Hard Pruning Azalea - Will it bud again?

[Scott Martin]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if I can hard prune an azalea back to the trunk, almost to a stump, if it will rebud. The tree is currently growing in my garden and is about 15 years old so I don't want to lose it.

The azalea has just finished flowering so is it the right time to dig up or should I wait until the start of spring? Or should I hard prune and leave in the ground for another year before potting?

I've got plenty of pines and maples but no azaleas and I don't want my first to be a disaster!

So many questions...

Thanks for your help.

Scott

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi Scott,

My experiences with azalea are not extensive -- but from observation they do bud from hardwood
rather readily. But I have also experience die-back on healthy branches as well. So there is always
a risk with azaleas.

If I were you, I would not cut it right in one go. What I do is by no means the best or right. But it is
right for me. I will cut off only 1/4 or 1/8 of what I intended, wait till it buds, then cut lower. I keep
repeat the process till I get what I intended.

It will weaken the tree, I guess, but if something goes wrong, I still have back up branches to work
with.

This site is from U.S.A. http://www.azaleas.org/

A long while back, a member from WA has posted his own azaleas web-site. And he is a grower
with high reputation, but I cannot seem to recall the post.

Might be some other members can point it out? Or you can just search for "azalea" using the search
function on the top right hand corner.

Good luck and please post pictures if you can.

Best regards.

[anttal63]

here in melbourne i cant kill them if i tried; i have never lost branches by pruning. however i have from wiring too weak a branch. i prune hard, repot and massacre the roots any time of the year. nothing seems to phase them. im not saying do it but this works for me. i dont find them precious at all. margaret smith, the president of the waverly bonsai club is a keen and experienced azalea grower. you will be able to contact her through the website, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bonsaiau/ im sure she would only be too happy to help.

[Scott Martin]

Thanks for the advice.

Here's a pic of the tree currently.

[EdwardH]

Hi Scott,

They will bud back from the trunk however I would wait until after it has flowered. If you wanted to be doubly sure cut back to the lowest branch. You will get a lot of new branches lower down the trunk. The following year you can repeat the process if you want the tree even smaller. Make sure that it is healthy before doing anything to it, sorry if this sounds obvious however I lost a couple in my enthusiasm a couple of years ago.

[sreeve]

Hi Scott,
I have a number of Azaleas and found them to be very tolerant of being cut back harshly. However, I agree with being cautious and waiting until the flowering finishes.
Depending on where you live and what the local conditions are - you may even want to wait until the last month of winter.

I think the web site referred to earlier may be the The Satsuki Society of Australasia Inc.
http://www.satsukisociety.com

Whilst they tend to focus more on Satsuki, they are very supportive and helpful - a great young organisation to join and support.

Regards
Steve

[Damian Bee]

There looks to be some interesting trunk lines on there, are you sure you want to cut it right back to the stump?

[aaron_tas]

i haven't had any dramas with them, last season i cut back a 700mm tree to a 100mm tree and no probs whatsoever, although...

a wise brenda parker once told me that you should seal your azaleas instantly, anything bigger than a pencil thickness.

good luck

[kcpoole]

i haven't had any dramas with them, last season i cut back a 700mm tree to a 100mm tree and no probs whatsoever, although...

a wise brenda parker once told me that you should seal your azaleas instantly, anything bigger than a pencil thickness.

good luck

I have Dug large Azaleas for a garden and cut them back to bare wood over 50mm thick and they have reshooted well
If you can take them out with a large root mass is good.

these 2 were dug 2 years ago in April, and have now recovered well. One of them I am taking to the Peter Adams workshop

and yes I seal my Azalea would when I make them with unpronouncable tube stuff

Ken