It may be that your azalea is having an indignation session after being moved from a snuggly glasshouse to a store to your room. First up - have a look at the potting mix. Often little azaleas are shipped in mix with a high peat content because it's lighter. However, indica azaleas seem to prefer something that both holds moisture - and lets the excess drain away. They are not fond of being deeply planted, or being in too big a pot. You mention that you can see roots sticking out. It is possible that it was poorly planted in the first place and, with things looking a little dire at present it could be worth repotting. The yellow balls you see may be slow release fertiliser balls. They can look ominous. If you squash one there's a sort of shell left and the inside is often semi liquid. If you are going to have a go at repotting choose a plastic container with at least one, thumb-wide hole in the bottom - or plenty of holes. Let it be no deeper than three inches and no more than half an inch wider than the root ball. Choose a potting mix with no water crystals, and little to no fertiliser. Go for one that suits acid-loving plants. Also get some sharp grit that's about 1-2mm (millimetres) diameter. NOT sand. Allow about one handful of grit to two of mix. If you're concerned about mix drifting through the holes - line the pot with a facial tissue. It will let water through and eventually rot away. Into the new pot put in about an inch of your well-stirred mix'n'grit. Tap the pot on the bench to settle it a little. Make a mini-cone of more mix in the middle of the pot. Gently take your wee plant from its present container and let the old dirt fall off. It is absolutely important that you leave the roots alone: no snipping. Trickle in the mix to barely cover the roots. No poking or pressing, please. It's done when the stem is clear, there is a small slope on the mix away to the edges of the pot, and the roots are thinly covered. Now put the pot into a container of tepid water and wait until the bubbles stop rising. Bring it out, let it drain, add a little more mix if watering has revealed any roots. Then cover the surface with more grit - leaving the trunk clear. On the matter of sunlight: I am accepting that Arizona sunlight and summer temps can be more than I get - although our UV ratings are horrendous due to holes in the ozone layer. That being so - indicas will take a fair amount of direct morning sunshine - and like to be in fresh air. It helps for them to get that sun as it seems to greatly improve flowering. If you can put your plant outside during the day over spring and summer - even into autumn - it will be healthier. A north-east location may suit best. They are frost tolerant to around -5C although the flowers turn to mush when it's that cold. What you may find is that you get dieback on the present stem structure and new growth coming from the base of the plant. You will have to start over with reshaping, though. It takes AGES for an azalea's roots to colonise a pot so be knowing that you'll need to take care when moving the plant. No fertiliser until March. Let it get its breath back... When azaleas dry out they can develop leaf gall. It's better to water by plunging the pot as you do when repotting than trickling water on with a watering can because that fine root mass can shed water better than a raincoat. Remember to turn your plant a quarter each week so it grows evenly. Later on - in a year or even a little longer, you can think about putting it back into a formal bonsai pot. There's no rush. Good luck ;-).

Hi Lucy, Thanks for your reply. I was really hoping to learn from your expertise in bonsai art after reading your other replies to fellow bonsai enthusiasts. After reading your mail, I simply refused to give up the Satsuki azalea. I bought some new soil (for tropical bonsai), rapeseed cake organic fertilizer, and Schultz insect spray from the Bonsai Boy.com. I have since then placed the satsuki azalea outdoor as the Spring is finally here in CO. I put a layer of new soil on top and water the bonsai regularly. The bonsai seems to spring back to life, as I can see new shoots and leaves are coming out of those previously broken branches. I have also not seen any bugs after using the insect spray. However, most leaves still looks dried and blacken to some extent. Some even curled up which I don't know why. Maybe you can help explain this to me? Also, I bought a Dwarf Jade bonsai recently from the same online company, I found some little bugs resembling tiny flies after 2 days the bonsai arrived. I wonder if the bonsai is already infected with bugs before it was sent to me. Nonetheless, I quickly sprayed some Schultz insect spray on the Dwarf Jade. It doesnÂt seem to eradicate the bugs totally and the leaves are starting to fall off (eventhough the leaves still look nice and not dried). I water the plant 3 days once as according to the instruction sheet. Please let me know what you think of this situation I am having now. Thank you very, very much for your time.

I am having trouble with my Azaleas dying. I will have one very healthy plant next to one that is turning brown. The plant seems to start dying on one side and then over a week or two it spreads to the rest of the plan. I have had this problem for the last year or two. I am posting a picture I took of one of the azaleas. The sun was so bright the picture is washed a little, but I hope you can see the problem with the plant. Thanks, Image link:

Here is a suggestion, Zach. After you make sure that the bush has an adequate supply of acidic mulch -about 3-4" up to the drip line-, I suggest that you test the soil moisture daily using the finger method. For about two weeks, insert a finger to a depth of 4" daily and determine how the soil feels. If these are large bushes, test in four different places every time. If they are small bushes, test in only one place. The idea is to get a general idea how the area under the drip line is doing. When the soil feels almost dry or dry then water; otherwise, do nothing. Each time you water, make a note in a wall calendar. At the end of the two weeks, observe how often you watered (every 3/4/5/etc days) by looking in the calendar. Then set the sprinkler to water 1 gallon of water on the same frequency. When temperatures change 10 degrees or more and stay there, use the finger method again. You should notice that watering frequency increases as we get closer to the mid summer months and is reduced in the Fall. During winter, you can reduce watering further to once every two weeks on dry winters when the ground does not freeze. Apply 1.5 gallons of your soil happens to be sandy soil. While testing the soil for moisture, be aware that azaleas have very shallow root systems on the top 4-6" of the soil. They do not like the roots to be disturbed much so be careful when working to add mulch, clean debris, insert fingers and stuff like that. An adequate supply of mulch should help the shrubs quite a bit. It will reduce the frequency of your waterings. It will keep the soil evenly moist. It will protect the shrubs on windy and dry times. And it will provide food for the azaleas. Generally speaking, if your soil does not have any mineral defficienies (determined by a soil test), you could let the azaleas feed off the decomposing mulch; no fertilizer needed. Except for an application of sulphur this time of the year, that is what I do with my shrubs. Just make a habit to add more mulch in Spring and Fall when more is needed. Luis