Prune at the Right Time to Encourage Healthy New Blooms
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Azaleas need occasionalpruning.
Its important to know when to do maintenance pruning vs. more severe rejuvenation pruning.
Pruning azaleas at the right time is also essential.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Here are detailed instructions for how and when to prune azaleas.
You may only need to prune azaleas to remove damaged, dead, crossing, and diseased branches.
This stimulates growth that you’ll only have to trim off.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Pruning at the wrong time impacts next years flowering.
Evergreen azaleas usually need very little pruning.
The timing is the same as for deciduous azaleas immediately after flowering.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Prune tall shoots by reaching deep inside the body of the plant to remove them.
Bypass prunersmake a sharper, cleaner cut and help avoid pathogen infestations.
Loppers have longer handles than pruners for greater reach and cut through larger, more mature branches.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Remove Unhealthy Branches
Identify and remove branches that are dead, damaged, or diseased.
Make your cuts close to the branch collar to remove the branches entirely.
pick the most desirable of the branches and remove the other.
The Spruce / Jayme Burrows
Cut them 1/2 to 3/4 inches above a healthy, outward-facing bud.
This way, the branch will grow away from the center, keeping the center open.
It channels the plant’s energy into producing new, stronger growth.
Rejuvenation pruning can be done all at once or spread out over three years.
Deadheading azaleas is not necessary but it can extend the bloom time.
For rejuvenation pruning, reduce the size of each main branch to about 1/3 of its old height.
Do not prune azaleas in the fall or later than June.
Late pruning removes next year’s flower buds.
