Cutting back Rhododendron / Azalea ??? Help...

I have a four year old Japanese Rhododendron Azalea which, since I planted it, has grudgingly given a few little blooms around March/April. This year, nothing!!! Looking at it (photos attached, it looks a bit sparse at the base though you can see it's got foliage at the tips but no flowers.

I am wondering if I should do something drastic like cut it right back and see if it will grow thicker stems for next year etc. Incidentally, I feed it all my coffee grounds etc as I understand this helps the soil balance.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Hi, it's a little difficult to see the plant in the photo but from what I can see there are a few issues.
Firstly, Azaleas and Rhododendrons really don't like weeds over their roots so if possible I'd try weeding round the plant GENTLY as they have very shallow roots (why they hate stuff growing in amongst them). It looks as tho you may have slightly buried the plant by putting down the coffee grounds (might be beneficial if you soil is alkali). Again because the plant is shallow rooted it doesn't like to be effectively planted deep. Personally if it is a bit buried I'd tend to lift it and replant shallowly using plenty of peat or similar in the planting hole If some of the stems have no growth on the end of them which looks the case from the photo they are 90% certain to be dead. Have a little scratch with your nail on the stems. If the stem shows signs of green then they're alive, if only very dry and fawn coloured they are dead so remove.
The stems that are alive I would tend to prune maybe 1/2 of them back by about 1/2 and then next season prune back the other 1/2. If you prune the whole plant that might be a bit much for it in 1 go. To be honest these type of Azaleas aren't for everybody's garden. I have a few but they don't do that well as I live in a cold part of the UK. They need plenty of sunshine to bloom well and plenty of moisture too. Being early flowering the chances are that often the flower buds will be frosted and fall off before you get to see them. The ones I have bloom in the middle of May so don't have that excuse!

 

Hi
Definitely an Azalea. Acid/Ericaceous soil or compost is the key. Not sure about coffee though. The foilage looks healthy enough. I dont think they respond well to pruning in that they will not readily back bud.

Here is mine, its in a stone pot and flowers strongly every year.

The flower buds are formed late winter early spring and will open in the next 2 weeks. Im in the north east of England and I would guess Azaleas will be flowering now further south. Depending on where you are there may still be time.

I would either feed it through the season with ericaceous feed and see how it does next year, or lift it and pop it in a pot with the correct compost.

Dave

 

Maybe I should lift it and put it in a container which I then plant in the soil?? Does restricting the roots like that help it any better??

 

Restricting the rooting system does not benefit the plant. You'd also have to be good at remembering to water the plant in dry weather.
Re pruning,(taken off the net),"Evergreen azaleas have a big advantage over some other garden shrubs when it comes to pruning - lop off the end of most any branch or twig that is not heavily shaded and a healthy plant will soon activate new buds (called adventitious buds) below the cut end. For good results, however, it's best to prune with a plan that takes other factors into account."
I agree these Azaleas are quite good for pots as so very slow growing. The deciduous Azaleas are easier to accommodate and often have lovely autumn foliage. Photo is of 1 I have had for over 30 years and still isn't 4 ft tall so doesn't need loads of space.

 

Well I'll be!

Live and learn indeed. The only Azalea I have pruned was a trial potential bonsai experiment. Try as I did, it would not back bud after snipping. I had it about 5 years and it just grew leggy and when a branch was cut the branch died off. It was always well fed etc.
Then one spring it didnt flower, the leaves dropped and it went to the great composter in the sky.

The one I still have has never been repotted and never been clipped. Its been in its pot for about 8 years now.

I guess the plan is to make it as happy as Larry so it responds favourably to pruning.

Good luck Barryman, let us know how it goes.