I’ve had this azalea for about 2.5 weeks. I’ve been keeping the soil evenly moist and watering until it drains out the bottom. I’ve heard these don’t last long after blooming. Is there a way to keep it alive longer? I live in a dry climate, not sure if that changes anything.
by A11J06
4 Comments
Long term depends on many factors but meanwhile do not allow the soil to dry out
Depending on your zone, I would plant them outside. Either in a bigger pot or in the ground.
In the ground, they can become big beautiful monsters.
You need a much bigger pot than that for starters, one made of terracotta, at least 3 times the size. It’s probably root bound, make 3-4 big cuts vertically at each quadrant of the root ball and kinda jimmy your fingers and hand in there to loosen up the roots.
Get some good quality potting soil, anything but Miracle Gro, repot it in the bigger pot and bury the roots gently but firmly.
Put it into indirect light for the next two weeks and water every day, like, to one side of the window if you’ve been keeping it indoors, or in full shade if you’ve been keeping it outdoors. After its feet no longer hurt, it’ll visibly perk up and start reaching for the light, at which point you can gradually move it into more and more sun. I’d recommend letting it get halfway in front of the window at the two week mark, then fully in front of it at the four week mark.
Most plants like sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon, azalea come from colder rain drenched areas, so in a hot dry climate, best to keep it indoors in front of a window. If it presses its face against the glass, you can invest in a full spectrum grow light for it and park it about a foot over its highest leaves.
Azalea can live for years if you keep them from drying out and repot every six months. Look up basic pruning and bonsai techniques to train it to live in a reasonably sized pot, otherwise it’ll just keep growing. It mostly amounts to trimming down the root ball whenever you repot and pruning the branches in an aesthetically pleasing but also healthy way that encourages it to grow and branch where you want it. Basically, you’re giving your plant something to do when you trim it down, like, “now I’ve got all this dirt to put new roots through.” I usually trim the root ball to 1/3 the size of the pot they live in, tho I mostly raise woody herbs and evergreen bonsai.
Good luck!