Christina Southern · Gardenality Seed · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F
Hi John,
Wow! Thank you for the quick response. My Aunt, who has been an avid gardner for 50 years had her landscape crew plant these bushes in April. They were watered with a sprinkler system (2 hours each time) fertilized weekly per her instruction. I went to feeding once monthly once the summer temps increased. Learned about watering from watching my parents plant azaleas when I was a child. They have been watered at least once weekly unless there was a substantial rainfall. In July, watered additional times if plants were drooping. Toward the end of July, I was out of town for a week and it was brutally hot here. My sister, who lives with me hurt her knee and the plants did not get watered. It looks as if the browning starts at the tip and slowly turns the whole leaf brown. They receive full sun until about 4pm. I will get a picture asap. I work for a veterinarian, so my schedule is usually 8 to 8. Long days. It is a bit odd that all of the other varieties are fine.

Maple Tree · Gardenality Genius · Zone 10A · 30° to 35° F
It does sound as though not enough water may have been the problem. Its hard to tell why some plants do better than others at times. The species and cultivar of azaleas can determine their resistance to temperature and moisture conditions. I have found many growers using very light well draining soil mixes for the azaleas. Until the roots penetrate the surrounding soil the root balls can still drain well and dry out quickly. Most nursery grown plants have been fertilized and may not need much fertilization their first season in the ground. Burning of the leaf tips could also be too much quick release fertilizer. I always like using an organic fertilizer or a slow release granular fertilizer as these release nutrients over a period of time with little chance of burning. Liquid fertilizers with a high nitrogen content can easily burn plants even more so during hot temperatures as the plants are more quickly taking up the nutrients and water they need. The Admiral Semmes Azalea is a cross between a large flowered Exbury Azalea and a native Florida azalea. In their natural environment these azaleas can adapt to more full sun during the day but do much better in patial shade especially in the hot direct afternoon sun. If these azaleas were started and grown in a more shaded environment it may also take some time to acclimate themselves to more direct sunlight. Hopefully your pictures will indicate what the problem is.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F
Leaves browing from the tips and working inward is usually an indicator of too much water in the soil. When soil is too dry usually the leaves will wilt first and then suddenly turn brown and drop. Shedding of leaves is sometimes a natural response to survive a drought and doesn't always cause death of the plant. If the underbark is stilll green the plants may leaf back out. With no leaves on the plant it won't drink as much water. So, soil moisture should stay only damp to moist, not constantly soggy or wet, which could cause root rot. Regarding feeding native azaleas, I always use a mild organic fertilizer...just one feeding in spring is usually enough, though a late summer or early fall application can be beneficial.