Hi friends, I planted six Elsie Lee Azaleas about four weeks ago as foundation plants in the front of the house facing east northeast. Now they are in full bloom and beautiful. They even have one to two inches of new growth.

When I planted them in my clay Ohio garden I amended the soil about six to eight inches down with lots of peat and some good topsoil. I raised them above ground level about one to two inches (yes I fly by the seat of my pants). I'm not sure I did enough there. But the real problem I think is that I didn't pull out the roots.

When I took them out of the pots (they were just new at Oakland Nursery) it was just soil; I saw no root system. These plants were about six to eight inches tall, seven dollar plants. They are very young.

Since then I have read that I needed to pull out the roots and extend them into the existing soil. Do I need to do that? Should I pull them out now? Should I wait till Fall. Should I just sit back and wait and see?

I think these plants will be a beautiful addition to my garden and I'd hate to have to deal with some issue in a couple of years instead of doing it right now (if I should).

Thanks for your help.