John Heider · Gardenality Genius · Zone 9B · 25° to 30° F · Comment About Planting
Azaleas are fairly easy plants to grow. Provide slightly acid soil with good drainage in an area with full sun to partial shade. Azaleas prefer loose, moist, well-drained soil. If the soil is heavy, mix it with as much as 50% organic matter, such as fine pine bark or rotted leaves, before using it to plant the azalea. When choosing such soil amendments, avoid materials which may be alkaline or contain fresh manure that can burn the roots. Remove the plant from the container and inspect the roots. Any visible roots wrapped around the rootball will strangle the plant when they grow, instead of growing out into the soil. With a sharp knife, cut these roots by making slits about 1/2" deep from the top to the bottom of the rootball, about every 2" or 3" around the rootball. Cut any matted roots off the bottom of the rootball. Dig a hole at least a few inches wider than the rootball and just as deep as the rootball, and plant the top of the rootball even with the top of the soil. Avoid disturbing the soil at the bottom of the hole. If it is disturbed or soil must be returned to the hole, tramp it firm before planting. The goal is to avoid the azalea from sinking more deeply as the soil settles. Add soil to fill the space under and around the root ball, tamping it firmly with your fingers, and continue until the fill soil is at the same level as the top of the root ball and the surrounding soil. The goal is to avoid any airspaces without compacting it so much that water will not enter. Mulch the plant with 2" of pine straw, leaves, pine bark, wood chips or whatever is available, but leave an inch around the stems without any mulch. Then water it slowly and thoroughly. Watch your plant carefully to make sure it is always moist but not wet.

John Heider · Gardenality Genius · Zone 9B · 25° to 30° F · Comment About Feeding
Azaleas benefit from a more acidic fertilizer. Using a slow release fertilizer made especially for azaleas can really help keep your plants healthy. The best time to fertilize azaleas is right after they finish blooming. Apply a slow release nitrogen fertilizer to stimulate good growth for the spring and summer. Be careful of using a fertilizer too high in nitrogen as is common with many lawn fertilizers since this can burn and even kill the plant. About eight weeks later, apply an acid-type fertilizer labeled "for azaleas, camellias, and gardenias." Reapply the azalea fertilizer about every six weeks until the middle of September to stimulate good bud set for the next year's bloom period. Apply small amounts each application, lightly scattering over root area.

Brent Wilson · Gardenality Administrator · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Pruning
Formosa azalea does not require pruning. However, if you want to prune them do so after they have finished blooming in spring.

If your older, mature azaleas have become spindly or overgrown, rejuvenation pruning may be necessary. The correct method for rejuvenation pruning is very straight forward. The plant in question should be pruned to 6" stumps or less. This is the only way to remove all of the old wood and provide the plant with one hundred percent juvenile wood loaded with leaf buds. Azaleas are one of the many plants that respond beautifully to heavy rejuvenation pruning. The best time to perform rejuvination pruning is right before your plants would ordinarily flush out with new growth in the Spring. Do not fertilize the plant after rejuvination pruning. In a very few short weeks you will be utterly amazed at the new growth. After this procedure, it would be wise to keep your azalea full by pruning a portion of the branches to the ground, thereby forcing foliage to emerge lower on the plant.

Brent Wilson · Gardenality Administrator · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Problems
The biggest problem with azaleas is wet feet. Make sure to plant them in well-drained, acidic soils. Otherwise, consistently wet soil can cause root rot and other problems. Azaleas are known to attract a few types of insects but these usually don't cause serious, life-threatening problems. Lacebugs and aphids are probably the most common insects. These are small chlorophyll-sucking insects that leave the foliage with a "webbed" look. Spray with Neem oil, or another insecticide listed for use on azaleas, when these or other insects are present. You'll need to spray both the top and underside of leaves.

Spencer Young · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Pruning
For younger azaleas, pruning is best performed right after they stop blooming and the flowers have faded in Spring. Use hand pruners to cut back branches that have outgrown the rest and to remove dead branches or one's that spoil the shape of the plant.