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Pruning Old Azaleas

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Posted by cpiety (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 15:52

Hi,

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

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RE: Pruning Old Azaleas

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The idea in pruning an azalea for general health rather than just size is to remove any branches that do not aim out or up or both up and out. Remove all branches that are growing inward. Prune so that branches don't cross each other. The purpose is to open up the plant to get air moving through it. You can also prune for size by reducing the height or width.

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

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