Flowering Azalea Plant

I have several azaleas in pots in the garden, some are evergreen and some are deciduous, but they all start flowering at different times in the spring.
Don’t be tempted to plant in too big a pot and yes, do use ericaceous compost. The important thing is to make sure the plant is watered throughout the summer as it’s then when the buds are formed for the following year. Preferably with rain water.

I've lost count how many times I've been asked about Azaleas !

Do you know where it was bought ?
If so , you could ask the vendor .
If it's named you could Google it to find out .

As a rule , Azaleas which are deciduous can go outside without a problem .

If it's evergreen then it can be an indoor or an outdoor plant .

When was your birthday ?

If it's been "encouraged " for the Christmas market - it's been forced into bloom in artificial conditions and shouldn't go outside as the frost will kill it .

I have an old well known outdoors Azalea and it was miserable in the heat last summer in dappled shade - so it's being moved !

Wishing you luck .

Esmay, my birthday was early October, it was a gift and I don't know where it was bought, neither is it named.

I will aim to keep it flowering as long as possible indoors and then think about putting it outside in the Spring. Haven't had it long enough to know if it's deciduous, though as it's still got lots of dark green leaves it probably isn't. I've taken on board what you said about it being forced.

Thanks to you and also to J52 for responding.

Cam you move it outside? Yes, but like @J52 said, don't be tempted to use really large pots coz azaleas have shallow roots and it'd be a waste and when watered this might attract pests and weeds. The shallow roots also help in conserving its soil moisture as well as minimize the soil temp.

Since I am replying to this in January, I guess you're waiting till spring to move it outdoors. And once again, I concur with @Esmay on the dappled shade. Azalea doesn't do well with too much direct sunlight and it won't flower with too much shade.

I'd also like to add that you should use organic mulching. Which provides the azalea with enough nutrients hence you don't have to worry about fertilizing. Once it's gone outdoors, be cautious of leaf spots and petal blight, which is something I've experienced a number of times with my azaleas. Perhaps you might not have to go through the same but just make sure you water them enough.