Acers do better in partial shade too I'm afraid, so its not a great idea to swop them round. But no area of your garden is in sun absolutely all day unless its facing south with no obstruction, so likely there are times when the rhododendron has a bit of shade. Keep it well watered - I can't actually see any major problem with it from the photo, other than a bit of browning at the top of one stem. With the high UV and heat we're having, if the rhododendron is fully exposed to sun in the middle of the day, can you stand something in front of it to cast shade for a couple of hours to protect it a bit, just till this heatwave is over?

Thank you for the advice Bamboo. I really appreciate it. I'm going to see what shade I can make for it during this high heat wave we are having. I was just a little worried as a few of the leaves have brown parts on the near the stem.

Yea, I see those, not sure what the cause of that is, doesn't look fungal, and there appears to be a new stem growing off to one side from that area - if that's where its growing from, then whatever the problem was, its passed.

One other thing to mention though - both the rhododendron (unless its a dwarf) and the Acer will need to be further away from the fences by at least another 6 inches, preferably a foot - over time they will be pressed up against the fence as they grow, and will start to lean forward away from the fence/s, and when that happens, they'll be too difficult to dig up and move.

I'm going to move them further away when I get home. I'll keep my eye on the rohdie and hopefully it will go away. Thanks again for the advice.

I agree....was going to say itlooks good to me. They aren't the prettiest plants when not in flower, and most shrubs look tired after flowering is over. Give it plenty of water as they like a good drink, and well-drained soil. A bit ofshade helps too.