Question

azalea buds   Hello,

I have a florist azalea which a neighbor was going to throw away, but knowing I have a green thumb and could most likely resurrect it, she gave it to me. It was on my patio all summer long and come fall, since I live in Wisconsin, I took it inside. It is near a north window but also gets bright indirect light from the south window directly across from it. Shortly after bringing it in I noticed it forming buds and I was excited since I had very little experience in general with azaleas. It has been in my house all winter, which has rather cool temps, rarely getting above 65, mostly between 57-62 and always cooler at night. I have been keeping it moist, but not misting it since I keep it fairly humid. There has been some leaf drop, but nothing excessive and it still looks very healthy. The problem is that the blooms seemed to have stopped developing, they just won't open. There are multiple buds on most stems and also on the newer growth. I have never fertilized it since bringing it inside nor added a little vinegar when watering. I have attached a couple pictures. What advice can you offer?

Answer
Jennifer,

They only send me one picture and the one i got was a close up of the buds. In general your plant looks very healthy. The buds look great. Outdoors azalea bloom times depend more on the weather than on day length. Thus, the actual bloom dates may vary a week or two either way depending upon the weather--a warm spring gives earlier blooms, while a cool spring gives later blooms. Similarly, they will bloom earlier in warmer zones, and later in cooler zones. Your bloom times will differ by about one week for every USDA zone.

Azaleas form flower buds during early summer if they receive adequate moisture. If they then have a period of four to eight weeks of temperatures below 50?F in the winter, they will break into bloom all at once the following spring, and stay in bloom about two weeks. Without the cold weather, they will bloom sporadically over a longer period. In USDA Zone 9 and warmer, many azaleas will bloom again in the fall. Indoors as the days get longer and you have warmer weather outside it should trigger your plant to bloom.

I did notice a few black spots on leaves here and there. That indicates some fungus. It could spread as the weather warms. Pick up a can of Lysol spray (generic is fine) and spray your plant holding the can at least 12-18 inches from the plant and make sure you spray from above and below. Lysol will kill fungus. Spray it every 3 days until the buds start to open.

You are very good with plants. You might want to think about becoming a master gardener. You can call your local county extension service office. Good luck~

Darlene