My husband and I bought our house a couple of years ago. There is a huge azalea bush in the backyard that I love. (I am 5'10" and it is taller than i am and as wide as it is tall.) The blooms are white and start from the very bottom and move their way up. It seems to be blooming later each year. That's probably a side effect from the real problem, though. Ok, here goes: From the front of the house, the azalea is as beautiful and healthy as I have ever seen. The year before last, the back of the bush started turning brown and formed what looked like a dent in the perfect shape of the overall bush. After talking to some coworkers and others, I just cut out the parts that looked dead. I did that the next year as well. This does not seem to be helping. The parts where I cut are not growing back and it's just getting more dead patches. I really want to save this plant if I can. Note: As you can see in the pictures, I have a dog that lives in the backyard so I don't want to put any chemicals that would harm him in the yard. Also, there are briars growing in and around the azalea (I don't know if that makes any difference). One more thing that might be of importance: I live in Northeastern central Alabama.

Here are photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25659365@N02/

Thank you so much,

Amy E. Henderson