try the lazy k nursery in pine mountain ga31822 phone # is706 663-4991 0r their web site lazy k nursery.com. i have ordered from them a couple of times plants arrive in very good con. prices are great.they sell native azaleas and other woody plants native azaleas tolerate alkaline soil better than the evergreen ones do.i was born& raised in lou ky have lived in north in for last 40 yrs.you may need to deepen you soil ky soil is an average of 4" deep.

Redsox, I don't have any information on how hardy to your Z6 Pink Ruffles might be, I'm not growing it here.

Dropping of older leaves (3 yrs +) is normal for evergreen azaleas, but premature leaf drop can be one of the signs of nutrient deficiency, which your alkaline soil could certainly cause. The nutrients may be there, but are unavailable to the plants at a higher PH. Raised beds of non-native soil are an option in areas where soil is naturally alkaline - if your own garden has a high PH I doubt if you could successfully grow azaleas without working at the acidity issue.

Here is a link that might be useful: One article, changing soil acidity