Brown and wilting azalea flowers

[Francesco84]

Friends, I was looking forward to my azalea’s beautiful blooms this year and this is what I got instead. The third picture is from last year in 2022. I also repotted in spring of 2022 and has been healthy. Watering issue? Pushed out nice spring growth this year and was kept in a greenhouse over winter never going below 35-40 really. The only thing can think of is that in early April I was away and missed watering it for a day or two and when I came back to foliage was a bit droopy but popped back up after watering. Maybe some roots died and it is affecting the blooms? Any ideas?



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[keyfen06]

From my experience, the flowers on my azaleas will typically fade when they keep on getting a lot of moisture, such as from rain. I believe that full sun will also fade flowers, so maybe that's something to consider. I'm not sure where you're from (if you add your USDA zone and location on your profile, this should help in further threads and getting help), but I'm not sure if missing a day or two in early April is much to worry about. Here in England, I was only watering once every few days and still am as the weather has seem to have gone from 17-20C (62-68F) back down to 10C (50F) regularly. I also repot near the end of March as well, so my azaleas might be a bit late compared to other people. I think that if any roots did die, then you likely might have seen some signs with this in the new foliage, but as you said it seems to be healthy. I'm sure other people here will be able to give more detailed advice or correct me if I got any of that wrong.

Also, that tree looks really lovely in bloom!

 

[Glaucus]

Could be petal blight. It can turn the petals brown even before they open. It is a fungal disease. Hard to control if the weather favours the fungus.
Some hygene by removing affected petals (and the spores they produce) can help. The spores overwinter in the soil and then somehow have to spray up onto the petals.

 

[Shibui]

Petal blight affects azalea flowers, especially when buds get wet as they are opening. Helps to only water the soil through spring and bring trees under cover before rain.
Petal blight seems to affect white flowers more than colors.
Flowers can also droop if the tree is underwatered while flowering but previous underwatering does not appear to affect later flowers. If flowers perk up after the plant is watered that is most likely the problem. Azalea can get progressively harder to water properly as masses of very fine roots fill the pot after a couple of years which explains different needs from one year to the next.

 

[Underdog]

May be what I'm seeing on this Rose Bud Azalea. I was writing it off to our early cold snap of single digits in Dec. We did get a lot of rain as this one was trying to flower. Most all the flowers never really opened.

 

[JudyB]

May be what I'm seeing on this Rose Bud Azalea. I was writing it off to our early cold snap of single digits in Dec. We did get a lot of rain as this one was trying to flower. Most all the flowers never really opened.
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OMG that is one beautiful flower. Must find one....

 

[JudyB]

I would not worry too much as long as the new growth is healthy. Heat combined with wet can cause flowers to wilt quicker than normally would happen. I protect mine from overhead water when they are about to bloom, until I'm ready to cut them off.

 

[Glaucus]

Petal blight will only affect the petals. In a sense, it 'helps' the plant get rid of the petals quicker.

 

[Underdog]

OMG that is one beautiful flower. Must find one....

Their called "Rose Bud" I have a couple in pot and a couple in landscape.
I could fix you up Judy
Here is the other in pot looking happier but this one is about done for the year. They look like little roses.

 

[Underdog]

Petal blight will only affect the petals. In a sense, it 'helps' the plant get rid of the petals quicker.

I see. These flowers never quite opened up but for a few. Maybe it was the buds freezing before dormant as I suspected? I had several trees take a hit this winter.

 

[Glaucus]

If the flower bud freezes and dies, it doesn't keep developing for 2 more weeks, only to then open with a few brown spots.

 

[Paradox]

I had this happen to some of my azaleas. The buds turned brown and fell off before they even opened though.
Solved it by getting them out from under my sprinklers while they had buds in the spring until after the flowers were done.

 

[shinmai]

OMG that is one beautiful flower. Must find one....

Judy, they’re actually quite common—virtually every nursery or box store around here has them in spring. The blossoms are about the size of a quarter when open, and look like a miniature version of one of my David Austin antique English varieties.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Yep, and we do have a couple in the front yard

Being double these blossoms are very sensitive to dew and being sprayed while watering. They also prefer partial sun or less.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Francesco84]

Appreciate all the feedback here. Me thinks it might be water that was hitting the buds and flowers...