Why didn't my azaleas bloom?

18 years ago

I have several azaleas in my yard (they're the basic bright pink and white ones you see all over the place). We discovered them 4 years ago when we cleared an area of overgrown privet, etc. They're under some tall pines and a dogwood. They've bloomed every year since we lived here, but not this year. I think two plants had a total of 10 blooms.

I have NOT pruned them, so I didn't cut off the blooms. They have no damage like a critter chewed them off. They look healthier than ever...full, great color in the leaves, etc. They are in the area where our dogs go to the bathroom, but they've always gone there and we've not had any problems.

Any ideas as to why they didn't bloom? Suggestions that would help ensure blooms next year? Thanks.

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squirrellypete

18 years ago

I experienced the same thing and chalked it up to the drought. Only a few of my azaleas were established for more than a year and those survived but still did not bloom at all. All the other azaleas were planted in the spring just prior to the drought and I lost 2/3rds of those.

Had kind of a funny thing happen regarding azalea bloom. I have them planted at the edge of a woodline lining our driveway and it's kind of on a hard slope with poor soil. I decided this year in addition to supplemental watering I needed to build a small retaining wall, fill it in with good soil and level it off to give those azaleas more room for their roots and soil that will more readily soak in moisture instead of running down the slope. Just before I put the wall in I ripped out all of the dead azaleas. All of my shrubs were either very obviously dead with no foliage or looked relatively healthy with lots of foliage. All except one scragly little twig of a Delaware Valley white azalea only 6 inches tall that had a couple of limp yellow leaves barely hanging on at the base. I decided it was too pathetic looking to try and baby so I ripped it out anyway and tossed it up into the woods. Next day when I resumed work on the wall something white caught my eye from the woods and sure enough that tiny, near-dead stick put out 2 blooms and was THE ONLY azalea in my garden that bloomed this year. I felt so sorry for it that I retrieved it, gave its roots a good soaking and replanted it in the new bed even though it's ugly as sin. I'm actually kind of hoping it will still die lol so I can plant something healthy in its place but I don't have the heart to kill it myself. Nature is amazing sometimes.

Danielle

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Comments (7)

yomamanem
18 years ago
My friends and I have been raising this same question this spring. Many of us noticed the same phenomenon. Here are some thoughts:
The weather was hot and dry here last summer. Drought can destroy azalea flower buds.
Was the weather especially cold this past winter where you live? This is another condition responsible for killing azalea flower buds.
Conversely, lack of cold weather can sometimes result in a plant's not blooming.
Were there any unseasonably warm periods in the fall or spring? Sometimes, azaleas are tricked into blooming during these periods (so-called "bud blast"). After such premature blooming, those azalea flower buds are lost to you for the next blooming season.
My only guess about mine is the lack of water. Maybe the two that bloomed got more water.
jmzms
Original Author
18 years ago
I had the same thoughts regarding temperatures up & down all winter (and spring!). But it seems everyone else in my neighborhood has bloomed.

Perhaps water was the issue, as I didn't water them hardly at all. I went with "survival of the fittest" for anything that was established (had too many new shrubs that had to be watered). I can't imagine most of my neighbor's actually caring enough to water theirs, but maybe they were doing midnight lawn watering so their azaleas got something out of it. Mine are under a small area of tall pines and a dogwood, so there was fierce competition down at that end of the yard. Maybe I'll try to do a little more supplemental watering this year and see if that makes an impact.

Thanks.
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buford
18 years ago
jmz, they may have been zapped in some of the late cold weather we had. I think one day in early March the temps went down to 26 or so. Since azaleas set their buds in the previous summer/fall and they start to come out in spring, they are susceptible to frost kill.

I had that happen on a few of my azaleas. They lost about 20-30% of their buds. I'm sure it was from the cold, because it seems the top branches did not bloom, while the under branches did (they were slightly protected apparently).

Since I had to prune anyway, I cut off some of the older non-blooming branches to better show the blooming ones.

If you look closely, you should see the 'frozen' buds. They will be brown and crumble if you touch them.
jmzms
Original Author
18 years ago
Buford, I'll check them tonight when I get home.

Danielle, I hear ya! I can't bring myself to kill anything off either. Part of me knows it's wrong and I should just put a plant out of its misery, but I just can't do it. :-) You should see the pathetic wax myrtle I have that is dieing a slow, painful death.
razorback33
18 years ago
Ever hear of plants, especially Azaleas, taking time out and going on vacation?
Some of them do, apparently. I have several hundred plants and at times, an entire area will not set flower buds and that may persist for several years.
Plants bloom best when under a certain amount of stress. Survival instincts prompt them to flower and produce seed(assuming they aren't sterile varieties).
Some gardeners fertilize their Azaleas annually with a formulation especially for Azaleas and Rhododendrons, but I haven't found that necessary for mine.
Rb
buford
18 years ago
DON'T fertilize azaleas until after they bloom. Or prune them. Do both AFTER the bloom. I learned that the hard way!