Bushes in front of our house
How do you get rid of overgrown azalea bushes?
by
Bus28125841
+9
We have 3 overgrown azalea bushes in our front yard, I need suggestions on how to get them removed or can they be cut back? They have beautiful blooms but hide the screened in porch area. I also need suggestions on what I can plant for the zone I live in to update the front of the house. I live in Shallotte, NC very close to the ocean so get some salt breeze.
Hello Bus! Here is a video from NC that might help you next spring. I LOVE Azaleas....it would break my heart to take them out. Hopefully pruning them back might solve both problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xH-Nd0B9Qk
you can cut these back easily. these bushes LOVE to grow big and it is a shame that more folks dont look at a plant and try to vision these in a 19+ year span. Get the BIG pruning clippers out and cut them back to about 2 feet tall. you can cut these out, but I would wait until the blooms have happened - if these are fall bloomers. Try to do this in September or October so the sap is slowing down. Best of luck!
If you trim them back it has to be done right after they bloom, otherwise, you lose the blooms the next spring.
Thank you but I think we will trim them back this fall and see what happens. They are looking bad now.
Most counties have Cooperative Extension programs with websites and they have lots of info on what grows in the area where they are located, plus great free advice on caring for plants (including what to do with your azaleas.)
I once Purchased a home w/ sadly-shaped azaleas, looked like brownies, all boxy and ugly. They were old, huge. It broke my heart, but I waited for a very rainy week and attached a chain to the jeep and one to a loosened azalea. Due to tremendously soggy Earth, It worked. It was a mess. It's been 25 years and I still feel sad when I drive by that house and see that space. Try to keep them. Prune them way way way back after each bloom. If they are spring bloomers, you will lose the bloom if you prune now.
Use a truck and pull them out by the roots. That is if you are serious when it comes to getting rid of them.
We had several of these bushes and after the blooms (they never seem to bloom long enough) all we had was scraggly branches that scraped our legs if we got too close. Taking them out was a chore and a half, the roots were tightly embedded in the mud and did not want to let go. It took a lot of determination to physically remove them.
If you want to keep them, cut them back.
Hello Bus: You can trim them back to a workable size. Here are a couple of sites that may help:
How to Prune Azaleas - Bing video
When and How to Prune Azaleas - Bing video
The Complete Guide To Pruning Azaleas (southernliving.com)
They are beautiful bushes, and I'd keep them :)
Good luck
If it's an azalea, you're in luck because azaleas have shallow roots, are easy to dig up, and recover quickly from the stress of moving. Even mature azaleas can be moved if you are careful to minimize damage to the root systems.