I don't think it has Verticillium Wilt. I believe it just partially dried out sitting above ground in the nursery yard. The only thing that kept it alive it was that it received an occasional sprinkling of water and it managed to send a few roots down into the gravel and soil. The top drew water faster than the small rootball could supply it even though for the most part the rootball was moist. Look at the large green weeds growing out of the burlap. They have been there for quite some time. The tree is salvageable, but it will be a long time before it will look presentable.......if ever. Being alive and looking good can be two different things. Japanese maples are tougher than most people realize.

I'd suspect it is one of the dozens of "blue" azalea cultivars popular in this area. None are really "blue" flowered but have flowers in various shades of lilac/violet to purple - 'Purple Gem', 'Blue Moon', Blue Tit', 'Blue Diamond', 'Blue Danube', etc. My first choice would be 'Purple Gem' - it looks most like the photo. A visit to any local nursery that offers a good selection of rhodies and azaleas should provide you with some flowering examples to compare. Check out Swanson's or Wells Medina in Bellevue.

I only have those three beans, so not much opportunity to save back any, though Jack and the Beanstalk had only five and had quite an adventure. I like to imagine his mother as a young bride carrying them with her when she came out west in a covered wagon. But then I tend to personify objects and I imagine those beans shivering in fear when the wagon was come upon by "bad guys" looking to help themselves. I've heard hubby's great grandma's trip out west stories for 50 years, so these beans have triggered my imagination as well as my desire to bring them to life in my garden . I know...goofy, huh?

chrysalids - Okay, so, I guess I was thinking this might be a dwarf with just a random branch shooting taller, but if it could possibly be a large paniculata, what would be the best way to prune it? I would still remove that tall stem and prune the rest at the bottom all the same length to give it a good starting place, right? Actually, I might take another photo of the shrub looking down at it, because I was just looking at it and the way the branches are coming off the main stems does not look right, and I don't know how far back to cut it. The blooms are getting larger and are very pretty up close, have a nice shape to them. Some of the stems are floppy but a lot of them look pretty erect. I'm thinking I might be happy with it right in this area. I am just going to move it over a little to center it in the bare spot here...... This is an early photo to the right of the above photo. and the Hydrangea paniculata is in the lower left. I'm just going to move that over to the right and back to center it and let it do it's thing. I think this photo makes it look smaller than it is. Maybe this one gives a better perspective.....