Question
I was on  a long trip for 3 months and so i had put the moderately size potted azalea japonica in shade and had no option of watering it so i had kept a damp cloth around the base of the plant so that it might take in the moisture and survive.

When i came back i found that all the leaves of this plant had dried up. As it was February so i thought that maybe watering the plant regularly and giving it plant food might help the plant to survive but nothing much happened.

The plant now is dried but its roots are strong and when i water the plant then the soil does not absorb the water and it collects at the base of the pot.

Is there any way by which i can restore it?  

Answer
Anindita,

The only thing that I can recommend that you could try would be to repot the plant in a much larger pot, porune it back severely and fertilize it. This could spark new growth if there is still a little life left in it.

Good luck,
Ed Gulliksen