. . . you won’t be able to look him in the eye again? I say, don’t just look in his eye, wink at it! "Azalea" is as much a part of the south as red-eye gravy, and any nurseryman knows it. Your fellow sells "Azaleas" because nobody would buy them if they weren’t called Azaleas. Like you, about 90% of the population probably thinks Azaleas grow down south, Rhododendrons farther north.
So forgive your nurseryman and don’t feel a speck of embarrassment! I can almost guarantee, without ever having met the fellow, that you know as much if not more than he does about the plants he sells!
Good Monday Morning,
Eb