On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 22:43:57 -0500, "arkienurse"
wrote:

greetings all...

I just found this group and have a question about Azaleas.

I have several in my yard. They are one of the varieties that grow very
tall, and they are fuschia colored, very beautiful right now for Easter.
When we moved into our house 12 years ago, they had been literally cut back
to the ground and were only stumps that I had no idea what they were until
the next year. I felt pity for them being cut back to the ground and
allowed them to grow wild with no trimming until now. I have several spots
that the branches died back last year, and also, one of the bushes is
probably 10 feet tall. The other main one is about 7 feet tall. One of my
coworkers that is knowlegable in plants tells me that it will not hurt the
plants to cut them back to the ground- is this true? Or should I just try
to trim them back to a manageable height and trim out some of the inner
branches to allow light? I love the way they look right now and am loathe
to do anything that will do them harm.


Thanks for any information

Vicky


You can trim them back after they bloom or leave them alone. They
like to be mulched--pine needles are a good choice for azaleas as they
have a shallow tender root system and like acidic conditions. Most of
my azaleas get "trimmed" by the deer, leaving very little bloom but I
still like the foliage. I have seen some azaleas trimmed such that
they look like a silly ball. If they look good to you, leave them to
grow naturally which is my personal preference.