Azalean heavy design pruning time?

[Andrew Legg]

Hi all,

Got this Azalea from our bonsai show here this weekend. I want to do some heavy branch pruning on it to get the basic design 'right'. Question is when I should do it?

Here are a few photos - comments and ideas welcome. The bush is about 28cms high and about 5cms at the base just above the nebari flare.

IMG_7080.JPG

Planned cuts (happy to hear other suggestions!):

Azalea plan.jpg

Grim scar on the back:

IMG_7078.JPG

Cheers,

Andrew

[shibui]

That should make a nice tree Andrew.
I think azaleas are normally pruned after flowering. The ones I dug from the gardens over summer and pruned back hard have all produced masses of new shoots but I would say that you could do this sort of branch removal at any time on azaleas and still get a good response.

[Carlitos]

Sorry I can't help much with advice but that's some fantastic nebari.

[Damian Bee]

Hi Andrew. Is it possible to show the planned cuts on the first pic that you listed?
I quite like that angle???
You do have a nice base and root flare there.
Ahhhh how I wish it were spring

[kcpoole]

Trimming after flowering, but heavy Stuff like that should be OK anytime.

Ken

[Damian Bee]

I would not be game to cut mine back like that now, I would worry about setting them back or worse
But that is just me although I did remove some ground layers from one yesterday and some errant growth so that it can put some juice back into the top again.

[Ray M]

Hi Andrew,
You may already know this. This being an Azalea, if you do some big cuts make sure you seal them.

Regards Ray

[Andrew Legg]

Hi All,

Thanks for the responses. It was the root base that attracted me to this tree. I recently got a white Kurume from a bonsai nursery, but it is about a cm thick at the base, and is destined for ground growing. This one cost me about AUD 25 at the show, and the base sold it to me. Don't see many like that here! Here are some more photos. Damian, that's the ideal front, but the first branch is really in your eye then. Perhaps if it removed, it will make the base better, but it will leave quite a scar! Here are the pics:

IMG_7093.JPG

IMG_7090.JPG

IMG_7091.JPG

Marked up - keep either red or green lines and take off the arrowed branches, but this is a very initial design and I have yet to spend time REALLY studying the tree. Thanks for the thoughts all.

Azalea plan2.jpg

Cheers,

Andrew

[Ces]

Hey Andrew,

Nice stuff there mate. You'll make something nice of it, I'm sure.

In terms of your preferred front. I know its quite uncommon but I have seen some really great Azaleas (in pictures) with uro/shari/jin. A scar on the front may be turned into a feature but that's up to preference I guess. Its probably not suited to plants that are grown as beautiful flower frames but Azaleas designed more like trees can suit, I think.

If it were mine... and its not... the nebari speaks to me of a powerful, fairly squat tree with a good amount of vigour rather than a delicate petal artwork . So that's the way I would go. That is... feature the nebari from its best angle, chop back to a trunk line you like (the one you've lined in red is nice) and build a short tree with foliage relatively close to the trunk.

Look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Cheers,

Ces.

[Ces]

oh... and to you're original question. Sorry, I've got plenty of opinions apparently but none on that. I'm in the terrible 2's of bonsai age and cannot comment because of experience.

On top of that, all my Azaleas are landscape varieties Just haven't found a satsuki or kurume that I want to buy yet.

Good luck with it.

[Damian Bee]

Kurume Christmas Cheer or maybe Hana Asobi are awesome little plants for Bonsai or landscape.

As for the scar, how old is the one shown? It will callous over and if you can give some small shoots around it a year or so they will help to heal it for you a little faster:fc:

[Andrew Legg]

Thanks for the positive comments guys. The scar is probably 3 to 4 years old tops. That's when the plant was bought by it's previous owners from a commercial non-bonsai nursery. There are very few thick azaleas here in Cape Town, so just for the sake of being different, this one is going to go in a grow box for a while to help heal the scar and work more on that nice nebari. I need to try to fix the problems at the back as well as I'd like to get the nebari looking good all the way around!

[Tony Bebb]

G'day Andrew

Good little score mate. I would be going with the red line in that last pic mate. Would be right to do it know I would reckon in your part of the world if you think you have enough time for the regrowth to occur before dormancy. Otherwise you may want to remove half the foliage now and do the big cuts in Spring.

Love the base in the last pic.

Tony

[Andrew Legg]

G'day Andrew

Good little score mate. I would be going with the red line in that last pic mate. Would be right to do it know I would reckon in your part of the world if you think you have enough time for the regrowth to occur before dormancy. Otherwise you may want to remove half the foliage now and do the big cuts in Spring.

Love the base in the last pic.

Tony

Thanks Tony. I don't think there's much time left now for new growth as we are well and truly into autumn. We had out Easter Show here and packed up yesterday in pouring rain!

I'll work on the tree next spring or at least late in winter and take it from there. It will also make sure I don't rush the decision, and I may just leave the existing grown on for another year to help heal that back scar. Ho hum ho hum. Food for thought. I take it Azaleas don't heal too quickly.

Question to those in the know - if I chop that front branch will the scar ever heal fully or will I always have a crater/knob there?

Cheers,

Andrew

[Nathan]

Hi Andrew,

Very nice score especially for the price

It will be a beautiful tree in time, I can see why you purchased that base is fantastic.

I agree with Tony, red line in the last pic, I wouldn't be pruning it back hard now I would hold off until after winter, as yo have not had the tree very long I would use a little time to give it a little trim and some slow release fertiliser, before you got into any major surgery if it were my tree.

Hoping you will post some progression pics when you do start working and developing it

Cheers