Azalea house plant

[deste]

My friends dad died on Wednesday and I bought an Azalea plant for her garden to remind her of him every year when it flowers. The only thing is it says it is a house plant. How successful would it be if it was planted out when the weather improves. It looks very healthy. Has anyone tried it successfully? She works away a lot so it would be better outside.

Does your friend live in a hard-water or soft-water area? Azaleas don't much like alkaline soil so if it is a hard-water area it would be better in a pot outdoors with ericaceous compost.

It's a soft water area. Would it survive in a shaded area away from wind etc.

I guess it would probably be all right outside; I don't know how Azaleas are grown professionally to control whether they are best indoors or out?

As other reply said, use ericaceous compost, or you can water on a suitable tonic of sulphates of iron and aluminium, also used on heathers, and maybe hydrangeas.