azalea

[arabicabonsai]

hey everybody,

Got this azalea for $7, heavily root bound with lots of die back, but i have revived it, it's going well and has had plenty of flowers. it's a big clump and i need to remove some main branches. i'd like to know which ones everybody thinks would be best to remove (once finished flowering), i just can't decide.

[nealweb]

Maybe remove the three basal suckery ones and then try to find a trunk line with movement and taper and cut everything back to that. Leave plenty of green on the top. Best to leave stubs on the major branches you cut back, let them sprout a bit and then cut them off flush 6mnths or a year later. Also seal all cuts well.
Have fun

[kcpoole]

I agree with Neal

I like the twin trunk line tho so maybe think of build9ing the tree based just on them.

Ken

[nealweb]

twin trunk, nice idea
Whats it potted in? looks a bit muddy, maybe its just wet. It must be very well drained as well as moisture retentive, root rot from a wet muddy mix is an instant killer for azaleas.

[arabicabonsai]

thanks guys, i was thinking twin trunk but i'm just so hesitant to chop. potted in soil from the old scrap heap, beautiful soil but i will definately throw it into some fresh potting mix. will put pictures up once the plant has advanced a little.

[mashby]

I tend to agree with Neal about the apparent quality and the effect of wet soil on Azaleas. When repotting the Azalea, really consider the type of mix that you use to ensure the absolute best result you can. At the Satsuki Azalea Society we are experimenting (some people have been doing it longer than others), with repotting/potting in the middle of winter and using a soil mix suggested by Kobayashi San, the owner of the Kobayashi bonsai nursery in Japan - that specialises in preparing bonsai Satsuki Azaleas. This is some of what I said in another thread regarding repotting of Azaleas.

... noticed that there was quite a bit of material written suggesting that major re-potting of Azaleas in Japan was done in the "Depths of Winter". Kobayashi San, the owner of the nursery, when questioned about this practice, said that they do, in fact, re-pot, do heavy pruning and bare root re-potting from Autumn through to Spring. Kobayashi San cautioned that the only thing to be mindful of was to keep the trees free from frost. Kanuma, the area where the Kobayashi nursery is situated, usually has temperatures of around - 5 degrees celcius in the middle of winter.

The soil mix recommended by Kobayashi San is basically Kanuma with 5% (10% here in Perth) Sphagnum moss that has been dried and rubbed through a sieve. The Japanese also add a small amount of fine charcoal to the mix. About a handful to a bucket of mix. The charcoal inhibits root rot and is a purifier.

When potting, the bottom layer is not just large but a mix of large, medium and small Kanuma which helps to keep the water table down deeper in the pot. The middle and top layers are small and medium. Also, the use of light coloured pots helps reduce the heat of the soil mix.

This information was provided to the members of the Satsuki Society by Arthur Robinson, the president of the Satsuki Society, and I acknowledge his copyright in the notes from which I have just referred.

For anyone interested in bonsai Azalea, especially Satsuki or Karume, I would encourage you all to join the Satsuki Society of Australasia (http://satsukisociety.com/ ). For information on joining the clubthe email is info@satsukisociety.com.

I hope this assists.

I hope all members, and their families, of this wonderful on-line community are healthy and happy and take joy from every moment spent with their "little trees".

[arabicabonsai]

thanks mashby, very good stuff to know.

[Damian Bee]

Hi Mashby,

5ºc is around Melbourne's winter temp but some overnight temps are 1 to 2ºc and there are light frosts too. I am going to give this a crack but I will need to find a sub for Kanuma as I find the cost too much for the volume of plants I have