How to Treat Ailing Azaleas

[Anonymous]

I bought my first house (yay!) last fall so am discovering what plants are here. There are several azalea bushes. Some have very small flower buds and a lot of completely brown leaves. They're not curling back, they're just completely brown. Sometimes the branch is dead, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes completely brown leaves are on a branch with health looking green leaves. Do I need to just cut off all branches with any brown leaves? Is this a fungus or some other plant disease I need to treat? I've already gone through and pruned all branches with no leaves at all. (The yard wasn't well cared for during the past 2 years).

One other azalea bush has some brown flower buds. Is this petal blight? I've only read about petal blight on the flowers once they've bloomed. Is there anything I can or should do about this?

Here is a link to what I've been reading. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/azaleas-and-rhododendrons-identify-and-manage-problems

Thank you for any suggestions!

[Anonymous]

Cut the dead branches and give it a hard trim. I've cut ours to the stump and they grew back nicely.

[Anonymous]

It may need more air circulation. I would cut down anything with only brown leaves after they flower this season before the buds are set, then add a little fertilizer.

[Anonymous]

Cut the dead branches now, but not the rest. Wait until it blooms to see whats what. Even then don't cut it back too much, you can kill an azalease. Check the soil PH.