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My azaleas have patches of purple leaves and/or bare branches, should I be concerned? [SOLVED]
(mander.xyz)
EDIT:
Looks like my azaleas have lace bugs and mites. They need to be trimmed anyway, so I'll give 'em a haircut and go from there. Thanks for everyone's input.
ORIGINAL POST:
Row of azaleas on the northwest side of my house (mid-Atlantic region of the US). We've had some rain, but I have not watered them manually at all since I moved here in the fall of last year. Previous owners were far more attentive to their plants than I've been, but I'm looking to make amends. These azaleas have mostly green foliage w/ patches of purple leaves and/or bare branches. Should I be concerned or is this typical of azaleas? Are they underwatered?
Close-up of purple leaves:
I think over the years, I have torn out around 25 azalea bushes. They are beautiful for a hot minute in the spring then look like shit the rest of the year.
That looks like a pretty common fungal disease. They get infested with all sorts of fungal leaf diseases. If you want to know exactly what yours has, a closeup of a single infected leaf can help (both top and underside of the leaf)
The thought has crossed my mind to rip them out and plant something new in their place, but I figure since they're already in the ground I'll see what I can do.
Here are some close-ups of the purple leaves, top sides first:
The bottoms have black specks:
Even the green leaves have the black specks on their under sides:
Does this look like infection to your eye?
For what it's worth there are also branches w/ no foliage and other branches where the leaves have completely browned and are crispy to the touch, like they were cooked in an air fryer:
Mites. You have mites.
It’s a species that snuck into the US recently. Bad infestations can kill plants, and even mild ones make them look bad. The purple is a stress response.
A lot of landscapers in my area are recommending people pivot away from rhododendrons and azaleas because of how annoying this mite is.
I recommend a hard-hitting systemic mitacide. They’re not native so they don’t have real predators here; the lacewings try but they’re too small and sneaky.
If you want to ditch the azaleas but grow something similar looking, try Kalmia latifolia. It’s a distant cousin of rhodies, but the mite doesn’t seem to like it.