roots way back and it will be fine.
Azaleas back bud really well, even on old, bare wood so you can chop the branches and trunks fearlessly. I can cut any time of year but I guess in Brazil it will be the same. Regrowth is slower in our winter but is quite quick if chopped in spring or summer.
If it does not grow after it was certainly not the pruning that did it.

Given that this one is so sad now it may be better to delay trunk chop and root reduction until you have nursed it back to health. If you really need to reduce just cross fingers and go ahead and see what happens.

It will probably do far better outdoors. A sheltered place with part shade for the recovery period would be suitable.
Recovery is sometimes slow. Some of mine have taken 2 years to get enough new roots to fill a pot.

I guess you will have azalea lace bug there too so keep an eye out for silvery leaves. They can decimate an azalea if not treated and set recovery back a year or 2 if numbers build up.

Hello,
I bought an Azalea last month, & at the time the leaves were nice & green. I have since repotted it, using my own Bonsai mix.
I keep it outside in bright light. Last week it grew a flower which I have removed.
I used Sea Secret only once.
What is causing the leaves to go brown at the tips please. Some tips would be very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Stan

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Please start your own thread for this azalea. …..You are jumping in other folks threads.

Copy these data over when you do. There are multiple causes of leaf tip browning. Too much sun, too much fertilizer, too much water causing root rot, too little water etc.

My first impression looking at you images is too much water.…. Or too much fertilizer. Most beginners make these two mistakes first.

Tell more about your fertilization routine…

Anyways….

Azaleas like to be moist not wet. Start with letting your media mostly dry out, but get a spray bottle and put 2 tbsp of. 3% Hygrogen Peroxide in one liter of water and spray the media surface and leaves to get each moistened every day while the rest dries out. Put a stone or something under one side of the pot so it sits on an angle to speed drying.

When you do water do so to moisten not wet the soil….use the same solution as above.

Locate the tree so it gets dappled sun in the morning, shade afterwards

No more fertilizer if you are applying it.

Hopefully the tip browning will eventually stop spreading.

cheers
DSD sends