Caring For Indoor Azaleas

Ask the Expert: How to care for new azalea over winter?
My azalea was from a floral shop (a gift)When is stopped blooming in the house I planted it outside. It remains a beautiful green leafy plant. Being in northern Illinois I don’t expect it to live over the winter so I brought it inside. How should I care for it so I can put it outside and bloom again in the spring?

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert reply:
If you want to care for your azalea as a houseplant during the winter, but use it as an outdoor plant in the summer, you need to pot it in a container that can work both inside and outside.

The container will need ample room for the azalea plant to expand as it grows. It will need a nutrient rich acidic soil containing organic matter with the ability to drain well. The soil PH is best at a range of 5.0 to 5.5. Should you need to increase the acidity of the soil you can add a soil amendment before you pot the azalea.

Azalea Care For Indoors

Place the azalea in an area with bright indirect light and an ambient temperature of no more that 68 degrees during the day and no lower than 45 degrees at night. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Depending on your heating and cooling system, you may need to create a more humid environment by misting the plant every so often.

Be sure to remove dead leaves or blooms that fall on the soil. These can cause disease. Fertilize the azalea in late winter and again in early summer with a water soluble fertilizer.

Azalea Care For Outdoors

When you place the pot outside during the warm months, find a spot that is shaded some what from the hot mid-day sun. Direct sun during the early morning and late afternoon will work well for the azalea when it is outside. Keep the plant moist, but make sure the roots are not sitting in water. Once the plant has bloomed, prune it to keep the shape.  Pruning should occur immediately after the final blooms are spent. This will ensure the next seasons blooms are not damaged.

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