We installed a small Mandarin Lights Azalea here in upstate NY (zone 5B) earlier this spring that's blooming beautifully now (see photo below), but it's definitely showing a very "leggy" habit, with blooms only at the very tops of the plant, and bare stems below. I do see foliage starting to emerge lower down, but regardless of the leaf coverage, I'm still not sure if I like the effect of the blooms only appearing at the very tops of the plant.

I've seen lots of other images of azaleas in the 'Northern Lights' series that seem to show this "leggy" growth habit, so is this something that's just endemic to this series, or can it be "corrected"?

I found one resource that suggested cutting all the stems back to about 12" after flowering is done, but I'm wondering if that might be a little drastic for a new plant. Any other tips on getting the plant to have more even flowering next spring?

Thanks!