This is the time of year for the Azalea Gall to show up. Often appearing first on the flowers, this fungus can spread to other parts of the plant, as well. And YES, it is very contagious....just like other fungus disorders of plants.

This is one of the many plant diseases that can be truly curtailed by simple good management practices. You need to take of this now, or you will have an even greater problem next year.

First and foremost, you need to keep removing the galls as you find them...but do so BEFORE they turn white. (Once they do so, they are capable of spreading the spores of this fungus.) Discard the galls, rather than compost them, and keep your pruning tools and hands clean. I prefer to use alcohol rather than bleach on my tools.

You can also do a little detail pruning on your azaleas to make sure that there is plenty of air circulation. This doesn't mean that you will be cutting them back, but thinning them out. Look over head, too. Perhaps there is some thinning of tree canopy that could be helpful.

Remove old mulch after this disease season is over and replace with new.

Finally, prevent this disease from occurring in the first place by avoiding plants that are known to be susceptible to this fungus (Exobasidium vaccinii). There are plenty of resistant hybrids. Sadly, our beloved Southern Indica azaleas are quite disease susceptible. You'll need to be aggressive this year

I don't believe that there is anything that can CURE this disease once a plant has become infected. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Neem oil, when applied early enough, prevented outbreaks. Bordeaux mixture can prevent (but not cure) outbreaks, too. You'll need to spray before the azaleas begin to bloom.

I am new to these boards and wanted to say thanks to rhizo_1 for the excellent post. One of my azaleas on the south side of the house where these is lots of shade and not much wind has this. I've been pruning, but the gall continues to spread. This plant may be a goner... It is about to bloom. I don't know what kind of azalea it is, but it is the only one over here. The others throughout my yard are healthy.

I thank you too, Rhizo1.
Since I got your post via email a few days back, I've been outdoors chopping off the azaleas infected with this fungus.

There are the old varieties. About two years ago, I cut a whole line of them down to the ground, because they were so sprawling and filled with dead wood. I suppose as they came back it thickened the growth and prevented good air circulation in the plants. The line of azaleas across the property line belonging to my neighbor are still those tall and sprawling huge bushes filled with dead wood, and I'm now seeing a tiny bit of the gall on them too. As I can, I am cutting out every infested piece.

Also, I am dousing my clippers in the rubbing alcohol and putting everything in a bag to go out with the garbage. I wear clogs and take them off at the back door, by the washing machine, and shed my gardening clothes there too. I'm familiar with this routine more than many folks, because I keep parrots--and avoiding the spread of outside disease to them has been foremost on my mind for a long time. I just never had any gardening diseases crop up before.

What a pain....but getting by for so many years without a disaster in the garden is a blessing I suppose. This last really cold winter brought a lot of problems to deal with, that never showed up with our mild climate.

I'm removing as many of the old azaleas which have spread and will replace where I have to with newer varieties.
Thank you so much for your help.

You are certainly welcome! I've seen plenty of azalea gall fungus in my day. (Not in Northern Alabama, but in coastal SC.)

Some years are worse than others. Before giving up on your azaleas, keep up with the housekeeping chores I mentioned, then plan to treat the plants with a cold pressed Neem oil product a couple of times before the buds begin to show color. OR use the Bordeax fungicide or other copper-based fungicide. (Don't use the oil and fungicides at the same time or within two or more weeks of application.)