Potted Azalea Needs A Bigger Home

Ask the Expert: I have an Azalea which my son bought me a few years ago I planted it out a couple of years ago and it has given me some beautiful shows each year. but now it seems that all the leaves have turned brown and i haven’t had so many flowers on it this year seeing it is in a big pot on my patio do you think it would do it good to prune it right back and also get it out and refill with new Azalea soil again. i shouldn’t like to think that i will loose it now after all this time.

regards
Lynne Harper

Plant Expert Reply:
A couple of things could be going wrong.

Your pot maybe to small to handle the growth of the azalea. Azaleas are a shrub and usually need more room than an average size pot for long term survivability.  If your azalea seems to have outgrown it’s container, you will need to transplant it in the yard or into a larger pot.  I would trim the plant back by a fourth when your transplant it.  This should encourage new growth.

Water stress is another issue that could cause the symptons the plant is exhibiting.  You will need to determine if the Azalea has had too much or two little water.  Check your drain holes.  Make sure they are still draining.  Correct the water issue and then keep the plant evenly moist.  I recommend trimming the Azalea slightly.

The last issue that could be our problem is insect damage.  Take a magnifying glass and look for spider mites.  At the same time, look for any other indication of pests.  If you find insects, you will need to spray the Azalea with an insecticide. Once again I recommend trimming the Azalea slightly.

If you haven’t fertilized the plant lately, you may need to give it a well-balanced fertilizer.  I usually wait until the plant shows signs of recovery before I load it up with fertilizer.

If you still are not sure what is going on with your Azalea, send me a couple of pictures.  I need one close-up picture of the leaf and one of the whole plant.