The buds that open now usually don't bloom fully and will freeze back and be lost. There are others that haven't opened yet and will be OK. Several things can cause this:

1) Encore Azaleas are bred to do this in warm climates where they won't freeze. Cultivars of R. kaempferi frequently bloom in the fall if there is a sufficient stretch of warm weather (an Indian Summer). If they get hit by a frost, it kills the blooms.

2) Too much fertilizer and application of fertilizer in late summer can cause this. Established azaleas do not need fertilizer.

3) A summer drought can induce dormancy which can trigger fall blooming in some varieties. Azaleas like moist well-drained soil. Three things are important, drainage, drainage, drainage.

Rhody, don't you remember me. I bring them indoors in winter. They bloom their branches off.

And yes, I am sure they have Rhododendron kaempferi in the blood.

BTW, the buds develop really fast. Some have already opened.

{{gwi:398214}}

{{gwi:398215}}

{{gwi:398216}}

{{gwi:398218}}

{{gwi:106673}}

{{gwi:106672}}