Removing flowers on satsuki azaleas

Satsuki azaleas are beautiful when they bloom.

Cutting-grown satsuki

They are somewhat less attractive when the petals fall away.

Azalea flowers after losing their petals

Once most of the flowers on a satsuki have wilted or fallen away, it’s time to remove the parts of the flower that are left behind – most visibly, the pistil and sepals.

Pistil, sepals, and peduncle

The reason for removing these parts is to save the tree from producing mature seeds so it can redirect its resources elsewhere.

After removing the flowers

For large satsuki with lots of flowers, this can take a little time – especially if one has lots of azaleas in their collection. Fortunately, because different satsuki bloom at different times, this work can be spread out across several weeks or even months, depending on when each azalea blooms.

Azaleas after peak bloom

After removing the flowers

Of course, without flowers it can be hard to tell which cuttings were white and which were pink. Before removing the flowers, I added “p” or “w” tags so I can keep track of the colors in the off-season.