The shade is the main problem. Azaleas tend to grow tall and spindly and not bloom if they don't get enough sun. If you moved them to a sunnier location they would probably be happier.

Tall? no Spindly? yes! Sounds like I'd be better off replacing them with something that does well in shade and not even *trying* to grow azaleas in this location, huh? Thanks. ...judy

If you have then along the north walk, do they get afternoon shade? or do they get both morning east and afternoon west sun? Red ruffles grow and bloom well if they are in acidic properly draining moist soil, and when they receive morning shade and dappled afternoon shade. Morning shade with full afternoon sun stresses them, and I am almost certain that full morning and afternoon sun would kill them.

The house and front walk, and thus the azalea bed, is situated at a weird angle on a pie-shaped lot, Katrina. In the summer, one end of the bed gets a little bit of morning sun and the other gets a little bit of late afternoon sun. The rest of the year, they're in complete shade. I think Rhodyman is correct in saying they just don't get enough light to perform well. (I've checked him out, btw, and his 'credentials' are impeccable, so I take his word as Gospel. (G)) //Here in Central Florida, developers' landscapers use Red Ruffles frequently as foundation plants. You know...pull 'em out of the pot, plop 'em in and move on to the next burn/clear/fill/build project. They don't really know or care how the plants perform in years to come.// SO...I'll be really interested to hear how large your Red Ruffles wind up, and I hope you'll keep us posted.
Judy, in the Central Florida, where, sadly, most azaleas are pruned into hedges with a chain saw.

Wow, chain saw pruning azaleas sounds dreadful to me. No wonder there is so much confusion over how tall such azaleas will ever really get.

My Red Ruffles which get full morning summer shade, and dappled afternoon shade are not leggy at all. Their leaf color is a rich green, and they are covered with beautiful blooms for a relatively long period in the spring and a little in the fall. The ones I have which get full morning shade, and about 6 hours of afternoon sun in summer exhibit more yellowed leaves which a few of turn redish in the fall. Those bloom less in spring and not at all in the fall.

It most likely would be best for me to move all of them to the same location of the ones that are doing the best, but I have no idea what I would want to choose to substitute in their place.

As far as the request for info on how large my Red Ruffles wind up, I mostly likely will not know that until many years from now. Even then if they do grow 6 feet tall, I certainly will be very happy to post that good news.

I am happy to report that my "Ratty Red Ruffles" are no longer ratty. I did some judicious pruning, removing the 'leggy' branches, lightly shaped them...yes, even as late as November...and fertilized them. (Apparently, my lawn service people were stingy with it.) They have just finished blooming and were just *beautiful*. I have new respect for this variety. Thanks for everyone's help. judy

I found Red Ruffles one that needed a lot of TLC to get it in proper shape and prevent that ratty look. I think it just requires high culture.