Page 1 of 1[1]
Azalea hedge--to prune or not to prune?
| Member | Message |
|---|---|
 |
Posted: May/14/2008 6:57 AM PST
In my front foundation "garden" (I use the term lightly since I haven't made it as much of a garden in the past year as I would have liked) I have this hedge of 3 azalea bushes. They are the purple azaleas that are the first bloomers of the season. I'm trying to decide whether to prune it way back into 3 individual plants, or to prune it just lightly (as you can see, the previous owners of the house used hedge trimmers on it so it's only got leaves/flowers on the outside). The other foundation plants near it currently consist of a small (2') boxwood and some 3'x3' yews so I want everything to look a little more in proportion. If I do severly prune, how long will it take to start growing new leaves? I know the azaleas will look pretty funny all bare and twiggy this summer, but if I put some tall annuals around them then maybe it will camoflage the woody ugliness. Would love thoughts and advice! Attachments:  |
 |
Posted: May/14/2008 7:05 AM PST
Don't you just hate it when people square out a beautiful plant like an Azalea? I cut one back last spring to about 6 inches above the ground and it has put up enough new growth until you don't see that it was pruned. I think you can just about cut them back to the ground and get nice new growth next year. And blooms if you cut it back just after the bloom period. Mine are old plants and are the ones with the big flower. Linda B |
 |
Posted: May/14/2008 7:15 AM PST
My husband prunes the heck out of ours and they do fine. Ours is the old type with big flowers too. The ones he just pruned are about 8 ft tall. He left the height but cut out all the lower branches so we can see the ground. They look great. |
 |
Posted: May/14/2008 8:42 AM PST
Oh, I'm with you on that, Linda. Cut branches out and shorten some of the ones you leave but don't take hedge trimmers to them. At the Portland Japanese Gardens, some of their azaleas get a lot of shade which forces them into a leggier look as they try to grow towards the sun. They're lovely and graceful. |
|
|
Posted: May/14/2008 9:12 AM PST
Thank you all for the advice. I was going to prune them back heavily but my husband was hesitant--now I can show him that I'm not crazy and that after an awkward phase they'll look beautiful again. |
|
|
Posted: Jun/02/2008 8:57 AM PST
I pruned the azalea hedge this weekend. I need to cut it back a little more with the pruning saw, but I think the 3 plants will come back nicely. The new growth is from when the back of the plants were pruned last summer so they were no longer touching the house. The front of the house still looks bad, but in time it will look better. Our goal is to grass in more of it so that we can start over with a smaller space. Attachments:  |
Page 1 of 1[1]
Read Next Discussion
