Timing is Everything: Pruning Azaleas for Maximum Bloom Potential

by | Sep 17, 2019 | Fall Gardening, Shrubs

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.

Matthew Orwat
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