Jenny wrote:
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


Heh. I'm in Massachusetts too, so I know a bit about that.

I hadn't seen such dead-looking branches come back to life
before, so I was thrilled. I'm glad you, too, have had some
rebirth in this family.

--
Jean B.