told to not prune the azalea until the blossoms are spent, so, I've chopped my azaleas way back last year, and they came back this year, but the early "warm" weather screwed things up a little. They bloomed before the first real warm spell came about, and the quick freeze knocked back the plants just a bit. anyway, not to get off track, I don't know of any reason of not to trim the bushes back.