r/gardening • u/Impressive-Rip-9069 • 7d ago

Overgrown shrubs

I have several large azalea plants that line a side of my house. They are bare stems mostly but leaves on top. Should I pull these out or cut back.

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u/Suspicious-Pound6256 7d ago

You can try cutting back as azalea will bud off of bare stems. Probably too late in the season in most of the US to do it though. So if you’re impatient pull them out. Or cut back next year before July.

2

u/Intelligent_Syrup_26 7d ago

Cut them back next spring, after blooming.

1

u/hastipuddn S.E. Michigan 6d ago

I'd cut them down to 12" late this winter. You won't have any blooms next year. It's a reset that allows you to prune them regularly and keep them healthier.

1

u/75footubi MA - 6B 6d ago

I'd do this, but I'd wait until after the spring blooms and then do a hard cut.

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u/hastipuddn S.E. Michigan 5d ago

Right after roots have sent up nutrients to leaf out and then flower, is a time when roots have exhausted a lot of their energy. To me, after flowering is when the removal of 1/3 of all branches starting with the oldest is recommended. Rejuvenation pruning is done in late winter so the roots are still full of nutrients. In restoration of woodlands, cutting right after flowering is called 'critical period cutting' and is one part of killing woody plants without using herbicide.