Freeze Damage on Indica Azaleas

Azalea Bud Freeze Damage

Notice the brown bud in the center of the photo.  This is a flower bud that has been killed by a late April freeze.  The yellow leaves though are normal on a white of pink azalea coming out of the winter. 

If you have noticed a lighter than normal bloom on some of your azaleas. This is probably due to late freezes in March or April killing the flower buds before they bloomed. You'll notice that in many cases you have some flowers on the bottom of the plants where the buds were more protected. In other cases most of the buds were damaged. Also the amount and pattern of damage was variable due to the variety of the plant and the location and microenvironment of where the plant was growing.

For the most part you'll see damage on Indica azaleas, but also on sensitive varieties such as Glacier and some pink varieties. The good news is that the plants will recover without any intervention other than normal pruning but remember this can happen every year depending upon the spring weather.

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