Rosea Azalea

Carol 83

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I received this Rosea Azalea from Almost Eden in LA. Since it was coming in a 4 inch pot, I expected it to be small. The flowers are really pretty, but I was hoping to attempt a bonsai, not a landscape plant. It does have some growth low on the trunk and some about mid-way. Would it be safe to cut it back, after it's done blooming? I'm sure some will suggest air-layering, but have never tried it. All suggestions appreciated. ROSEA AZALEA.jpgROSEA AZALEA BLOOM.jpg
 

Clicio

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Nice flowers!
Why don't you air layer the top?
;-) Joking... Couldn't resist !
But...
IF it were mine...
 

Vin

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Down here we can. I'm fairly certain you shouldn't have a problem but you better wait to hear from someone up your way. The biggest concern I would have is there's really not a lot of foliage and it has already expended quite a bit of energy producing those blooms. Azaleas are tough but I've killed my share of them over the years because I pruned them hard when they were weak. Nice flowers by the way.
 

Carol 83

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Stunning blooms!!! Are they fragrant? I might look into the air layering...is this zoned for your landscape? You could have the best of both worlds.
Not sure about the fragrance, I'll check when I get home. Zoned 7b, 8,9, so no. I just checked.
 

Mellow Mullet

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I have a couple of varieties of these rose style azaleas, they are pretty tough. No smell though. I am not familiar with your climate, but from recent threads, it sounds a lot like mine only I get summer sooner and winter comes a lot later, lol. I would have no problem cutting it back to nothing, but that is me, and I have a bunch of these around in posts, this variety roots easily. To be safe, I don't know what size pot it is in, but you could up size the pot to give the roots some room to grow, when the roots have room the top is more likely to grow. Then when you finish enjoying the flowers cut the branches back the closest growth to the trunk. This should stimulate some growth all over. It is gonna bud some anyway, this is one of the azaleas that looses a lot of foliage in the winter, in the summer it puts on a lot. Once you get some shoots low where you want, cut back to them. Make smooth cuts and seal everything up nice when you are done. I did this with MS Paint, so don't laugh, but cut where the red lines are and remove the small growth marked in black. You don't want to have that many branches at a junction, it will make an ugly buldge.

That is the Mellow Mullet safe plan.

The "all in" plan would be to cut it to about 12 inches and go for broke, lol. I recommend you go safe and slow and watch how it responds to what you do, once you see how it responds, you will have a better idea about how to treat it. Azaleas are very predictable, they respond the same way every year.

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JosephCooper

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Remove the flowers first, then chop it back. Azaleas take abuse better than most plants I've seen. Still, it's good to be cautious.
 

Carol 83

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I have a couple of varieties of these rose style azaleas, they are pretty tough. No smell though. I am not familiar with your climate, but from recent threads, it sounds a lot like mine only I get summer sooner and winter comes a lot later, lol. I would have no problem cutting it back to nothing, but that is me, and I have a bunch of these around in posts, this variety roots easily. To be safe, I don't know what size pot it is in, but you could up size the pot to give the roots some room to grow, when the roots have room the top is more likely to grow. Then when you finish enjoying the flowers cut the branches back the closest growth to the trunk. This should stimulate some growth all over. It is gonna bud some anyway, this is one of the azaleas that looses a lot of foliage in the winter, in the summer it puts on a lot. Once you get some shoots low where you want, cut back to them. Make smooth cuts and seal everything up nice when you are done. I did this with MS Paint, so don't laugh, but cut where the red lines are and remove the small growth marked in black. You don't want to have that many branches at a junction, it will make an ugly buldge.

That is the Mellow Mullet safe plan.

The "all in" plan would be to cut it to about 12 inches and go for broke, lol. I recommend you go safe and slow and watch how it responds to what you do, once you see how it responds, you will have a better idea about how to treat it. Azaleas are very predictable, they respond the same way every year.

View attachment 186519
Thank you very much! I will go with the safe plan. It's not as giant as it appears, maybe 3 and a half foot. The seller apologized for the size, he didn't know my plan for it. It's currently in a 4 1/2 inch pot. The flowers are pretty though.
 

Mellow Mullet

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Thank you very much! I will go with the safe plan. It's not as giant as it appears, maybe 3 and a half foot. The seller apologized for the size, he didn't know my plan for it. It's currently in a 4 1/2 inch pot. The flowers are pretty though.

OK, then, putting it in a larger pot will be easy.
 

Carol 83

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OK, then, putting it in a larger pot will be easy.
Sorry to keep bugging you, but you say they root easily, so once I make the cuts, do you think I would have any luck trying to root some of what I cut off?
 

Mellow Mullet

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Sorry to keep bugging you, but you say they root easily, so once I make the cuts, do you think I would have any luck trying to root some of what I cut off?

Yes, that is how I do it, whenever I prune I put a little hormone on them and stick them in a pot under my bench. These seem to root fairly easily.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I agree with @Mellow Mullet 's plan, the slow approach. Just potting it up into a larger pot, and getting it outside in some sun will cause back budding lower on the trunk. In going slow, I mean keep at least a couple leaves on branches when you cut back. That's safer than pruning to a bare stick. I also agree with removing the two skinny branches John marked in black
 

Carol 83

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Well.... I had a little time today. I noticed it needed watered constantly. I took it out of the pot and even though just watered, it was a solid mass of pretty dry roots. I teased out the old soil and roots and put it in a bigger pot. I was going to go the safe route, but... I sort of went full tilt and cut it back to 12 inches. Leaving the little growth at the bottom. Could be it's demise, but what's done is done. I did put rooting hormone on a bunch of the leftovers and stuck them in a pot. If nothing else, it will be a learning experience, and it was cheap. So, I guess, time will tell.
 
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