Jean B. wrote:

Well, lo and behold. Today I saw new leaves on those branches that had
looked so dead. I am so happy! The moral of the story: don't give up
on those dead-looking branches until after the rhododendron starts its
seasonal growth. :-)

My azaleas always start out the spring looking dead with nothing but
brown leaves, and then burst into enthusiastic leaf and bloom.

They seem to be very tough plants. I had a florist shop gift azalea of
the type that is not supposed to be hardy that I'd kept for a couple
years. I'd put it in the garden in the summer and it would occasionally
flower. Last year, I didn't have much room in the house for plants, so
I had to be more selective and I moved the florist azalea to a shady
spot next to my woods, never expecting to see it again.

It looked like dead wood for a few weeks this spring, then it put out
the tiniest leaves. It's now mostly leafed out. And that was after a
winter with very cold temperatures and NO snow cover.

--Jenny
http://www.phlaunt.com/jennysgarden