Florist's Azalea Care: How to Keep Your Blooming Azalea Healthy Indoors

Botanical Name: Rhododendron simsii

With proper care, your florist's azalea will stay beautiful for weeks. This tender, winter- and spring-blooming houseplant flowers abundantly in shades of pink, white, peach, lavender, red, or bi-colored. Its dark-green, oval leaves cover a small, spreading shrub with woody stems that bear flower clusters at their tips.

The blooms measure 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm) across and are often double or semi-double, with some varieties featuring ruffled petals.

Caring for Azalea

With bright light and cool temperatures, azalea will bloom for about 3–4 weeks.

Make It Re-bloom Getting a florist's azalea to rebloom is somewhat challenging, so it's often treated as a temporary houseplant and discarded after flowering. However, it's possible! The plant needs about 2 months of cool—but not freezing—temperatures (40–55°F / 4–13°C) in fall or winter to set buds.

Prune Your Plant Pruning forces stems to branch out, creating a fuller, more attractive plant. Yearly pruning promotes vigorous new growth. Don't be afraid to cut large plants back hard after flowering. Azaleas bloom at the tips of new stems, so pruning actually increases flower production.

Pruning Tip: Cut stems at a 45° angle, ¼-inch above a leaf node (where a leaf or branch attaches to the stem). Use clean, sharp pruning shears to avoid tearing woody stems.

Protect your azalea from drafts. Hot, dry air from heating vents causes flower buds to shrivel and turn brown. Increase humidity with a room humidifier or a pebble tray. Avoid misting—azaleas are prone to fungus, which can be fatal.

Brown leaves often signal fungal disease or root rot. An infected plant should be discarded, as it won't recover.

Repot Only When Necessary, every 3 years or so. Azaleas flower best when slightly pot-bound. Never repot while in bloom—wait until after flowering and use a pot with a drainage hole.

With good care, this beautiful flowering shrub will produce blooms for many years. Remember: it's frost-tender. Unlike hardy garden azaleas, this florist's type cannot withstand freezing temperatures and should not be planted outdoors unless you live in a mild-winter climate.

Azalea Care Quick Reference

Potted White Azalea for Sale

Origin: Asian hybrids

Height: Up to 2 ft (60 cm). Dwarf varieties are more compact.

Light: Bright light, no direct sun.

Water: Keep soil thoroughly moist. If allowed to dry out, foliage shrivels and flowers wilt. This acid-loving plant shouldn't be watered with hard water—use rainwater or distilled water.

Humidity: Moderate to high.

Temperature: Cool to average, 60–70°F (16–21°C).

Soil: Peat-based (lime-free) potting mix.

Fertilizer: Feed every 2 weeks during the growing season with a high-potassium fertilizer containing iron, diluted by half. Yellow leaves with green veins indicate a nutrient deficiency caused by excess lime.

Propagation: Can be propagated from stem cuttings, though slow to root and results rarely match the parent plant's quality.