Collecting Azaleas
 

A friend just told me that he was tearing out some 50 year old azaleas, so
I'm off to race against the landscapers tomorrow.

Any info would be helpful. What should I do if they've already been torn
out? Can these be saved? Is it best to cut them back very hard, perhaps
leaving a small branch or two to force sap up the trunk, or can they be cut
right back to the trunk, as I see in some of the development trees in the
bonsai mags?

He's getting rid of them because of "die back" this winter, so I plan to do
some bark scraping.

Thanks in advance.

Bart