I'm no azalea expert but I know from time to time azaleas buds are all pulled (rocked gently) off to encourage more foliage growth. For better growth rates this is a standard yearly procedure, not sure how often to be performed on a mature specimen.
The good thing is you're bug and fungus free... phew
Thanks for the post. Yeah, I'm sure there's a little bug damage here and there on the tree, but I suspect the tree is fine and just "cosmetically challnged" for a little while.
The whole "flower bud removal to re-direct energy" thing never made real sense to me. After all, the tree has already expeneded a fair amount of energy in bud production, and very little is needed to get them to bloom. Still, I dilligently knocked off the buds earlier in this tree's development, and, honestly, I can't say I've noticed a difference in vigor one way or the other. I'm thinking good horticultural practices with adequate feed and WATER (I'm yelling at myself here
) and you probably don't have to perform wholesale bud removal. By the way, I've had very experienced azalea growers tell me this, too.