Tips to ensure your azaleas bloom

Question: Dear Master Gardeners, my azaleas did not bloom, can you possibly tell me what happened?

Answer: There could be any number of reasons why this happened. Azaleas that do not bloom are a common problem among azalea varieties. First, where are your azaleas located?

They thrive in a moderate mix of dappled sun and shade. Too much sun can cause infestations or scorch, while too much shade will give you lots of greenery but not many flowers that will bloom.

Second, maintain a balance of water, azaleas do not like “wet feet”, in other words in a place that holds water. Do not allow the azaleas to dry out, mulching can help maintain correct moisture levels, only apply mulch 2 to 3 inches deep.

Third, if you have not had your soil tested around your azaleas it could be more alkaline in composition rather than acidic. Azaleas prefer acidic soil with a ph level of 4.5 to 6. Soil test kits can be picked up at the Extension Office. If your test comes back that you need to acidify your soil, then you could add Sulphur, aluminum sulfate, iron sulphate. If you prefer a gentler form of acidifying then you can add coffee grounds, pine needle mulch and sphagnum peat moss.

Next, if you pruned your azaleas later than normal last year you may have inadvertently removed the flower buds, The current years blooms stem from buds developed during the prior summer, the best time to prune is just after the current year’s blooms fall off. Weather related factors that could have caused your azaleas not to bloom are a period of drought, an especially cold winter, a lack of cold weather for some azalea varieties that have a chill requirement.

Also, unseasonably warm periods in spring and fall trick the azalea into blooming prematurely (the bud-blast), once blooming occurs those azalea buds then won’t come back the next upcoming blooming season. And lastly, pests such as deer could have eaten your buds off, or there are insect pests such as the azalea lace bug, or azalea bark scale. Diseases such as root and crown rot, petal blight, leaf gall and dieback to name a few could have also affected the buds to not bloom. Thank you for your question. Happy Gardening!

Send questions to rheacomg@gmail.com or write to Rhea County Extension Office, c/o Master Gardeners, 125 Court Street, Suite 3, Dayton, TN, 37281.