Azalea disease ID help

[Jphipps]

I collected this azalea in spring of 2020. Overall it has responded very well with brand new growth after a hard chop.

It's planted in a mix of lava and Diatomaceous earth. I fear the DE retains too much water and plan to repot it this spring to get rid of this issue.

Just noticed this yellowing within the last couple weeks. My gut tells me that it's from all the rain we've been recently receiving here in the PNW.

The affected areas are the inner most areas so far.

Thoughts on ID and remedies?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Relax. Your azaleas look just fine to me. They are just shedding the last springs leaves. That’s why they are on the inside. The summer leaves are mostly on the ends of the branches.

Why does this happen? Well azaleas aren’t really evergreen. Instead, Azaleas are dimorphic, with spring and summer leaves being formed each year. During the fall and winter the spring leaves turn colors and drop off. Most are yellow, but some like Kinsai are a beautiful red orange.

If we get a real cold snap during the winter, sometimes even the summer leaves will shed. So it’s best to protect the plant from wind during the winter, I dig in most of my first year plants in cold frames that I open during the day and shut only during near or below freezing nights and days. (They still need to have a little water if they aren’t getting rainwater.)

As far as media goes, I plant my bonsai in either 100% Kanuma or an 80% Kanuma 20% chopped NZ Spaghnum moss mix. But whatever you chose, be sure to thoroughly clean all the old media and soil off the root ball.

Good luck!
DSD sends

 

[Harunobu]

The yellow is autumn colour for the leaves it is dropping, like DSD says.

My best guess right now would be a white-flowering Glenn Dale. The yellow leaves indicate a white flower. And the leaf size is somewhat reduced when compared to most R.mucronatum hybrids. The long shoots mean it grew a lot. Which means it likes what you did to it soil-wise.
But it might also be a white form R.kaempferi hybrid.

 

[Pitoon]

Looks fine to me. @Deep Sea Diver and @Harunobu are spot on with their posts.

 

[Jphipps]

Thank you! All other azaleas I've had are evergreens, so the color change wasn't expected.

 

[Pitoon]

Thank you! All other azaleas I've had are evergreens, so the color change wasn't expected.

The azalea in your pic is an evergreen azalea. If it was deciduous it would have no leaves at all.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Yes, it is considered evergreen, mainly because they usually have some leaves at all times. Yet they all are dimorphic.

Some cultivars, like the ubiquitous PacNW kurume azalea ‘Hino Crimson’ lose the leaves more subtly in our climate.

Those with a good deal of Satsuki genes tend to be more ostentatious about losing their leaves.

If you have a deciduous azalea you will know it for sure!

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Pitoon]

This should help...........

https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/11/20/fall-color-on-satsuki-azaleas

https://bonsaitonight.com/2019/03/0...lor-by-looking-at-the-foliage-satsuki-azalea/