There is a school of thought that disagrees with this rule however. Some experts say that if you’ve got very overgrown azaleas and you want to prune them to dramatically lower their height, called rejuvenation, do it in the late winter or early spring before they bloom. You will lose the flowers for that year. (Rejuvenation means starting over: when a plant is rejuvenated it is cut back to structural branches, usually bare, that act as a base for the plant to come back from- it isn’t pretty and not all plants will tolerate this, azaleas will). The reasoning behind the timing of this theory is that the azaleas will need a significant amount of energy to come back from being pruned severely and they also require a significant amount of energy to produce flowers… so they will come back much better from the rejuvenation if they are spared the stress of producing blooms: this needs to be done before you see any color from the flowers. The photos below are of a rejuvenation project half way done- you can see that the azaleas have been lowered by about 2/3 of their height. The photo on the bottom is a year later; see how much of the fence is visible now?
Another way to significantly reduce the size of your azaleas but keep your blooms, and avoid undue stress to your plants, is to spread the pruning out over several years: remove a few of the tallest branches every year. Patience, Grasshopper.
One other concern about the timeline is Encore azaleas that have a second, or even third, bloom later in the year. You’re pretty much sacrificing a bloom cycle by pruning them, anytime. Since the spring bloom is the showiest, prune immediately after that has tapered off. Your fall show may not be as good as last year but you should still have some blooms.
As with pruning anything, cuts should be made just above a lateral branch, any branch coming out from the main stem, branch or trunk. Cuts made in the middle of a branch will cause several problems: the wood between the cut and the branch below it will die and be an entry point for disease, or a bud (or several buds) along that branch will produce a sucker that will grow straight up, way above the existing canopy- which means more pruning for you, and it will not conform to the regular growth habit, neither result is pretty. Be sure to remove any dead wood.
While you’re up close and personal with your azaleas it’s a good time to check for any insect or disease activity goin’ on. The most common problem with azaleas is lace bugs. If you see splotchy discoloration on the tops of the leaves and dirty looking smudges on the back, the smudges are lace bug poo and eggs; the discoloration on the top is the damage they cause (below). You may see tiny fly-looking bugs with transparent wings about ¼ an inch in length, these are the culprit. There are a number of chemicals available to nuke ‘em, read the labels at your local supplier or big box store- be sure to spray the underside of the leaves (that’s where the buggies are) when applying the chemical. Read the entire label and follow the directions exactly; pesticides are not to be taken lightly. The damage to the leaves is permanent but future growth should hide the damaged leaves. 
Photograph by: James Castner, University of Florida/IFAS, used with permission
Azaleas really require very little pruning and maintenance but with just the right amount they will astound you every spring. If you’re rejuvenating your azaleas or they’ve got lace bug damage they’ll appreciate a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10, or similar) in the spring.
Jessica Logan, Horticulture Technician, Chattahoochee Technical College
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