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How to Grow Azaleas

Pink Azalea Flowers

One of many of the azalea bushes in my backyard now blooming.

Image Credit:
Suzanne O'Rourke
Written By: George and Becky Lohmiller

Known as “The Royalty of the Garden,” azaleas have long been adored for their brightly colored flowers and outstanding form and foliage. Here are a few tips for growing azaleas in your garden!

How to Grow Azaleas

The best time to plant azaleas is in late spring or early fall. Evergreen azaleas do well in partial shade with some wind protection. Deciduous varieties flower more profusely in full sun. 

  • Provide well-drained, humus-rich soil that is slightly acidic (pH 4.5–6).
  • Mulch well. Shallow-rooted, azaleas tend to dry out quickly if not mulched. A mulch of oak leaf mold, pine needles, or aged oak, pine, or hemlock sawdust will keep soil acidic and moist. Read more in our Mulching Guide.
  • Fertilizer isn’t needed. The decaying mulch will provide all of the nutrients that azaleas need.
  • Seldom bothered by insects and diseases, azaleas require little care once established, except for watering during dry times.

Azalea bush

Varieties to Fit Your Landscape

With thousands of varieties, there are azaleas for just about every landscape situation:

  • Deciduous varieties are considered the hardiest, many growing as far north as Zone 4. Some, such as the bright-pink roseshell azalea (Rhododendron prinophyllum), are even hardy in Zone 3. With few exceptions, most evergreen azaleas are only reliable in Zone 6.
  • Low-growing ground cover azaleas such as ‘Joseph Hill’, a bright-red-flowering evergreen that grows only to about a foot.
  • Tall varieties include the white-blooming sweet azalea (R. arborescens), a deciduous plant that can reach 20 feet tall.
  • Weeping azaleas, such as ‘Pink Cascade’.

Azalea flowers

Late-Blooming Varieties

While most azaleas flower in spring, there are varieties that extend the season:

  • ‘Flame Creeper’, an orange-flowering ground cover azalea, and ‘Weston’s Lemon Drop’, with peachy-color buds that open to a soft yellow, both flower in late June or July.
  • The pink-flowering ‘Sweet September’ is an exceptionally late bloomer.

“The Royalty of the Garden” seems to be a fitting name for this beautiful and majestic plant, but we’ve got a hunch that once your garden is filled with the colors and fragrance of beautiful blooming azaleas, you’ll probably think that it’s you who’s getting the royal treatment.

See our Rhododendron and Azalea Plant Guide for more information on how to plant and care for these gorgeous shrubs.

Shrubs and Trees

About The Author

George and Becky Lohmiller

George and Becky Lohmiller

George and Becky Lohmiller shared their gardening knowledge and enthusiasm with Almanac readers for more than 15 years, writing Farmer’s Calendar essays and gardening articles in previous editions of ...

Read more from George and Becky Lohmiller

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Comments

<span>Wendy In So Cal</span> Mon, 04/30/2018 - 13:46
Two years ago, we bought three 5-gallon Azaleas (non-deciduous) and planted them in the from of our house using Raised Potting Soil containing lots of wood material and covered the surface with Gromulch. They did well. They were green and full of leaves all year long. In Fall last year, one bush started to get a black mold/fungus on its leaves. The leaves eventually fell off, leaving bear branches exposed. The condition spread to the other two bushes. Virtually all the leaves of the plants dropped off. However, I used Neem Oil to treat the plants and within a few months, new growth emerged. They now are back to their former glory. What mold/fungus infected them? What caused it? How can we avoid it?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 05/02/2018 - 10:15

It sounds like your azaleas had something called sooty mold, which tends to grow on the sugary residue (a.k.a. honeydew) left by aphids, scale insects, or whiteflies. The pests leave behind a sweet secretion as they feed on the azalea leaves, which is the perfect substance for sooty mold to grow on. The good news is that the sooty mold shouldn't come back as long as you can keep the pest populations under control. Neem oil is effective on the mold-causing pests—follow the instructions on the packaging to know when to apply it again. It also wouldn't hurt to do a manual sweep of the plants once a week or so, just to check for (and squish) any invaders. Mix 1 Tbsp dish soap (NOT dishwasher detergent) in 1 gallon of water and spray it on infected leaves; this will kill the pests. Wipe with a paper towel afterwards.

 <span>Opal Morgan</span> Mon, 04/30/2018 - 10:37
These azaleas bloom Spring until into fall, however, they seem to needmore sun than other azaleas. What can you tell me about these? Thank you
<span>Kim Cozart</span> Sat, 04/21/2018 - 03:12
My mother gave me an azalea that had an unusual bloom. It was white in the center and a fairly deep purple for the outer part of the bloom. I had to move before I could get any cuttings from it and haven't been able to find another one or anything close . Do you know what variety it could have been?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/23/2018 - 14:09

Did you ask your mother where she got it? If it's a nursery, the folks there may be able to tell you. We have no way of knowing, given the variations of purple different azaleas might display.

 <span>Carolyn Wilkinson</span> Fri, 03/09/2018 - 12:55
i bought 6' azalea bush from the flower shop in Yorktown, Va back 2016 it was pink. i planted in the back yard and it was growing so pretty. i took care of it. than i moved it to the front yard. than i wanted 2 of them so i cut it in half roots and all. planted them they were doing well now it looks like the leaves are turning red or purple. it don't look dead. i mulched it . is it going to turn green again and produces flowers. just let me know. thank you so much.
<span>Anne</span> Mon, 04/30/2018 - 09:42
my comment is: When a tree shrub is planted and is doing well; best bet is to leave the Plant in the location; You might try putting the shrubs root together as one tree; then replanting this in either one of the places where the shrub did well; if not; buy another; wherever you plant the Azalea; do not relocate to another area; water well;
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/23/2018 - 14:17

Azaleas, no matter what their size, are tree-like shrubs. You can not divide them as you might a plant like, say, a hosta. Just as you can not cut a tree trunk in half and expect each piece to grow (they will not), this doesn't work. Tree-like shrubs are usually propagated by seeds, cuttings (using root powder on a piece of stem; note: not root), or layering (encouraging a stem that is attached to the mother plant to set roots by bending a lower branch to the ground and covering part of it with soil, leaving the last 6 to 12 inches above the soil; often this is held in place with a stake). It's probably not going to make it.

 <span>Karen</span> Tue, 12/05/2017 - 13:01
I just received an azalea plant from our daughter and family for Christmas and it appears to be dying. I have only had it for 4 days. The leaves are falling and the blossoms are wilting. Is there anything I should be doing to help it survive. I have watered it just a little. Help!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 12/05/2017 - 16:05

Honestly, our best advice is to contact the source. Find out where your daughter bought it (casting no aspersions on your daughter here) and see if the vendor will replace it—even if it was sent mail order. (The circumstances of shipping—packing, handling, etc.—could have taken a toll, too.) Tell the vendor of its condition and your disappointment. They might replace or refund it (guessing here), but they should know that it didn't live up to expectation.

It was probably forced to bloom, and like jet lag on the human psyche, forcing can throw a plant off its natural cycle.

It sounds dry; water is good. Set the pot in a inch of water so the roots soak up moisture from the bottom. Refill the plant holder until the soil is moist—but not saturated or soaked—throughout. Then put the plant in a cool, dark place. It's impossible to know at this time how/if it will make it through the winter to bloom again in spring.