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Sickly looking azalea
Erasha
Posts: 52
I have this rather sorry looking azalea in a pot. Had it a couple of years and last year it didn't flower despite looking healthy, so I assumed this was because the buds were scorched from it's sunny position. So I lovingly repotted in the summer with ericaceous compost and moved to a shadier spot under the porch. Unfortunately, this photo is the result 
it's been like this for a few months at least. Any ideas why it's looking like this and if there's any way of recovering it or if it's just dying a slow, painful death?
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Do you water it frequently with soft water? Rain water is soft , maybe your tap water isn't.
Since you have moved it under the porch, are you watering it? Rain water is best. It's definitely stressed and would not be holding buds under stress. It is looking pretty crowded in that pot too. Might be worth re-potting up one more size. It's important to keep up with the watering in the hotter months. In pots, shrubs can suffer when watering is not consistent.
Totally agree with the above ; if mine I would go one step further and stand in a large saucer of rainwater throughout the summer months .
Maybe even a weak solution of a low-nitrogen feed , as pots soon become depleted of nutrients .
It tends to get solely tap water and even that is fairly infrequently, which I thought might be the issue. Its my parents garden, I try to look after it for them but as I live out of town, I have to rely on them keeping up with watering etc... Thanks for the advice though, think I shall move it to a bigger pot in a different position and let it get rain water until the summer, then rethink lomg term positioning. In your experiences, do you think this is salvageable?
Your shrub looks OK, it just looks stressed right now. Some Azaleas turn this colour in colder temperatures. It's drooping a bit because it's not been watered consistently and in a dark area. Hopefully, it should pick up if you bring it out to a bright area.
Try to keep it against a wall to avoid it being around excess wind for the time being, but I would try to find a nice warm spot for it in the spring time. In the summer months, find a semi-shaded spot and keep the watering up.
Last edited: 07 January 2018 18:16:59
Thanks so much for all the advice, will try and post a recovery photo once it's had some tlc
Hi you also need to check that its has not become pot bound or that the roots have curled in on themselves preventing them from spreading. I have bought Azaleas in the past to discover that the roots are so congested that the plant effectively strangles itself.
Take it out of the pot and examine the roots. If you pull the whole plant clean out of the pot then it has become pot bound. Chop off half of all this and re pot the plant with fresh ericaceous soil and as they have said above, place it where it can get rain water. You can also get ericaceous feed for it too to give it a boost.
It looks pot bound. I would suggest thinning it out a bit.
The pot is very narrow at the bottom, it probably would be better in soil and you must check out the soil acidity.
Cutting it back and untangiing the roots would delay its growth for a season but it could make for a more healthy plant in the long run.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'