While north and east locations are preferable here, can you give us more details before you move them (it's ok if you do not know)?

What variety did you plant?
Are they planted close to the house?
How much water do they get on a weekly basis?
How many hours of sun do they get and the hours?
Do you fertilize? How much and how often?
What kind of mulch do you use? How many inches of mulch do they have?
What is the Ph of your soil?

Okay, here goes.

Variety, I don't know

They are in a planter about 3 feet from my house

Water's a bit scarce this month in terms of rain. I give them a good soaking every other day if no rain. I'm very stingy with water. I'd much rather have it to drink and shower in that keep a high maintenance plant alive.

The sun hits them around 2:00 and sets around 8:00ish.

I fertilized them when I first saw new growth this spring, and not since.

I've got cedar mulch in there this year. First year with cedar. It's about 3" deep.

My soil is acidic. Ph is around 6.0.

I took a closer look at them today. The one bush is losing its leaves altogether. I've never had problems with Azealas before. They were always a do nothing bush. Guess I've got a more tempermental variety.

thanks for your help

You are correct in that there are temperamental varieties. Sometimes I wish there was a list of them because what is temperamental for you in Connecticut may be fine in Texas. Oh, welll.

Here are some comments based on the information that you supplied. These are possibilities that I offer as the cause of your problem. Review them and see which one(s) could apply to you.

1. The amount of sun light that the plants receive can dictate the amount of blooms that will be produced. If you plant azaleas in a full shade location, azaleas will live but will not thrive. Under those conditions, few blooms will be produced. The perfect location would have a minimum of three hours of sun under dappled sun conditions.
On the other hand, too much sun can put the plants under stress because they are not used to lots of sun. Because your plants are getting sun for at least six hours, I would consider that they are under stress. That is because "full sun" is defined as 6 or more hours of light. Big problem for your babies.
2. Like hydrangeas and other plants, azaleas will set bloom buds during the summer, about 1-2 months are flowering is completed. If you prune the bushes after the buds have set then you will not see many flowers in the spring. I am not sure if that applies in your case as I forgot to ask.
3. Nurseries will also sell plants that are not exactly hardy to ones to our areas. I guess their thinking is that we are rich and everyone has a greenhouse. Since you do not know the variety that you have, we cannot tell if this applies to your situation.
4. Other times, Mother Nature causes the problem. A late spring freeze pops up and kills the flower buds of a hardy azalea. Camellia Japonicas suffer from this because they bloom during the winter months in this area. Your azaleas may have been affected by such an event. You would notice the buds turn brown and die. Try to remember if this has been the case. If you do not know, go on to the next possibility.
5. Moisture is very important for azaleas. Their soil should be moist but not wet. You can carefully stick a finger in 2-3" of soil to sense if it feels wet or you can buy a moisture sensor. If you see them wilting, there is trouble in paradise. Some varieties are obviously more dought tolerant than others but, insufficient water during the spring/summer months reduces bud formation because the plant is under stress. Azaleas that need the most water will be those exposed to lots of sun and/or windy conditions. This may be a problem to consider in your situation.
6. Azaleas are not hungry feeders. They are probably the opposite of roses in that area. As a result, they require no chemical fertilizers if your soil is in good shape. Soil analysis can check for mineral defficiencies like pottasium (sp.?). About three inches of pine straw mulch and some cottonseed meal is all I feed mine. These mineral defficiencies could be reducing the amount of buds but it is hard for me to tell if that also applies in your case.

Those are my two cents. The main problem areas I noticed are too much sun and maybe insufficient water. I would vote to move them to a more shielded location.

I have plants in the north and south of the house. The north exposure gives them what I call very bright full shade. The ones in the south are shielded by crape myrtles and holly bushes. Go outside one day and determine where to put the plants beased on the number of hours of sun that the location gets.

Good luck,
Luis

Cedar isn't the best mulch, but it will do. 3" is on the deep side, but ok.

One thing not mentioned is that (like many bushes) the first year after planting rhododendrons and azaleas usually produce fewer or no flowers; the previous year they were probably re-establishing themselves and growing roots after being transplanted from a optimized nursery situation to real ground. Moving them may induce transplant shock again.

The more sunlight, the more flowers in general, though (until established) the more thirsty they'll be. In most areas, once well established, azaleas won't need any water unless things get REALLY dry. If you do water, do so slow and deep on occasion instead of a little water often. Watch for signs of heat/water stress before watering, especially after the first year. Frequent small waterings encourage the roots to grow on the surface, and makes them dependant on such a watering schedule.

Rhododendrons and azaleas will need more water, more often the first year they're planted (esp. if planted in the spring).

I don't think they're thirsty since the leaves, (what's left of them anyway) are not drooping. There were tons of little pink flowers on them, but they just didn't open all the way and turned brown and are now falling off.

I'm going to go with the too much sun theory and put them on the east side. I'm bummed. They were supposed to be my ornamental shrubs framing my window. Now I'll have an empty planter there. It took me long enough to decide on Azealas last year. Now I have to pick something else! ARGH!

I'm pretty sure I still have the id card somewhere. If I can figure out the variety, I'll repost. That would probably shed some more life on the subject.

Sounds like they did flower in profusion, but rain and probably petal blight (a fungus) got the flowers. Petal blight can get them if the weather is just wrong; my parents in CT lost most of their rhododendron blooms to it this year due to the nor'easter that blew up the cost in May. So they may be fine where they are.

Yeah, we did have a wild spring in CT. Three weeks ago it was 40 degrees. The last few days it was 87. Today it's 63. The pink flowers turned brown before they opened, so I can see the weather being the cause. I just don't get why the rhododendrons and roses are so happy just 4 feet away while the azealas practically died. Is there anything I can do for them to encourage growth or at least health, for the remainder of the season? I don't really want to move anything mid summer anyway, so I'll give them a chance to rebound before moving them.

Provide enough food and water. Use an acidic mulch (pine straw mulch, shredded pine bark, etc) 2-3 inches up to the drip line. Fertilizers high in nitrogen and phosporus will encourage growth and healthy roots. But at some point that growth may require more waterings. Be aware that azaleas can generally feed off the mulch only; they are not heavy feeders like roses so do not feed them more than the fertilizer calls for. Discontinue all fertilizers after July 1st more or less. Azalea roots are shallow so be careful around the plants.

I have two azaleas that I planted this year, in fact Memorial Day weekend. One is a Cannon's Double and the other is a Mary Poppins. Both were in bloom when we bought and planted them. Now they both are losing their leaves and the Mary Poppins almost looks dead. It still had green on the inside when I took a small cutting to check it. Are they in shock? I can't test the soil ph because I don't have a tester yet.

Phantome, you didn't give us much information. What has your weather been doing, have you been giving them regular water if it's been dry. Are they sited in sun, shade etc.

Wrong PH wouldn't kill them that quickly, you would see yellowing of the leaves while the leaf veins remained more green first...chlorosis is a slow death.

Other possibilities are planting them too deeply, not loosening the rootball when taking them out of the nursery containers, and, the reverse of dryness - overly soggy soil with poor drainage.