I am not an expert, but I am only an hour away from you. It looks like you have buds from the picture. It will be another month (?) before they bloom. Rhododendrons set their buds in the late summer or fall. Be patient. Probably the plant will grow into those tall shoots. But, I only have personal experience to judge by.

The chief symptom of root rot diseases is a wilted appearance of one or many branches. There is no evidence of this in the photo. The best rule of thumb for planting rhododendrons is to keep the top 10% or so of the rootball above the soil line. The photo does suggest that yours may be planted a little too deep. Good drainage is important for two reasons. Waterlogged soil can encourage the fungal diseases that cause root rot. Equally important, rhododendrons need a lot of oxygen around their roots. Air cannot penetrate fine, compacted soil. The best planting mix contains 25 to 50% coarse organic matter such as conifer bark. In planting rhododendrons, it's best to think more of planting on the existing soil than in a hole dug into it. A wide, shallow basin is fine. The material surrounding the rootball should be highly organic. Kept mulched, you will have solved the drainage issue, acidity issues and fertilization all in one. There's no reason why you can't dig up the rhododendron and redo the planting. Just keep it watered after replanting.

Donna Roesink: I'm trying to find someplace where I wrote anything about 5-1-1 mix which is not, in any case, "mine". There is a vast number of references to it in the container forum and I believe, Al, aka Tapla is the originator. This is a fine mix for plants growing in containers because it provides excellent drainage and aeration, but is unnecessarily fussy and not well suited for plants growing in the ground. That's why I wrote that the peat and perlite were unnecessary in my second post above. If you placed the 5-1-1 mix in a hole, you may have created the very sump or bathtub effect davidrt28 mentioned above. Anyway, what's done is done. On the next one (or more) use just the bark and don't worry about screening it to a particular size. Lots of bark spread over the native soil and the rhododendrons planted in it rather than in a hole, as I suggested in the second post, is the best way I know to provide an acid, moisture retentive but fast draining medium. Again, there are lots of variables as davidrt28 points out. It's not too late to use pure bark. Spread it out a bit over the 5-1-1 and replant into it. Many years ago, I helped a friend and rhododendron dealer plant dwarf rhododendrons on pure granite ledge at a Maine summer cottage. Never more than 6" or so of bark placed directly on suitable areas of the ledge. Drip irrigation system, annual renewal of the mulch and the rhododendrons did just fine, although it has been many years since i last saw them. Your experience in digging out the first one is not untypical. Rhododendrons and azaleas produce flat, shallow root systems except in exceptionally sandy, gravelly or woodsy soil. The roots remain where there is maximum oxygen. Since you just recently moved these, I would not have expected much root extension. Keep them well watered - use just a trickle at he base of the plant - during dry spells this summer. Treat the azaleas in exactly the same way. Evergreen azaleas are tough plants, so these may regrow from the old wood. Too early in the year to know for sure. Don't use fertilizer unless a soil test indicates a need. Excess nitrogen can kill a rhododendron or azalea. It can also stimulate late soft growth that is easily killed in the winter. Find out the pH of your native soil if the foot or so of bark is not practical.

I've seen this in my area, expect it to be the work of a skeletonizer (leaf miner). But I searched "rhododendron leaf miner" and what not particularly ample information I did get didn't include depictions or images that fit what you are seeing with certainty.