If the drooping leaves are all on the same branch: 1) Terminal buds and leaves turning brown and leaves wilting is symptomatic of Phytophthora, Botryosphaeria, or Phomopsis dieback. All three diseases spread rapidly and may threaten an entire plant. They are more active in warm summer conditions. i) Phytophthora causes the central vein of a leaf to turn brown and the discoloration extends to the petiole on tender new growth. The infections spreads outward from the midrib tissue and the leaf wilts. Infections are more severe on azaleas. Some varieties of rhododendrons are vulnerable (Chionoides, Catawbiense Album, Nova Zembla) and some are resistant (Roseum Elegans, Scintillation, PJM). Control of the disease is difficult. Since the infection goes from the roots to the tips, when you see the symptoms it is too late. To prevent it, use a raised bed with lots of sphagnum peat moss. Prevention with fungicides and careful control of exposure to high humidity may be practical. ii) Botryosphaeria causes leaves to turn dull green and then brown and roll and droop. Cankers form on branches which may girdle the branch. Sanitation and applying a fungicide such as metalaxyl (Subdue) after pruning my provide some control. iii) Phomopsis symptoms vary from leaf spots to chlorosis and then browning of leaves which then wilt. Browning streaks extend down the stem to a wound. Fungicides such as metalaxyl (Subdue) should control an outbreak. Sanitation and applying a fungicide after pruning may provide control. 2) Drought can cause entire branches or entire plants to die. We have had several years of drought here and we observe that if rhododendrons and azaleas are not watered during a drought some plants will die, but others will just have one section of the plant die. It seems to be the plants way to conserve what little moisture it has. 3) Bark split is most commonly caused by an early autumn frost while the sap is still high in the plant, or a late spring frost when the sap has already started to rise. For this reason it is dangerous to feed nitrogen to a rhod odendron or azalea that could stimulate growth through to autumn. Don't use nitrogen after mid-June. When the bark is frozen, sap cannot get through and the bark splits. For this reason always keep mulch away from the trunk of plants. Bark split damage can be treated with grafting wax to prevent fungal and insect damage. 4) Ends of branches die when rhododendron or azalea borer larvae tunnel in a stem. This affects the portions of the plant away from the roots from where the borer larvae is in the stem. Borers have done their damage when you see the wilting and usually it is best to cut off the affected region. The requires removing the damaged branch from the hole where the eggs were laid at the base of the dying branch to remove any larvae before they become adults and infect more plants. The parts that are cut off should be destroyed to kill the larvae that are in them. Borers are prevented by following a spray schedule (timing is very critical) for borers with chlorpyrifos or lindane. Your county agent can help you with this information

Hi hoosierbanana. Yes it is the homegrown mix. The tree is from Stark Brothers and came in their 4 x 4 x10" pot. I went back to the nursery and spoke with a lady I usually deal with (she wasn't there the day I got the tree), and showed her the pics and told her the mix was recommended for a container. She immediately said to get it out of the pot as it is drowning. She said to use half the Dr Earths and add an equal amount of MG organic potting mix, perlite and repot. Then to add some garden lime on top, mulch and lightly water. When I took the tree out, it was saturated and definitely not draining. What are your thoughts and thanks for the response. This post was edited by dirtguy50 on Wed, Apr 23, 14 at 10:47

Maybe your plant is more sensitive than the others and is just starting to shut down for the winter? Noticing some of mine are turning yellow, drooping and starting to drop while others still have inflos and all their leaves...

Are they in pots? Is the water used for irrigation at all salty? Have you applied a lot of fertilizer? These questions aim at the possibility of excess salts in the soil preventing uptake of water. The cure would be flushing the soil with a lot of water. I see that your winter/spring climate is cool to mild with some rain. Has there been unusual rain that would encourage fungus diseases? The ring spots with tan centers-- do the centers sometimes fall out, leaving a hole? This would be spot anthracnose disease. However, it does not cause wilting. The dead areas on the edge of the leaf-- I have seen these in my garden. There is no recognized fungus here that causes this symptom. I have suspected it is caused by excess ammonium from fertilizer. The dark shading on the woody stem-- this could be a fungus that is keeping the stem from transmitting water and causing the wilting. Are there any symptoms that do not show in the photograph, such as different-looking dark spots on other leaves, yellowing, black streaks on the bark, oozing sores on the bark?