Question
I have an azaelea that I recently bought. It had blooms and did bloom, but after I brought it home, it started to make the leaves browner and easier to drop, however, the flowers did not. This happened to the last one I bought too. I plant them indoors and probably have filtered light. I planted them next to a pigeonberry, which is doing fine. Can you tell me what I am doing wrong?

Answer
Antony,

Indoor azaleas are hybrids grown in greenhouses. To get the longest bloom time from an azalea houseplant, choose a plant with color in the buds and few to no flowers open. Indoor azaleas need cool temperatures to stay healthy. Daytime temperatures should be between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but not above 68 degrees F. At night, temperature should be 45 to 55 degrees F. If indoor temperatures are warmer, the azalea can be set in an enclosed porch, garage or cool area of the house.

An azalea houseplant requires a well lit area when blooming, but not in direct sunlight. Full sun will fade the flowers and shorten the life of the plant. Set the azalea near a sunny window, in indirect sunlight, for at least four hours a day. When the azalea is not in bloom, set it in a sunny window.
Watering

I suspect watering is your main problem. Azaleas require very even watering. During and after blooming, keep the soil moist for azaleas. Check the soil moisture each day to avoid letting the soil become too dry. An alternate way to check for dryness is to lift the potted azalea to test how heavy it is. A well-watered pot will feel heavy and a pot with little water will feel light. The lighter the pot feels, the less water there is in the soil. Set the pot in the sink and water the azalea using water from the faucet. Allow the excess water to drain from the holes before setting it back on the saucer. If the soil is too dry, wait 15 minutes and water it again. Never allow it to sit in a drain tray full of water. This will rot the roots and the plant will die. Never allow the plant to get very dry, that will kill it.

An indoor azalea only needs to be fertilized when it's not blooming. To keep the houseplant healthy and prepared for the next blooming period, use an acid-forming fertilizer once every two weeks. Stop fertilizing the azalea when it sprouts new flower buds in the fall or winter.

After Blooming prune the faded blooms by pinching them off the branches and shape the plant until it's bushy. Re-pot the azalea into a container that is about one inch larger than the old pot. For the new soil, one part potting soil, two parts peat moss and one part sand or perlite. A packaged potting soil rich in peat moss is also fine to use when repotting indoor azaleas.

Chlorosis is caused by soil that is too alkaline or when there isn't enough iron in the soil. It causes the leaves to turn yellow, but the veins in the leaves stay green. To test for high alkaline levels in the soil, buy a soil testing kit at a garden center or nursery. If the soil pH is high, give the azalea ammonium sulphate fertilizer to balance the pH. Follow the directions on the package for application. If the soil pH is fine, the soil needs iron, which can be applied by applying a chelated iron product to the soil.

If you have more questions feel free to write again. Good luck.

Darlene
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