Successful Chapter Meeting! Our board just finished the second officer meeting since Ted Nyquist has become our president. A lot to go over and a lot to do! No question our chapter is heading in the right direction and our next meeting is scheduled in September.
(Question posted to Ask the Expert page Jan 11, 2008)
We recently moved into a new house. The previous owner had planted azalea bushes up to 35 yrs ago and she cherished them. While they are beautiful, they are very close to the house and have overgrown the front window. We also need grading done around the outside of the house,and the azalea bushes are in the way. Is there any way of drastically trimming them down without killing them.
(Reply by Tony Greco)
Azaleas can be drastically pruned but I wouldn’t cut them down more than 50% at one time to not put too much stress on the plants. If you need to remove more, consider trimming back in two stages.
Azalea roots grow laterally and close to the soil surface so if you’re regrading, try to avoid putting too much soil over the roots.
I would also wait for the plants to bloom before pruning. This way you can enjoy the flowers and then prune before the growth spurt that immediately follows bloom. Fertilize the plants after you prune them with an acidic fertilizer and mulch your plants with pine bark mulch. It may take a year or so for the plants to completely revive but they should be fine.
Try not to let the plants become overgrown. It’s better to judiciously lightly prune right after they bloom to keep them in bounds once they are the size you desire. Also, don’t wait until late summer to prune since the next year’s flower buds form in late summer. You don’t want to prune off next years flowers.
