Help for a newbie

Hello. I am new to this forum and this is my first post here. I am in need of help. My DH bought me an azalea bush and I have no idea how to care for it. It is 16 inches tall and in a one gallon pot. It is flowering like crazy and it is so beautiful. I know how to grow houseplants but this is a new experience for me. I know that if anyone will know what to do, someone on DG will. So please help out a newbie. Any advice will be really appreciated. I am posting a couple of pictures of my azalea in hopes that it will help you all see what I have and also to see if anyone of knows what kind it is. I am lost when it comes to azaleas. Thank you very much.

JesseK

Here is another photo with a close view of its flowers.

JesseK

Hey Jesse!

Lovely plant! Did it come with a tag? There are different types of Azaleas, so care will vary a little. Someone may come along that knows the name, but for general purposes they want to be treated like a Camellia or Gardenia. Acid soil, kept lightly moist (not soggy), usually a shady spot although some types will take more sun that others. You will normally prune and fertilize it after it finishes it's bloom each year (you may not need to trim it this year though as it's fresh from the greenhouse). A dose of iron is usually good early in the year as well. One more thing, some people find them itchy to work around so you may want to wash your hands and arms after pruning or weeding nearby.

Karen

A trio were some of the first things I bought when we built this house 10 years ago. They weren't happy on the east side of the garage getting sun till 1 or 2 in the summer. Plus I didn't know the ph requirement at the time so I'm sure it was high as a foundation planting in new construction. Eventually lost 2 and the 3rd one moved three times.

It ended up on the NW corner of the house and because of proximity of the neighbor's it only gets a couple hours of low, late afternoon sun. Since learning about the PH req's, I used some soil treatment from Stark's a few times and have dumped coffee grounds and stuff around it. The last four years I've kept it mulched with pine needles and while I've never had to prune it, it's flowered better each of the last few years and keeps most of it's leaves through the winter although they turn a burgundy color.

Good luck!

I have many, many growing in my woods..morning sun afternoon shade the best..if it was bought as a gift from a florist or nursery and forced to bloom indoors you will have to wait to plant out side until all danger of frost has passed. Cottonseed meal and some Holly Tone are best I think. If it did not have a tag you may never know which one it is as there are hundreds!

If it's not too late-
And if you have clay soil-
Plant your azalea in a shallow, wide hole. I usually cut the rootball in quarters from the bottom up(not all the way through) and pull it apart a bit. It should be planted so that the top of the roots are just above the ground, cover them with a bit of dirt and mulch. Azaleas need to be moist, but they don't like wet, so water it thoroughly at least once a week through the summer (if you don't get rain).