I have several old azaleas (~40 years old) that I moved a few years ago. They were quite large at the time and in order to get them out of the ground I had to radically prune them back. Now they are quite dense with shoots running every direction. I was reading the forum and understand that I do not want to cut more than a 1/3 off at any time. What I am unsure of is which branches to remove. In other words, should I lean towards removing old growth (or new) or work from the center out, or get rid of long vertical branches with little green?

Thanks for any comments- at least I have not killed them!

happy gardening.

Is there a place to post images along with messages?

Charles

To avoid removing flower buds, prune shortly after they finish blooming in the spring.