Azalea fail

ajhinder

My azalea looks absolutely shattered. It is in a pot which was waterlogged during the winter. Despite the fact that I have fed it, the leaves are small and some are orange. The flower buds have failed to blossom. I'm afraid I may have killed it by keeping it in a pot. It usually flowers, but not this year. I may give up on it and root it out, but should I wait a bit longer to see if it picks up.

fidgetbones

Assuming it is in semi shade and out of the wind, yes, being waterlogged hurt it. It should recover. Make sure the pot is stood up on pot feet so that it can drain well, but  keep feeding it with an ericaceous fertiliser (It will either say ericaceous or  for acid lovers on the box) and don't let it dry out.

Fairygirl

What size is the pot? It's quite a substantial plant.
The buds may not have formed properly last year because of the hot dry weather. It's been a common problem this year for lots of rhodies/azaleas/camellias as the buds start forming in late summer, and many areas were suffering very hot, dry conditions.
It can be much harder keeping shrubs in pots, as it's often a fine balance between too wet and too dry.

BobTheGardener

If there is anything else growing in the pot (I think I can see oxalis?) I would also remove it as the azalea won't be able to compete while it is so weak.

batwood14

the other issues with Azaleas in pots is the roots may be congested. I have had two die on me because if this. Take it out and loosen the roots if this is the case and add fresh ericaceous  soil in.  

deltaflyer235

I think I would definitely re-pot it. It could be that by being waterlogged the soil has become spoilt. Maybe a bigger pot too as it could have outgrown it current pot. 

Bijdezee

Could the roots have rotted? You mentioned that it was waterlogged in the winter. It's possible that it froze inside the pot with all the water and the roots were damaged. 

I would do as others have said but also turn it out of the pot and inspect the roots. If they are OK then repot it with some fresh ericaceous compost and then prune it down to a third, taking all the damaged parts out. Give it a good feed and maybe it will recover for next year.