Question
Our young azalea split at a "y" in the branches last winter.  It did not split far to kill the branch that split so I tied it back up with landscape material hoping it would support it enough to let the branch keep on living.  It has so far but I'm sure there's a better way.  What should I get to tie it up with or can I make it regrow together with the rest of the azalea somehow?  Thank you.

Answer
Hello Diana

I have never tried to 'mend' a broken azalea stem, but I have done it with fuchsia.  Here's how:

Support the broken limb against the area that it broke away from - trying, if you can, to marry the 2 parts together as closely as possible.

Cut a black plastic bag into strips and wrap the strips around the 2 stems to hold them together.

Either put a 'prop' under the broken limb to take the weight off it, or tie it to stem higher up (without straining it).

This worked for me, but a lot of patience was needed, because it took some time for the 2 parts to fuse together.  I think that an   important factor was that the plant was very young.

You could try this with your azalea and hope for the best!  I hope it works for you.

Gill