"Roberta L. Mueller" wrote:

After blooming this year all my two-year-old azalea plants have been growing
lumpy peanut-sized cysts on the tips of the branches. They seem to have
been the starts of new leaves, but malformed. What's wrong! I'm in the
Seattle area.

It sounds like the leaf buds are opening. Azaleas have large flower
buds in the spring and smaller leaf buds.

1) Young leaves rolled and distorted could be either chemical damage or
rhododendron gall midge. The rhododendron gall midge is a tiny insect
that feeds in the spring and causes distorted leaves to emerge. There is
no way to undo the damage once it has occurred.

2) Enlarged, crabapple-like, green or pinkish galls on young leaves and
flowers are caused by Exobasidium leaf and flower gall. The galls become
hard and turn white and eventually brown. Fungicides seldom provide
control. Sanitation and warm dry conditions reduce infestation. It is
seldom considered serious.

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