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Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Deciduous > Azalea/Rhododendron > Curled, cupped, or distorted leaves

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Azalea/Rhododendron > Leaves > Curled, cupped, or distorted leaves

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Non-selective herbicide injury
(Round-up, Kleen-up, and other glyphosate products)

  • Yellowing, wilting, browning leaves and eventual death of foliage and plants
  • Damage usually appears first in new tissues
  • Shrubs sprayed during the summer or fall may not have noticeable injury until the following season when leaves appear as stunted, narrow, strap-like, and chlorotic
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Plant growth regulator herbicide injury
(2,4-D, Dicamba, etc.)

  • Leaves, stems, and petioles are twisted, distorted, and/or cupped
  • Leaves may appear thick and leathery with parallel veins
  • Youngest tissue at branch ends affected
  • Distorted growth accompanied by or followed by leaves that turn brown or yellow
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Winter injury

  • Leaves turn brown from the tip back and curl under
  • Peeling, sloughing, splitting or cracking of bark near the soil line
  • Fail to bloom because flower buds are damaged
  • Branches or entire plants may die back

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