Azelea repotting

[Choppychan]

Hi,

I was going to repot my azelea in the beginning of March but I've not had the time to do so yet.

What's the latest I can repot my azelea? Should I wait till after it flowers or can I do it through the spring as well. This is my first time repotting it and don't want to mess up.

Thanks

 

[roberthu]

Pre-flower repotting is better usually. The later you repot, the less root work you can do in general.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Greetings and Happy Friday!

Depends on the scope of work for the azalea… and a bit on the type. Here’s a conservative plan…

First the media type for azaleas must be reasonably matched, otherwise they are prone to root rot or fungal infections.

In general if rootwashing and then repotting into a container in zone 8 this job can be done from mid February to mid April with extremely high success rate given best practice. The one caveat is the tree must be protected from high heat and sunlight for 6-8 weeks afterwards… the timing depends upon the health and age of the tree. Possibly could be done in the fall, except the tree often lingers throughout the winter before recovering. This leaves it prone to various nasties too numerous to mention.

If one is merely doing a simple repot…. Remove 1/3-1/2 of the roots and no pruning. Likely can be done February to Mid May and again once the hot part of summer is past through September. Timing could be further extended depending upon one’s ability to protect the tree and equipment.

Hope this helps

cheers
DSD sends