Getting the Most out of a Home and Garden

Guide To Growing Indoor Azaleas

Azaleas come in a wide range of colours from white and pink through to red and purple.  The azalea is generally associated with outdoor gardening.  However, you can enjoy these beautiful flowering plants indoors too, with the right care.  Your local plant wholesaler will have a good selection of greenhouse azaleas for you to choose from.  Here's how to care for an indoor azalea plant.

Choosing your azalea plant

The most important thing when choosing an azalea plant for your home is that you pick one that is bred to be kept inside.  Ask your plant wholesaler specifically for a greenhouse variety of azalea.  Greenhouse azaleas are less vigorous in their growth habit than their outdoor cousins, making them suitable for growing in small pots and containers. 

When choosing your plant, look for one that has plenty of buds and only a few open blooms.  This ensures that the plant will flower for longer.  Look for green, glossy leaves and buds of different sizes.  These signs show that the plant is actively growing and is healthy.

Caring for your azalea

Wild azaleas grow in cool, shaded areas.  It's therefore important that you keep your plant in a cool room, around 180C.  The room should be bright, but the plant should not be exposed to full sun.

Azaleas need to be kept moist at all times.  Water your plant from the top, but place it in its pot into a large container of water for a thorough dunking occasionally too.  When the plant has had a good soaking, remove the pot and allow the water to drain away so that the soil doesn't become waterlogged.

Once your plant has finished blooming, give it a feed with all-purpose house plant fertiliser every couple of weeks.  In the spring when the weather warms up, put the plant in its pot outside or in a shady spot in a conservatory.  Prune away any dead growth and keep the plant well-watered.

Through the autumn and early winter months, keep the plant in a very cool place that isn't exposed to frost and gets plenty of light – an unheated porch could be perfect for this.  Don't give the plant any fertiliser during the winter.  When you see buds beginning to set on the plant, bring it back inside the house and put it somewhere cool and shady until flowering begins.

In conclusion

Azaleas make a beautiful flowering houseplant that can provide a gorgeous splash of colour during the drab, late winter months.  Have a chat with a local plant wholesaler, such as Din San Nursery, for more advice on choosing and caring for greenhouse azaleas.


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