I know there are florist and outdoor azaleas but this said it could be planted outdoors later in the garden if desired. It was in a 6" pot. I'm in NY. I put it in the front of my house last week. I saw latter that you are supposed to break up the root ball first which I didn't do. I didn't want to damage the roots. It was pretty rootbound and the roots were orangy on the outside.

I had thought all azaleas were evergreen, but I guess not. It's a creamy white double flower with an 1/8" pink edging.

How can I find out whether this can survive a NY winter? If so, do I dig it up and break up the root ball. One site said to make 1/2" slits from top to bottom of root ball a few inches apart.

Need a bit of help here ;-). Thanks much!