Sorry, I don't know what to suggest as I only know these to be outdoor plants (& I don't grow them). For discussions abt wicking or wick watering, you could check the African Violet Forum (next door as it were) & search it there, as it's a popular technique for AVs. The time period involved may be too long for even wick watering (the reservoirs need to be refilled periodically). Also, I'd imagine there'd be some transition time involved. If it were my plant, I'd take it home (to kittyland) & place it way up high that kitty can't climb to, or in a room which you can close off from the kitten.

Haylo, it appears to me your azalea is outside. Just to add a little to the link rhodyman has given you - A greenhouse plant grown for the florists trade as I am guessing your current plant to be has never been outdoors and should be introduced gradually to real world conditions. Its never seen actual sun, or wind, and where this one looks more affected on one side I suspect thats where natures elements have touched it. If you wish to grow this outdoors, a period of hardening off much like you would do a tender annual, with outside exposure gradually increasing over a period of several days before its left outside full time, would give it a chance to better acclimate. But if I could suggest too, if you are wanting an azalea to grow in a container outdoors you might be better off to shop regular nursery-garden stock and not the blooming plants/floral/gift department. These azaleas forced to bloom for florists delivery or to coincide with a particular holiday are not grown with long term plant health in mind, but for early and easy to manipulate flowers. They've been on a regime of special lighting and temps, fertilizers, growth regulators and while sometimes they recover from that and are fine, equally as often they are never the strong plant a nursery could provide. If you receive one as a gift or buy one for a table centerpiece and want to try it outside later, that's fine, but if you are shopping for your garden or patio you would be wiser to buy a plant grown with that in mind.

Hi PR, Ive never tried to grow a Japanese maple, but if youÂre thinking of trying again, IÂm gonna chime in here! First of all IÂm going to agree with Dan and TreeBarb that it sounds to me like it got WAY too much water after it was planted and over winter. When plants are dormant over winter, they use very, very little water, so itÂs quite possible the roots were starting to rot even before it came out of dormancy this spring. As long as the soil stays damp when the plants are dormant, theyÂll be fine. So if you decide to try again, I recommend watering it in very well when you plant it and then donÂt water again until the soil, down near the bottom of the original root ball, is starting to dry out. I wouldnÂt do any supplemental watering at all over winter, and if weÂre getting much snow/rain, IÂd divert the down spout water away from it. When itÂs actively growing, water only when the soil is drying--and then water slowly and very thoroughly. People loose way, way more plants (of all types) from overwatering than they do from underwatering. If somethingÂs underwatered, itÂll look pretty sad, but wonÂt usually die. If somethingÂs overwatered, the roots rot and it dies! So, if in doubt, donÂt water! It looks like itÂs in a pretty protected corner, but IÂm wondering, since itÂs on the west side, if it might not be getting too much heat, even if itÂs shaded from the sun. And the tree you asked about thatÂs shading it looks like a honey locust to me. PaulinoÂs carries them, but I donÂt know what sizes or what the prices areÂor even if they have any left this year, so you might want to call to check it out. Also, if you go to PaulinoÂs to look at them, go in to the front desk and ask John Smith (Yeah, really!) who the best/most knowledgeable person would be in the nursery to ask about them and then go looking for him/her (John can call them on the radio to tell them youÂre looking for them!) John is pretty good with most of the stock too, and can answer some of your questions, but if they have a good nursery person right now, they can probably tell you more. Tell John, Dee sent youÂno, I donÂt get a kickback! But if you want the really, really best info here in Denver about growing them, go to Timberline Gardens on the west side of town and ask for Kelly GrummonsÂtell him Dee sent you! Tell him exactly what you did in your original post here about when and where it was planted and how often it was watered and ask him what to do if youÂre gonna try again. If Kelly canÂt help you, nobody can. I donÂt know if he carries them or not. He may not since theyÂre generally considered pretty hard to successfully grow in our dry climate, but even if he doesnÂt sell them, he can give you the best advice for trying to get one going. And he would also be great for recommending something else cool to try if you decide to go that way. If you go there and if youÂre at all interested in perennials, Kelly has far and away the most comprehensive selection of perennials in the Denver area. Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do and how itÂs working out for you. Welcome to RMG! Skybird

Naw, you did OK, Susan. It's pruned and it knows durned well it's been pruned but, as Gardengal said, it won't set bud until much later in the season and it'll happily blossom next year, just on a smaller bush. As a very general rule, most things that blossom in spring can be safely pruned back up until July 4th without checking. After that, it's smart to check when it sets buds for the following year to make sure you aren't cutting them off. I currently have The Azalea That Ate Cleveland that's about to get cut back within an inch of its life. Your cutback is nothing compared to the one I'm giving mine. It'll blossom just fine in 2020.