Another Photo (lower branches)

correct me if i am wrong ...

you bought it this fall.. IN FLOWER????

first .. i would NEVER transplant a plant... in flower... unless i EXPECTED to lose all flowers ... sometimes you do what you have to do when need be ... i would have left it potted.. in full shade until i was done enjoying the show ... and until fresh growth hardened off ...

it is not hungry right now.. it is very stressed ... and it needs time to get over it.. and all it needs until then.. is proper watering ...

all woody plants new growth is not hard ... for lack of a better term ... so it is hard to read too much into that ... especially with the transplant shock ..

i am no specialist in z9 A&Rs ... but am very confused by such flowering now ... if that is not normal .... then the plant was either FORCED for an out of season bloom ... which means it might be stressed ... or it was so abused during the summer... that it is/was really stressed ...

you say you got it at a botanical garden ... i would be surprised if they cant ID it ... have you tried ...

one other thought comes to mind ... if it was shade house grown.. and you slammed it into more sun than the leaves were accustomed to ... you could have leaf scorch .. on top of the stress .. [which on rereading.. i see you already suspect]

just water it properly.. and try not to love it to death ... if so ... come spring.. it should releaf if watered properly .... and those leaves.. will be accustomed to its new location ...

it is stressed.. not hungry.. most peeps do not feed stressed plants ...

ken

ps: note that the lower leaves.. which where shaded by the plant itself.. sure look fine ... and i think that is a clue.. that it is getting itself settled in ... you may be up for some severe pruning.... depending on how it leafs out ... to remove any dead wood ... or to reshape its future ...

Hi Ken,

Thanks very much for the reply. I think it's obvious, but I'll stress for the record that this is very much a learning period for me. I have no real history with working with plants so much of what may seem obvious to some (re-potting while a plant is in flower) is very much a case of "didn't even know to ask" for me. It's very much trial and error. I'm just trying to be cautions enough so that the "errors" don't completely kill the plants!

To answer your first question, yes, this plant was in flower when I bought it in Early Oct and stayed in flower more or less all that month. I found and attached a photo of the plant from Oct 6 which was shortly after I bought it. I have no idea whether or not it's normal in Z9. I just bought it because I liked the leaf/flower size and blossom color and am filling in blanks as I go.

I noticed the same thing that you pointed out, that the lower branches which were shaded by the uppers were less damaged. That is part of what lead me to believe this was the result of too much sun. I'm glad to hear I might at least me figuring out how to tell a little bit about what is happening with these plants.

So my next challenge is to monitor the water for this Azalea without going overboard. I've read that Azaleas do not like too much water, but also can't handle completely drying out. In your experience, is it better to water a potted Azalea and err on the side of doing it less frequently with more water, or water more frequently with less water at a time?

I've also read that the Azalea wants to go dormant over winter so I should cut back on the water about now. Does that sound correct?

At any rate, if this one comes back in the spring I'll be very happy. Trimming isn't an issue. My eventual hope is that I'll eventually be using this one for a bonsai so there will be plenty of pruning and shaping, but I want to get used to caring for it as-is first.

{{gwi:2122397}}

Oh, and no, I haven't had a chance to go by the garden since purchasing the plant, but maybe I'll go out of my way to make a trip and ask about the Azalea variety.

It would not be terribly unusual for an azalea to bloom in the fall in Z9 if, as is likely, it were grown as a cutting and this is it's first time blooming. It will settle into a more normal pattern.

The problems you describe are, confusingly enough, most commonly caused by either overwatering or excessive dryness. Azaleas, especially if grown in pots, need excellent drainage. That starts with the pot. It's unclear from the photo, but check your pot for adequate drain holes in the bottom. The planting mix needs to contain lots of coarse organic matter to provide both drainage and air space around the roots. Commercial peat-based planting mixes nearly always need additional perlite or granite chips to be effective.

It is also entirely possible that since the plant was pot bound, the rootball remained dry while the planting mix was saturated. Remove it from the pot and check for dryness. If it's dry tease the roots apart, violently if necessary. You will hurt the plant far less by doing this than allowing it to grow with matted and tangled roots. If dry, soak the rootball in water for a half hour or so until the roots are moist. Repot into just moist amended planting mix. It should not need additional water for quite some time.

You can check the bare upper portions by scratching off a bit of the bark to see if the cambium layer is green. If it is, chances are it will put out new leaves next spring. If dry and brown, you can prune back to live wood either now or in the spring.

If you're going to have it in a pot, put it in a larger one with purchased potting soil. Make sure the pot has a hole or holes in the bottom, as mentioned above. Very important! A larger pot is easier to maintain.
Where do you live? What's your climate like? Do you have an acid soil?
Can you put it in the ground?
It seems to me the plant was grown for the florist trade and made to bloom in the Fall rather than the Spring.
Azaleas are outside plants and don't like it indoors for the long term.
Mike

Outdoor azaleas are outdoor plants, but florist azaleas are not outdoor azaleas if you have killing frosts. They are greenhouse plants. All of the advice you got was good. If the root ball got dry it may not accept water unless you actually soak it. If it is root bound, it will strangle itself unless you open up the roots. Never let the roots get dry when you are root pruning, either mist or dip in water occasionally while working on it. It is best to not water a potted plant unless it begins to look slightly stressed from being too dry. Too much water is much worse than not enough. Don't replant in normal potting soil. Use an azalea soil mix that is acidic. I use "composted peat" which is an acidic humus soil. Be careful when moving into sunnier locations. This can shock the plant and cause it to loose leaves or get a bad case of sunburned leaves. This also happens when pruning an azalea and hence exposing tender shaded leaves to full sun. The University of Illinois has an article on raising greenhouse azaleas:

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse Azaleas