I Need Green Thumb Help, Azaleas dying.

[levittownnick]

The Azaleas bushes were planted by the previous owners of my house before I purchased it more than 55 years ago and they have been beautiful up until now. This year, the row of Azaleas in the front of the house (western exposure) dried up and died. The one on the other side of the front entrance looks healthy. Now I see a couple of Azaleas on the North side of the house has large sections with brown/dead sections yet another one just a couple of feet away looks vibrant. I live in Levittown New York, the weather here has been unremarkable, typical for this area.
Does anyone have any ideas on what is going wrong and what needs to be done?

Thank you, Regards,
Nick

 

[dingbat]

Could be a couple of things.

Look for spider mites on the underside of the leaves. Very small brown and or red spots.

Trim off dead branches the spray with a pesticide. Took a year (using commerical pesticide) to get them under control at the last house. Voles and deer eating my azaleas at his house.

 

[levittownnick]

I will check them out, thanks for the information. They are a favorite of mine.

Happy Thanksgiving.
Nick

 

[Tim Frank]

Check the soil pH. Azaleas need quite an acidic soil, LT 6.0.
Also, 55 years? They don't live forever.