I love azaleas, but they are aphid and spidermite magnets, so before you bring it inside, spray it well. I've grown them in a sunny south window for the winter before and they did flower again although not as heavily as when I first got them. As for forcing them for a certain time, I haven't got a clue as to how to accomplish that.:^)

Good luck,
Laurie

I found this information on a google search

Azaleas require direct sunlight to remain healthy. A night temperature of 60 F. will prolong bloom. Keep the soil constantly moist. If the leaves should turn yellow, the soil is not acidic enough. Use an acid fertilizer sold especially for azaleas. Do not use softened water. When repotting, use a mixture high in acid peat moss.

Azaleas can be planted, pot and all, in a shady spot in the garden during the summer months. Examine them frequently and keep them watered during dry periods. Greenhouse azaleas are not hardy, and need to be brought indoors before freezing weather.

Azaleas need a cool rest treatment before they are forced into bloom. Place the plants in a room with a temperature between 35 to 50 F. and filtered light. During this rest period, flower buds will develop. Then place in a well-lighted warm (65o F.) room around January 1 and the plant will bloom.

Shauna, I read on another site that the cold period has to be between 4 to 8 weeks. Perhaps leaving it outside to enjoy the cool fall weather and protected from hard frost would do the trick? I used to grow these as house plants in Germany but they spent a good deal of time on the covered balcony until about mid-November or so when it got pretty cool (still frost free, though) when I then brought them in to a sunny window. We didn't have forced air heat there, so I never had spider mite problems. I fertilized, but don't recall with what. Anyway, I did get them to bloom again in the house but we're working with waaayyy different weather conditions here.

Potted azaleas can take a little frost and the longer you leave it outside, the better light it will get. I wouldnÂt leave it much longer than the beginning of October  I donÂt know your night temperatures but if it dips consistently under -2C , then your best to bring it in. We leave our plants outside until the end of October and IÂve never lost one. At that time of year, we are still getting light frosts but the daytime temperatures are usually in the 10-15C range.

I always get the Âreject plants here  we sell a lot of Azaleas, Poinsettias and Amaryllis to companies during the Christmas season. Every year, a few Azaleas arenÂt sold and those we overwinter. My experience is that the plants require cool temperatures of 15 to 18 C and good light. If the plant is really large and needs to be repotted you can probably purchase soil for ericaceous plants at Home Depot. Or you can mix your own soil using ½ Promix, ¼ Perlite, ¼ Potting Soil. Promix is very high in Peat Moss and will give you the acidity it needs. I donÂt use any other soil amendments and have never seen our Azaleas with chlorosis.

Thanks so much. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I haven't brought it in yet and I seemed to have my memory telling me from somewhere that it needed to stay outside a bit longer. I expect that if it takes a hit of -2°, that it will drop all of its leaves and this would also be the time to repot it?

Shauna

No it won't drop it's leaves at -2 as long as the daytime temperatures are higher. I would only repot it if it is really root bound. I've not had a problem with Spider Mites - they're usually busy eating my phormiums and Colocasias!

Thanks, Marilena. I had just a very minor problem one year with my valencia orange tree and spider mites. A bit of insecticidal soap and problem solved. But, I am usually pretty diligent about watching my houseplants for pests anyway. That is, if I can ever get houseplants to survive. They really aren't my forte.

It probably will be OK in the pot it is in right now. And it seems to be putting on a bit of new growth right now so I'm glad to hear that it shouldn't drop its leaves.

Shauna

Shauna,

Just to let you know so that your orange tree doesn't suffer the same fate as mine, make certain you water it lots! I found out for my trees size (3') it would of needed three cups of water a week at least. That really shocked me as I thought it was something else that killed it.

Syreeta

I have an stsuki azalea bonsi. They say it is an outside azalea. I gogled it and they say DO NOT bring it indoors, Protect it with a glass cover. However it is in a glazed clay pot. Does anybody know what to do with this over the winter which as gotten to -15 degrees F