Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
How close to the ground can I safely prune my azaleas?
I understand that if I prune them now, I'll be sacrificing next years blooms and frankly I really don't care about that. The problem is that I moved here recently and the many azaleas in front of the house have not been cut back in a really long time, if ever! They desperately need to be cleaned up inside the shrubs but I'm uncertain just how severely I can cut them back without killing them. Anyone have any suggestions?
1 Answer
- bandycat5Lv 51 decade agoFavorite Answer
Never ever cut more than 1/3 of the plant, and personally, I would do even a lot less than that. Are they too big? Be careful how big a stem you cut. It may not sprout again and then you have dead "sticks" in your plant. The best way is to just cut the most offensive and "wild" looking branches, let it sprout out on the stems and then next year trim a little more. I would wait till spring after blooming but before the new growth begins. Cold weather might kill the branches and again it will end up looking ugly.
Some azaleas are loose and airy, some are compact little bushes. Some get big, some stay small. You should have some idea of the ideal shape for your particular kind.
This website says you can prune in fall, but I guess it depends on where you live. If it gets cold, or freezes, I personally wouldn't recommend fall pruning.
