I am very new at this so I am probably the blind trying to lead you. I have about 60 Encore Azaleas that I planted in 2008. The first thing that happened was that I did not know how to plant them and I told Garrisons in Shreveport where I bought them. I built a bed with the dirt above the ground level about 6" so they would drain well. I planted them in June, I think, another problem, it was late in the year. The soil that I used to build up the bed was mostly Red River sand, but after about a month they looked like they were dying. I went back to Garrisons and asked why they were dying and did not get much help. They continued to look bad so I went back and finally got a little late advise. They told me to dig one up and see if the root ball was dry or wet. They should have been more helpful when I first planted them at about $22.00 each, on sale because it was late in the year, that was over $1300.00. I had been watering them with a soaker hose and a garden hose. The root balls were dry as a bone. What had happened was that the dirt was plenty moist, but the water was not transferring form the surrounding dirt to the root ball. I started watering them right on top of the root ball and most of them came out of it and lived. I lost about 4 out of the 60. They would not replace the dead ones. So be sure that they get water right down into the root ball and that they are well drained. The next year I bought another 15 that were smaller ones and planted around the base of two big Oak trees. After about a year they were dying, it seems that they just could not get enough plant food competing with the Oak trees. I lost 4 of them and now have the rest in pots till I replant them this Spring. I wished that I had found the forum earlier or made my purchases from a nursery that was more helpful. I really like the Encore Azaleas because some of them always seem to be blooming. I am still having trouble with them, they just don't seem healthy, but I am learning. I have a link to some pictures of them. I hope this helps a little, but some one on here will give you the answers that you need. Here is a link that might be useful: Encore Azaleas

I grew several things, including a rhododendron and azalea, under an ancient massive limbed up (to allow light/sun on the ground below it) pine for many years. In my cool summer zone where its difficult not to grow azaleas and rhododendrons well :), while not ideal growing conditions, they did fine. Grew, slowly, and bloomed. The soil will always be more dry there, not just the first year and you'll want to pay attention to that. Although I should add that my own pine had a south exposure so one of the drier places in my yard on its own. I think you'll find you will need to top dress with compost at least annually, and Spring and Fall may be better, keep a continuous supply of nutrients being returned to the soil, and will also help to conserve moisture while cooling the roots of the azaleas. Surface roots shouldn't be an issue, take a shovel and look for planting pockets around the tree. The perennials I chose for that area were many of the things that can often be a little wide spreading or aggressive for other garden soils without large tree competition - they behaved more subdued under the pine, so I know the tree was taking its share of water and nutrients as well as shedding some rainfall away from plantings directly under it. The tree came down in an unusual wind storm (gusts of 100 mph+) in 2007, taking out a swath of landscaping in it's path before landing on my chimney and front corner of my house ;)

Dear hopefulauthor, Is it "Weston's Innocence", another deciduous azalea? I got very lucky in finding it by looking at my plant on Greer Gardens' website, and seeing Weston's Innocence just a few photos down from it. It looks classic & elegant--would be a nice complement to star & confederate jasmine :D They have the 12-18" size available for $26. Mine is "WA State Centennial", a deciduous azalea(Mossman). Now it is maybe 18-24". I probably ordered the 8-12" last spring for $17. OG & hopefulauthor, i don't know the ph of my soil. i pull grass around it when i mow, but don't water it because it is supposed to be easy to care for and suited-- indeed created--for this particular climate, so on principle i wont pamper it. we've had rain here frequently until just the last month or so. it has shot up since last year, so it's doing fine in my opinion. it will make the most of all the rain we'll be getting soon enough for 9 months of the year, and shoot up again next spring, i expect. honestly i cringe at the idea of washingtonians watering anything besides potted plants, seems kind of pointless to me. we're never long from any rain. digging into the soil where i am i find moist soil close to the surface even this time of year. what really boggles is people who mow too often & fry their lawn, then water it frantically. very strange. but to each his/her own. Thank You for your replies & Best Regards, spazplant

Thanks all for your suggestions. These three azaleas are on a lake shore, but they're probably about a foot above the water line (there's a hard edge to the shore at this point). There's a large willow tree just behind them. But I stuck my finger in the soil at the base of all three, and the soil seemed to be evenly moist, not sodden, around all three. It has been a dry summer here, however, so it's possible they've gotten less moisture than they've been accustomed to. On the other hand, there is an irrigation system for the adjacent lawn which may hit the shrubs (some or all of them? I've never seen it run). The irrigation was, until recently, running daily. So possibly the affected one is getting a different water level on the foliage than the others. They also are in the sun only from about 10am-12:15pm this time of year - it's hard shade from a building in the morning and dappled shade from the tree for the rest of afternoon. Is that level of sun enough to scald? Thanks again for all your thoughts on this! It's reassuring that nobody seems to think this looks like an insect or fungal problem.