"arkienurse" wrote:
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.
I am guessing that you are talking about evergreen azaleas rather than a
deciduous azalea.
Several points:
If they are healthy, they would probably come back again if cut to the
ground. But that is not the normal way to treat azaleas.
There is nothing wrong with letting them go, especially if they maintain
a decent shape.
The main reason for trimming azaleas is to control their height and to
increase their health.
Try to only prune immediately after they finish blooming, so as to not
remove next years flower buds. They form these new flower buds in the
summer.
I like to cut back branches that have are growing taller than the rest
of the plant. Cut out all dead material. If there is a possibility it
is diseased, either burn it or have a trash hauler take it away.
Here are some things you can do to help the health of the plants. If
there is a tangle of branches in the center of the plants with no
leaves, thin this out. Cut back branches that are growing back toward
the center of the plant. Remove branches that are crossing each other
and rubbing. The more air than can get into the center of the plant the
more disease free it will be.
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