Timing is Everything: Pruning Azaleas for Maximum Bloom Potential

Timing is Everything: Pruning Azaleas for Maximum Bloom Potential

Fall Pruned Azalea. Image Credit Matthew Orwat

Although Northwest Florida is well known for its beautiful Azalea displays every spring, many do not understand that these shows of bloom could be sacrificed completely by pruning at the wrong time.

Pruning Azaleas in the fall will result in a loss of spring bloom the following spring, since flower buds are initialized on previous year’s growth for most azalea cultivars.This means that they flower on growth put on throughout the previous growing season. If a gardener removes the previous season’s new growth, they are removing the blooms as well.

So, when is the proper time to prune Azaleas? The ideal time to prune is directly after the spring bloom. This will give the plant enough time to generate abundant new growth, thus maximizing bloom next spring. One might think that when growing the repeat blooming Encore azaleas, pruning time doesn’t matter. Should the need arise to prune these compact, repeat blooming shrubs the optimal time is directly after spring bloom and not after the final fall bloom cycle.

For more information on pruning Azaleas or on general Azalea culture, please read the UF / IFAS publication Azaleas at a Glance or check out the Pruning Azalea page on Gardening Solutions.

Wait Until Mid-April to Fertilize North Florida Lawns

Wait Until Mid-April to Fertilize North Florida Lawns

Cold injury to lawn from too early fertilizer application Credit: Larry Williams

Cold injury to lawn from too early fertilizer application. Credit: Larry Williams

It’s too early to fertilize our warm-season lawn grasses now. This includes the use of fertilizers contained in weed-and-feed products.

There are a number of reasons why it’s best to wait to fertilize your lawn.

First, the soil temperature is too cool for grass roots to have access to some of the fertilizer elements. For example, iron and potassium are poorly available until the soil warms up in spring. Some nutrients leach below the grass roots because the lawn can’t use them yet. This results in waste of fertilizer, time and money.

Secondly, fertilizing too soon can induce nutrient deficiencies and off color areas in your lawn. This is one cause for bright yellow areas in lawns during early spring. Nitrogen is readily taken up by the lawn, even under cool soil conditions, and stimulates early green growth. Early lawn growth is dependent on iron also being readily available. However, iron is poorly available under the cool soil conditions of late winter and early spring. Therefore lawns turn yellow in areas due to an iron deficiency caused by an early fertilizer application. Many times, as soil temperatures warm during mid April and May, the iron becomes available and the lawn turns green. So why not avoid this scenario by waiting until mid April to fertilize your lawn?

It takes consistently warm night temperatures to allow the soil to become warm enough for best root growth and optimal uptake of fertilizer.

Thirdly, the young, tender grass roots that are beginning to grow in early spring are easily burned by the fertilizer.

Fourthly, fertilizing too early can stimulate early lawn growth, which is tender and easily injured by a late frost. The average date for our last killing frost is mid March.

Also, be very cautious about using weed-and-feed products that recommend a late winter application. These products are usually high in nitrogen, which will cause your lawn to begin growing too early. If you’re trying to control weeds, it’s best to apply your herbicides separately from fertilizer, anyway.

In North Florida, it’s best to wait until your lawn has completely greened up in spring before applying any fertilizer.

Waiting allows for more efficient use of the fertilizer. You will not injury you lawn by waiting to fertilize but you can certainly injure your lawn by fertilizing too early.

So, have patience, allow your lawn to green up on its own and then fertilize, even if it’s not until mid April or May.