So please explain it to me like I’m 5.

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since i have been accused of acting like im 5 .. maybe i can accomplish that.. lol ...

do any of them.. at this moment show any signs of life???

its hard to see your plant.. with the vine interference behind ... does it have swelling green buds????

i guess my first default is to let it bud out .. so i can at first.. see what parts are alive ... i always worry that i am cutting off the only live part ... lol ..

why are they potted .. rather than in the ground???

yes it can be pruned to shape.. over the years ... but i usually like to allow them a year or two.. after transplant.. to settle in.. and grow some roots.. before i go cutting parts off ... every leaf is a food making machine.. to grow those roots ... so for those 2 years.;.. i insure i have the most leaves i can on a plant ...

and then after that... i start pruning for shape ...

also ... we usually dont prune spring flowering plants.. in spring ... or you will lose the spring flowering cycle ... which isnt a big deal ... but why forego that.. unless the pruning goal is paramount to some other goal ... e.g. you need to trim it back to paint the house.. the deck ... etc ...

ken

No pruning.......yet :-) Deciduous azaleas often have a very leggy growth habit, especially when young, so a long, whippy stem like that is not unusual. It just needs some time to grow into itself and with luck, develop some other taller stem growth and branching. It may take a couple of seasons or even longer if confined to a container.

I would revisit the situation next season. And I would encourage planting this shrub in the ground. It is not a great subject for a container.

It is not a great subject for a container.

==>> thats one reason i wanted to know if it was budding out ...

wintering over trees and shrubs in pots can be very tricky ... depending on where you are [i do see SE PA above] .....and how good or bad winter was .... and it often isnt cold per se ... but water accumulation in the media in the pot ... and rotting off roots .... [but this may be beyond your 5 year limitation ... lol]

ken

I can only grow in containers because I have no open land to plant. I have a concrete backyard. A challenge of city life. So I gotta do what I gotta do. I expect to have many failures but hopefully learn along the way. This has definitely been a lesson in patience.
There are healthy buds on it. Not as many as the other 2 who have a more bushy branch pattern already. This winter was especially mild here but I did plant them in a bark based mixture to guard against root rot as much as possible. My version of 511 I guess. I have them in 3 gallon containers. Is that sufficient for now or should I move them to something bigger?