Azalea new growth

[Darren S]

Hi,
Looking for some advice on my Azalea
The flowers are now coming to an end and new growth is everywhere.
The new leaves are larger than the old leaves.
Should I be removing these larger new leaves or letting them go?
Thanks
Darren

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[shibui]

You need to do more than just remove larger leaves. Azaleas usually produce lots of new shoots from the end of each shoot. Reduce the number of shoots at each point leaving only 2 wherever possible. Take off stronger ones where possible to even out the strength all over the tree but if a branch looks a bit weaker leave the strongest shoots and remove weak ones.
Leave the remaining shoots to grow for a few weeks then cut them all back to 1 or 2 new leaves. That will cause many new buds to sprout so the branches will gain density (again reduce shoots so there's just 2 at any one point). The next round of shoots should be shorter and have smaller leaves.
Don't cut the new shoots after autumn - March? becaus the flowers start to form in autumn. Later pruning will remove the potential flower buds for the following spring.

If you still have problems with larger leaves you can cut off larger leaves to make it look better.

[Darren S]

Thanks Shibui.
I will start the process tomorrow and get the new growth under control.
Cheers Darren

[kcpoole]

After flowering, I repot all my azleas and cut back to 2 leaves only.
Sometimes I cut back to none as they will backshoot from bare wood.

Ken

[toohey]

I love Azaleas, but really as bonsai enthusiasts why worry about flowering?
Just a thought.
The flowers are often so beautiful, especially some of the new varieties.