Azalea Bonsai Care

Azaleas are small evergreen shrubs, often grown as bonsai for their beautiful spring flowers.

In 2016 I bought a small Azalea from a nursery. It was actually 3 or 4 tiny trees in the one pot, so the following spring I separated them out and have been growing them ever since.

I still have two of these Azaleas today. One is training as a bonsai and you can see how it is developing in my Azalea Bonsai Progression.

What Is The Natural Habitat of An Azalea?

Azaleas are native to China, but are now grown all over the world. They are often planted in gardens for their flowers, which means most people can look after them pretty easily in their climates.

What Soil Do Azalea Bonsai Need?

Azalea bonsai prefer well draining acidic soil.

I was using my standard mix of equal parts Perlite/Molar Clay/Compost which was okay, but I changed the compost for Ericaceous Compost which is acidic and it grew much better with this.

I actually ended up adding about 10-15% horticulture grit into the mix, just to make it even looser and drain even faster as it although this mix is well draining, it was still holding a little too much water.

You should try and make your mix as free draining as possible as azaleas really don’t like being sat in water.

Akadama and Kanuma (which is acidic) are very commonly used for azaleas as they offer good drainage and good PH levels.

(For more info on soil read – A General Guide To Bonsai Soil)

How Do you Water An Azalea Bonsai?

Azalea bonsai do not like to be over watered. They like to be mildly damp at all times. If they are too wet they will get root rot and not grow.

(For more info you can read –How To Water A Bonsai)

How Much Sun Light Does An Azalea Bonsai Need?

Azalea bonsai trees can take full sun. You should grow them outside and try to give them as much light as possible.

How Hardy Are Azalea Bonsai?

Most varieties of Azaleas are fully hardy, but you will need to check with what you actually own.

This information can be hard to find and it seems that anything you do is talking about established bushes in the ground, that can go pretty low. This is not going to be the case if you are growing a small azalea in a pot.

I would be cautious. If you live in the UK, or have mild winters like us, then your tree should be fine outside. Dipping below freezing should be fine for most varieties, but if things are going to remain this cold for a long time, or get really low, I would give your tree some protection.

Placing your azalea in a unheated greenhouse or shed should be enough to keep it cold, while also not putting it at risk. Just don’t bring it into the warmth, it does need a cold spell to keep it healthy.

(For more info you can read – Working Out How To Over Winter Bonsai Trees)

How Often Do You Feed An Azalea Bonsai?

I feed my Azalea bonsai once a month during the growing season with a general all purpose fertiliser and that is more than enough.

(For more info you can read – Do You Need To Use “Bonsai” Fertiliser?)

How Do Azalea Bonsai Respond to Pruning?

Azalea bonsai respond very well to pruning and can be cut back pretty hard.

Azaleas are more dominate towards the base, which is not the case for most trees. You will find the strongest growth is lower down, which must be considered when pruning.

Pruning should also take place just after the tree has flowered in late spring. This is because shortly after flowering the next years flower buds will start to set. If you trim at any other time of the year, you will cut these off.

If you don’t mind having no flowers, then this isn’t a problem, just cut when it is overgrown and needs pruned.

Azaleas do like to be pruned. The production of new shoots after you prune them helps keeps them healthy and feeling young. A tree that is pruned often will end up being healthier than one that isn’t.

(For more info you can read- How To Prune A Bonsai Tree)

Repotting An Azalea Bonsai

Repotting an Azalea bonsai usually brings up one big questions. Do you do it before or after flowering? You can quickly end up in an argument over this. However, It seems both ways seem to work.

The approach of repotting after it has flowered seems to be the technique used in Japan with the Satsuki variety of Azaleas. I don’t have a Satusuki and I don’t have the same climate as Japan so I am a little wary of copying them exactly.

I repot my Azaleas in spring and I treat them like any other tree. The good things is that they can take a heavy root pruning with no problem, so long as they are healthy.

I have been doing this for years and never had a problem, although you can find plenty of people who wait until after the tree has flowered and they will also tell you that they have never had an issue.

I think if you follow basic repotting rules and principles and have good aftercare, you should be able to use either method. I am going to stick with Spring repotting unless I can find some reason against it. (maybe it can affect flowering, but I’m not worried about this)

(For more info you can read – How To Repot A Bonsai Tree)

Wiring An Azalea Bonsai

Azalea bonsai can be wired into shape. You will find you only need to wire younger trees, once the initial branch structure is set you can use clip and grow to develop the foliage into the shape you need.

(For more info read – Why Do We Wire Bonsai?)

What Is The Leaf Pattern Of An Azalea Bonsai?

Azaleas have an alternate leaf pattern.

What Pests Does An Azalea Bonsai Suffer From?

Azalea bonsai are not really affected too much by pests.

Their main problems is root rot from too much water or a soil which is too alkaline. If you can get their growing conditions right, they are pretty problem free.

Can You Propagate An Azalea Bonsai?

Azaleas can be grown easily from cuttings.

They should also be able to be taken from air layers. Although I can not recall ever seeing any one do this and I have not tried myself.

What Is The Growth Rate Of An Azalea Bonsai?

Azalea bonsai can be moderate growers. Once they become established they can put some strong growth on each year.

You climate is also going to help with this, the warmer and sunnier your garden is, the more growth you will see.

Should You Get An Azalea Bonsai?

Azaleas are great trees for bonsai, but they can be troublesome for beginners.

The special soil requirements and risk of root rot can make them difficult, but not impossible, you just need to be aware they are going to be slightly different to most of your other trees.

Once basic care is mastered, styling them for bonsai and training them is quite straight forward.

You can read more about – Do Azaleas Make Good Bonsai Trees?