Azalea help

[feral]

Hey all.
I picked up this azalea from a big box store that has a pretty nice trunk. Now it has two that I'm pretty positive have fused together. I have dug down a tad below soil level next to the trunks and they just get thicker.
Question is can I remove some of the top root mass to expose more of the base and hopefully some nebari?
If so, how much of the top can I safely remove?
Thanks for the input.

 

[Shibui]

You can remove some more soil and upper roots. Azaleas are very tolerant of root reduction so you could probably remove half of the roots without killing the plant. I doubt you'll need to take that much so you should be OK to go down a bit more.
Just be aware that many azaleas don't develop thick roots. There may or may not be thicker roots down there. Keep going while the trunk is getting thicker but no point going further if it starts to get thinner.

 

[Glaucus]

It likely is a single trunk, not fused. And it likely has no nebari. It is a shrub, not a tree. You only get a single trunk when trained as such. And it only gets nebari when trained to develop it.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

In the US big box world it’s highly likely to have two azaleas growing together. It’sa dirty secret and how the nursery’s save time and money bringing plants to market. Some of the highest quality nursery sellers don’t do this, but it’s an exception.

No matter if it is or is not two trunks, it’s very plain the small cluster on the right side of the clump should be removed if repotting next spring.

btw it’s important to have your approximate location andUSDA plant Hardiness Zone prior to giving any more advice on timing for root reduction or top canopy reduction.

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DSD sends