On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:40:50 +0000, wayne crimi wrote:

I bought a rhododendron this spring and planted it in my garden. For
several months it seemed to be doing very well. Recently, I began to
notice that some of the leaves on certain branches were developing brown
areas. Others were wilting. Slowly, the entire branch would just sort of
dry out and die. However, other parts of the plant continued to sprout
new leaves and grow. This process seems to have picked up some steam in
the last 2 weeks. More sections are looking unhealthy. I fear it is going
to slowly die. Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be. I
water regularly and fertilized it in the spring with an appropriate
fertilizer. I do believe it may be getting a bit too much sun, but other
plants in the neighborhood with similar sun are doing fine. (I am in NY)

Any help?

I would suspect that you rhododendron is suffering from one of two things.
The first is botrytis shoot blight or the second could be phytophthora
root rot. To see and read for yourself, follow this link:
http://pep.wsu.edu/hortsense/
Click on Ornamentals Rhododendron ......