Azaleas with damaged leaves

[Jenny]

We have planted four plants of two different varieties of evergreen azaleas this year, one of them "rosebud" and the other something whose name I forget that was a nice peach color. They are in an area that stays shaded by the house until 2 PM and only gets about 4 hours sunlight total. The soil they are in drains well, but we have had an extremely wet summer.

They were doing fine until the past month when the leaves of both varieties got little brown spots all over them just like those of the maples and other trees around our property which has been attributed to the very high rainfall. A small portion of the azaleas' leaves are yellowing, but all of them look pretty ratty with brown spots and holes all over them. I don't see any sign of insects except for occasional spiderwebs.

My question is, since these are evergreen varieties, will the leaves stay crappy looking, or will the plant eventually grow new leaves in the spring to replace the damaged ones and look okay? I don't want to go spraying poisons on these plants. I am thinking that if they can't survive unaided where I have put them, I will replace them with something tougher like the yews which are flourishing beside them, as are my annuals.

-- Jenny (Zone 5 W. Mass on a slightly colder hillside)

[Stephen M. Henning]

An evergreen azalea keeps its leaves about 2 or 3 years. It will grow new leaves next spring and will shed the oldest leaves sometime during the year.

[Jenny]

Thanks all. Another query successfully addressed. As we head into our first frost tonight I found myself having to stop and reflect on how much I have learned from this board.

This was my first year in a new house. I started the year with a field of crabgrass and now have a gorgeous, natural lawn that has elicited a few words of admiration from my close-mouthed Yankee neighbors. I have taken a lot of advice about how to enrich my garden soil and expect great things next year from my fledgling flower garden.

The last time I owned a house, years ago, the only gardening advice I could find came from those maddeningly vague lawn and garden books and from people who wanted to sell me chemical services. I never really figured out what I was doing. But you guys are great and have answered just about every question I have had. The results speak for themselves!

THANKS!!!!!

-- Jenny

[David J Bockman]

The yellowing leaves are 'Guard Leaves', they are usually 2-3 years old and will be shed over the winter or early spring. Incidentally, when the leaves turn yellow, the blossoms are white, and when the leaves turn reddish, the blossoms are red, pink, or lavender.

Check on the undersides of the leaves for evidence of insect poop (little black dots).

Dave

[Christopher Green]

Sounds like one of the leaf spot funguses (anthracnose, maybe a few others), and wet weather encourages it, but it will respond to fungicides. If you do nothing, it will recur and may defoliate and eventually kill your azalea.

Good garden hygiene will help you avoid or minimize the need for fungicides: this means, for example, presuming that all the litter around the plants showing symptoms is infected and clearing it out.