A couple of weeks ago I obtained an azalea for the front garden, which was already thickly flowering and still reasonably small. Unfortunately, as the flowers died they turned to a soggy mush and lay on top of the foliage underneath, also blocking out sunlight, etc. Yesterday, I decided to remove all the flowers from the azalea, which were either rotting, dead or dying, to prevent any damage to the rest of the plant. It now looks better, tidy and the light can get to the underneath, as well as the rain, which I feel can only be good for the plant. Will the task I undertook harm the plant in any way, by removing all of the flowers ? C.J.
Definately not CJ it's the best thing you could have done for your azalea. It seems as though you have a lot of common sense when it comes to gardening and plants. Keep up the good work!! :-D
I have never had any azaleas .My mom grew them when I was young .I always thought they were pretty but know nothing about them.
My mom love them. She has three very larges one in front of her porch and just plants 16 minis around the front yard. She wants 26 minis and reg size ones for Xmas from us kinds, for the back yard. I do know there are times when hers looks like that. All mushy and brown. She just lets them fall off themselves. She has never done anything to them other then trim them down ever fall and spring.
Thanks. I do have another azalea in the back garden, but it is larger, allowing the flowers to drop away. However, this new azalea, which I hadn't been involved in choosing, concerned me instantly when I saw it, as I felt that for the small size of the plant in general, it had too many flowers literally smothering itself, and leaving no room for flowers to fall away, but rot on top of others as well as the foliage, with no light being able to penetrate the matted surface on the top. Therefore I decided to remove ALL the flowers when they started to fade and discolour, hoping it wouldn't cause any damage, as the base of some of the flowers were still attached, although the flowers themselves were in a bad state. Hopefully, next year, I'll be able to confirm that it is thriving again. C.J.
I HATE THAT BROWN MUSH! I dont do anything about it though. i just let mine fall and they just degrade into the ground... but it does look gross when they turn gross brown
