When to Cut or Prune Azaleas

Pinching Back

• Azaleas sometimes develop a loose, open form. If your shrub is growing vigorously and its height is fine, rather than light prune you can simply pinch it back at every growing tip. Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch out the tender new growth, which will encourage new growth along the stem and make the plant bushier. Do this shortly after your azaleas finish flowering -- June at the latest -- to avoid affecting next year's bloom. Combine this technique with light pruning for plants that need some reshaping.

Light Pruning

• Azaleas don't always need pruning. But if they grow too large for their space or seem too large relative to other shrubs, light pruning will whittle them down to size. Use freshly sharpened hand pruners, after first sterilizing the blades with rubbing alcohol. Cut each branch individually, staggering stem lengths for a natural shape. You don't need to cut back to a branch as with other shrubs, because azaleas feature growth buds all along their branches. Prune every fifth branch back deeply, to stimulate foliage growth near the center of the plant.

Heavy Pruning

• Neglected, overgrown azaleas need heavier pruning, though you don't have to do it all at once. Gradually achieve complete rejuvenation by making major cuts over several years, reducing the plant's shock. Look for tall, lanky branches that need to be thinned as well as branches that are being shaded out -- also good candidates for pruning. Remove these first, cutting long branches back by two-thirds, to an outward-facing side branch. Lightly prune other branches back to various lengths. Prune the tips of new shoots emerging from the plant base when they reach 6 to 12 inches long, to encourage branching and fullness.

Quick & Dirty Cuts

• Less preferred is what the Azalea Society of America calls the "quick and dirty" approach to azalea rejuvenation -- the way to go only if you have many plants to rehabilitate and no helpers available. Simply cut all stems back to about 18 to 24 inches, or about knee height, shaping each plant so center stems are somewhat higher, creating a gently mounded shape. Some azaleas won't survive such radical pruning, and others will take years to fully recover. Keep soil evenly moist, to encourage new growth. Prune the tips of new shoots when they reach 6 to 12 inches long, for a well-branched and fuller canopy.