There are some people that have a natural knack with flowering plants. They have no classroom training, no diplomas on their walls and no work-related experience in that area. And yet their plants, especially those that flower, thrive beyond anyone’s expectations. What is their secret? How do they do it? Well, while they might not have the ‘theoretical’ knowledge, they do have oodles and oodles of hands-on knowledge packed under their belt. They grow plants by instinct or common sense. Or they grow plants effortlessly because of their small-town upbringing. My mother is one of these people. Small town upbringing, that is. And oodles of hands-on knowledge to boot.

No matter what type of flowering plant you present her with, sooner or later my mother will make it bloom. And it will flower for her regardless of whether she provides the ‘ideal’ care that it demands and needs. As a matter of fact, it flowers so much that it puts my own plants – that don’t do too badly – to shame. As for plants flowering for me without added effort, let’s not even go there. My flowering plants usually bloom after they’ve trained me to jump through hoops.

One of those flowering plants that falls all over itself to bloom for my mother is the Azalea. A few years ago, my children picked up one of these beauties for her on mother’s day. That specific Azalea, under her casual care, bloomed that year – and every year after that. Not only once, buy many times throughout each twelve-month period. Now in all fairness (to me), my mother has the good fortune of having rooms with separate control zones for heating. Each room’s temperature is individually-controlled, which allows her to set it at the desired level – her desired level. The greatest gain to this is the ability to fully heat only rooms that are used. Unused rooms are kept cooler to cut down on costs, and certain rooms are kept cooler during the day and at night. So obviously it’s a financial bonus. But it’s also an advantage when it comes to growing houseplants, which my mother loves to do.

Azaleas, as you well know, are among the most popular flowering plants. But the buds can be heartbreakingly short-lived (and even nonexistent) if you can’t provide one of the most essential requirements for optimum blooming – cool temperatures. And that’s where my mother’s heating system comes in handy. She can lower the temperature in the room where the Azalea grows, and in turn, grateful for cooler temperatures, it explodes with blooms for her. By the time the flowering season ends, her Azalea needs extensive pruning to get it under control again. That’s how much it thrives in the cooler room.

Once when I dropped in for a visit, I was stunned when I took a peek at her plant. Obviously thrilled with its location and the care it was receiving, her Azalea was bursting with blooms and abundant green leaves to a point where you couldn’t see the branches at all. Jammed with flowers and leaves, the plant had branched out in all directions, no longer looking anything like the compact flowering plant my mother had received in the 6” pot my children had presented her with. This enormous, massive jumble of buds, leaves, branches and roots was becoming a bush that was planning to take over the pot, the room…her house... Alright, I’m getting a little carried away, but you get the picture.

Azaleas need short days and cool temperatures to form flower buds. For those of us who live in the northern regions, short days are far from being a problem. Where I live, we’re prime candidates for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) - a type of winter depression brought on by the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight. In fact, our days are so pathetically short in the winter that we usually don’t need to manipulate day length to force short day plants such as Poinsettias and Christmas Cacti to set buds or bloom. Just keeping them out of artificial light at night is usually enough because the days are already very short while the nights are very long.

So, short days are not a problem. But cool temperatures – between 8°C (46°F) – 16°C (60°F) – preferably at a steady 16°C (60°F), which is absolutely ideal for Azaleas, is very hard to find in most homes. It’s just not comfortable for us fragile humans. I, for one, shiver like a leaf all winter long when I’m outside. My home is my sanctuary against the bitterness of the outdoors during the coldest season of the year. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to keep my house that cold and lose my most reliable warmth comfort. So I do what most houseplant growers do: I don’t grow Azaleas. Because unless you can offer proper growing conditions for this plant, you shouldn’t attempt to have one in your home. They will disappoint you by dropping buds, flowers and even leaves prematurely. And they will decline rapidly, way before you’ve even decided on a permanent spot for them in your home.

Although I’ve made it sound like gloom and doom when it comes to Azaleas, they are surprisingly very easy to grow indoors once their needs are met. They are. I really mean it. Let’s take a closer look at how you can have an Azalea growing and blooming happily in your home. Honest.


Cool, Moist, Shady and Humid

Azaleas, the aristocrats of indoor bloomers, provide a mass of flowers that can be white, red, orange, pink, purple, salmon, freckled, variegated, bicoloured or white with coloured edges. This wealthy creation of subtle and vibrant eye-catching shades bursts forward from flowers that are single or double, and often crinkled at the edges. The blooms are accompanied by thick, glossy, oval leaves that grow on a woody stem. The striking foliage of this potted plant makes it an attractive specimen even when it’s not in bloom.

There are two types of Azaleas available as potted plants: the Indian Azalea (Rhododendron Simsii) and the Japanese Azalea (Rhododendron Obtusum). The Indian Azalea (generally known as Florist Azalea) is by far the most popular and widely-available choice at greenhouses while the latter is much less common. Azaleas are forced into bloom in late fall, in time for the Christmas season, and remain in bloom – on and off – up until the late spring. Although they are popular winter bloomers, there have been years where I have not seen any of these plants available during the festive season of December. Instead, I see a small assortment of them popping up in time for Valentine’s Day in February and then exploding in availability during the Easter season and Mother’s day. In fact, I have yet to see a lack of Azaleas available by the gazillions, anywhere plants are sold (right down to sidewalk sales), as Mother’s day approaches.

Because there are so many potted flowering plants available during any festive period, because most people are not very experienced with growing plants and because consumers are just not familiar with them, Azaleas are usually treated as temporary plants and discarded after the blooming period has come and gone. But that need not be the case with these beauties. With a little tender loving care that isn’t too difficult at all, Azaleas will flourish for years, rewarding you for several weeks at a time with plenty of lovely flowers to grace your home.

Azaleas - native to the cool mountainous regions of Japan, China and India – usually deteriorate rapidly inside the average home because of two debilitating factors: too much heat and too little water. And although they are extremely popular houseplants, unless their primary cultural requirements are met, a first-time Azalea grower will be left with the impression that this plant is much too difficult. They’ll probably never try one again. If you’re one of those people that love Azaleas but have given up on them, I’m here to share some knowledge with you. Once you learn how to care for them, you’ll have a hard time resisting them the next time you see them on sale.

Temperature, water, light and humidity are the four important things to remember about Azaleas. Let’s start there.

Temperature – Nice And Cool

I’ll concede that Azaleas can be extremely temperamental when their needs are not met. But those needs are not completely unreasonable or impossible to meet, so I forgive them. For flower bud loss or lack of flowers, one of the most common culprits is dry, hot air. Azaleas like cool temperatures. They do not, no matter how much we hope, do well in well-heated, warm rooms.

It is imperative that you try to keep temperatures as close to ideal as you can in order for your Azalea to flourish. Ideally, day temperatures should not exceed 18°C (65°F) and night temperatures should linger between 7°C (45°F) – 12°C (55°F). The goal is to provide a cool environment for your Azalea, which in turn will provide you with a vigorous plant that will flower for weeks on end at different periods of the year.

For lower night temperatures, set your Azalea in a cool entranceway, on a chilly window ledge, in an enclosed porch, in a cool area of your basement or in your minimally-heated garage. Providing cool daytime temperatures is a bit trickier. If your rooms are individually controlled for heating, perhaps you can set your Azalea in an area of your home where you lower the temperature during the day.

Azaleas will tolerate less than ideal temperature locations for a few days but you must place them in a preferred location eventually if you want to succeed with them. Keeping them in warmer areas of your home will inevitably lead to bud, flower and leaf loss.

(Note: The information above is standard for Azaleas but it’s possible to grow this plant successfully without the temperature plummeting to very low levels. My mother’s Azalea was placed in a room that had a temperature reading of 18°C (65°F) - day and night - and it grew like a weed.)


Water – Keep It Coming

If you’re prone to over-watering, get yourself an Azalea and water to your heart’s content. These plants are just the thing for people who love to walk around with jugs, constantly watering their plants for the sheer joy of it. This pretty bloomer needs plenty of water and must be checked daily to make sure it is continuously moist. Although the compost must be kept permanently wet, there is a difference between damp and flooded, so be careful not to turn the soil into mud, which will drown the plant.

Most newly-purchased plants are so pot bound and crammed with roots that water tends to run off the top and down the sides without actually soaking the soil. Therefore, even though the plant doesn’t mind whether it gets watered from the top or bottom, the preferred method is to plunge the pot in a bucket of water or in the sink for a few minutes to saturate the soil and guarantee that the plant’s thirst is quenched. Once the compost is wet, remove the pot from the water and allow the excess moisture to drain away.

If you water from the top, make sure that you water very well to avoid dry pockets within the soil. Don’t give your plant miserly sips. Drench the soil by pouring water generously into the pot until you see some of it coming out of the bottom drainage holes. After half an hour or so, empty out any water sitting in the bottom saucer. Repeat this watering method when your Azalea is once again in need of moisture. Eventually, you may be able to determine if your plant needs watering just by lifting its pot and checking its weight. Very heady = soil is fine. Light = time to water.

Interestingly enough, even though most indoor plants are in danger of over-watering by well-meaning but heavy-handed water jug holders, it’s quite difficult to over-water an Azalea. It’s actually easier to damage them by not watering enough. Under-watering leads to premature (and disappointing) dropping of buds, flowers and even leaves. Check your plant every day to make sure it’s getting enough to drink. If your Azalea ever dries out too much, plunge the pot in water immediately and hope for the best. Unfortunately, dehydration can be a death sentence. Allowing an Azalea to get too dry can lead to severe leaf loss and inevitable death of the plant.

Azaleas are acid-loving plants, so it’s recommended to use lime-free water such as rainwater or distilled water to keep them happily moist. If you aren’t able to supply either, you can turn alkaline water acidic by adding a teabag to the watering can 24 hours before it’s time to water your plant. City water filled with chemicals is best to be avoided with this plant if it’s very hard. Although the standard is to avoid soft water with houseplants, Azaleas are an exception to that rule.


Light – Intense But Shady

Place your Azalea where it can receive bright, indirect light. Choose a spot near a sunny window but don’t expose your plant directly to the sun. Like most flowering houseplants, blooms will last longer if the plant is not in the direct path of sunlight. In this plant’s case, a shady location and cool temperatures are required to encourage and extend the flowering period.


Humidity – Keep Dry Air Away

Azaleas require plenty of humidity to keep them happy. Maintaining high levels of moisture around the plant can be quite a challenge, especially during the winter when humidity levels plummet as soon as the heating system is turned on. If forced to grow in a ‘Sahara-desert-style’ environment, your Azalea may shed buds, flowers and leaves. Plants lacking proper humidity are also extremely susceptible to spider mite attacks.

There is no need for your Azalea to lack adequate moisture since there are so many ways to increase the levels. One of the easiest and most popular methods used to increase humidity is the ‘pebble tray’. Fill a large plant saucer with pebbles, stones, rocks, polished glass or similar material and fill it with water. Place the plant in its pot on top. The water will evaporate and increase the humidity around your Azalea. Choose a saucer/tray that is large enough to be effective; the larger (wider) the pebble tray, the more effective it will be. You can also increase humidity by grouping plants together, double potting and running a humidifier. For more information, read: Improving Humidity

When the flowering period has come to an end in the spring, remove all the faded blooms and unhealthy leaves. If you want to maintain your plant at a certain size or wish to increase the density of its growth, give your plant a nice haircut by pruning it as soon as it has finished blooming. This must be done in the spring and no later than early summer. Repot your Azalea in fresh potting soil around mid-May, in a container that is only one size larger than the one being presently used. Azaleas require an acidic soil for optimum growth so buy or prepare one that is designed to meet that need.

As soon as the danger of frost is gone, place your plant outdoors for the summer in a cool, shady spot. Make sure the soil is kept constantly moist. During the hottest days of summer, your Azalea may need to be watered twice a day. While it’s enjoying the great outdoors, feed it regularly to promote healthy growth and ample flowers. Pick up a fertilizer that is specially formulated for acid-loving plants and apply it according to the directions on the label.

Leave your Azalea outside right up until temperatures hover just above the freezing point. Pay close attention to the weather forecasts and make sure that you bring your plant back in as soon as there is the slightest danger of frost. This can be late summer, early autumn and even mid to late autumn depending on where you live. Once back inside, find a cool, bright spot for your plant, never let it dry out and provide plenty of humidity. If your Azalea is satisfied with your nurturing skills, you should be rewarded with the formation of buds in late autumn.


As you can see, there’s really not much effort required in succeeding with an Azalea. The main requests of this temperamental little beauty to stay content are rather simple - keep it cool, well watered, in a bright location and adequately humidified. I personally can provide three out of four needs - I can't provide the coolness at all - and therefore have given up the Azalea. One day, hopefully, when I’m able to accommodate all its needs, I won’t hesitate to adorn my home with this lovely plant. On the other hand, my mother, who can meet all the requirements, gets to enjoy heaps of charming blooms in the dead of winter, right inside her home. When looking at her Azalea, it’s obvious that she has the Midas touch with it.

Speaking of the Midas touch, you should see her Hibiscus. By the time she brings that flowering beauty back inside after it has finished vacationing in the garden for the summer, it’s a monster-of-a-plant. I’ll save that story for another time...

Comment On This Article:
Your Name:
Your Email:
(Your email address will not be added to a mailing list or disclosed to other parties.)