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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>Michael</span> Sun, 10/08/2017 - 22:59
I've heard that Boom-A- Thon azaleas bloom a lot longer than most traditional azaleas,what can you tell me about them? I'm looking to buy some and plant them in my backyard,I live in zone 7,so they should do very well in my area,since I live in the deep south.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 10/10/2017 - 16:17

The variety of hybrid choices of some plants is astounding (think hydrangea), and your comment suggests the hybridizers are targeting azaleas now. We have no direct experience with this new one and would only be able to share comments from nurseries that you, too, would find by searching the plant name. Before you buy, talk to people at a nursery in person ideally or on the phone and tell them as much as you can about your setting and conditions and ask any questoins that come into your head re the plants particulars needs and possible challenges. Ask, too, if there is a refund/replacement policy ... just in case.

 <span>D Wolf</span> Wed, 10/04/2017 - 09:55
I have a raised bed with azaleas under a huge tree that I put in about 10 years ago. For the first five years, the azaleas were doing great. My neighbors planted two small cedar trees under the big tree which have grown pretty tall. I tried to put a couple of other plants in the bed but can't dig through the hairlike roots that are throughout the bed. Are the hairlike roots from the cedar trees causing my azaleas to not bloom and lose leaves? Is it okay to till the soil between the azaleas to break up the hairlike roots from the cedars?
<span>D Wolf</span> Wed, 10/04/2017 - 18:16
Thank you for the prompt response. I have no idea what the big tree is - it was in place when we bought the land. The azaleas get shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon which is probably a problem too. I doubt that tilling the ground around the azaleas will help but I did it today anyway and was careful to stay away from the azaleas as far as possible. I got a huge pile of hairy roots out of the bed. Hopefully it will help for a little while anyway. If not, I'll watch the azaleas slowly die. I read in a gardening blog that digging a 12-18" trench and putting metal roofing in it will deter the roots. I might try that next year. Thanks so much again for your advice.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 10/04/2017 - 11:53

This must be some big tree you've got! And that may be the root of the problem. Your azaleas probably did fine until the tree consumed the space under them and over them (blocking the light; azaleas need some sun). We can't be certain whether the tree roots are from the cedar or from your (anonymous) tree; it's probably a combination of all the trees. Honestly, it doesn't sound like tilling will make much difference. Although we have no more specifics of the situation, we surmise that the azaleas can not be salvaged in the present location.

 <span>Mitzi Colvin</span> Thu, 09/28/2017 - 15:58
Would love to have a backyard wedding in the spring. Any predictions on when the Pink Ruffle will bloom?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 10/04/2017 - 11:59

This plant is hardy in zones 7 to 9, and generally blooms in mid-spring, which could mean a little before mid or a little after mid season, too. Bear in mind that getting more specific about the bloom time involves local weather conditions as well as the plants' growing conditions (aka microclimate) as well as a given zone.

 <span>Kathleen</span> Sat, 05/13/2017 - 16:02
Just received an Azalea plant for Mother's Day. Now what? How often do I water, when should I transplant it, and can I plant it outside, if so, when would be best. PHX gets tooooo hot in the summer for plants.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 05/15/2017 - 12:26

To a certain extent, care of your azalea will depend on which planting zone you are in; the terrain in AZ varies a lot, so you should look at this map to see where are in it: http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-arizona-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php

With that in mind, you can find some care advice here, based on zones: http://www.almanac.com/plant/rhododendrons

And then there is your local cooperative extension service; they may have some better advice, being right in your immediate area. Find your state here http://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services and click on your state.

We found a page from the AZ cooperative extension that has some good information: https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/indoor/containers.html but it would be best if you connect directly with a local expert (at the coop).

 <span>Victoria</span> Sat, 04/29/2017 - 16:23
Ready to replant Pink Double Ruffle Azaleas. Where can I purchase?