Last Jan. I received a blooming azalea as a gift. It continued blooming for several months, then continued to look very healthy. I repotted it and put it outside for the summer and it seemed to thrive, although it lost some leaves from time to time and did not bloom again. With the cooler weather it has put on new growth and seems to be doing well. I would like to bring it indoors for the winter and have it bloom again. What steps should I take? Should it be repotted again? Should I trim it back a little? Thank you for whatever assistance you can give.

Hi,

First thing is if any pruning is done to the azalea it should have been done before July 1 so I suggest not doing any pruning. Keep the plant outdoors as long as you can keeping it well watered. Before a frost bring it indoors to a full sun area that can be kept at 40-50 degrees. This cool treatment should be maintained from about Nov to the first of the year as this is when the flower buds develop. Without the cold treatment few if any flower buds will form. Also during this time keep soil moist but don't fertilize. As buds continue to swell in Jan and Feb move the plant to a slightly warmer area 60 degrees and sunny. Keep the soil moist and apply liquid fertilizer. Also make sure there is plenty of humidty. In a few weeks the plant should flower. If you try to force the plant at higher tempertures the flowers "blast" and you get very poor display. If any green shoots develop around the buds they can be pinched out.