Thread: azalea
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Old 18-11-2003, 07:23 PM
Victoria Clare
 
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Default azalea

papanix wrote in
:

I have since realised that it is probably varieties of Rhodendron
indica
which is used most often for this. I believe it can be clipped to
a
lose rounded shape although I have never seen it clipped to a rigid
shape such as you would do with box or yew. If you look at images of
the central garden at the new Getty museum in Los Angeles they have a
circular maze like pattern made from R. indica which does flower. I
guess if you clip just after flowering you will still get flowers the
following year?


I cut my azaleas back in the autumn and still get loads of blooms. I don't
clip them to a very precise shape though - I just cut back leggy growth to
the height of the main bush, as I don't want them any bigger than they
already are.

If you remember to cut them back just after they have flowered, they make
more shoots which also flower.

However, as my main aim is to keep them in check, I do the cutting later,
and I still get the fabled candlewick bedspread look.

Practically every tiny twig produces flowerbuds, so the only thing to look
out for is not to cut back too hard in one go so you remove too many
flowering twigs.

Victoria