a part of Satsuki care

[bonhe]

Recently I found lot of posts regarding to Satsuki, so last weekend I asked my teacher, Mr. Richard Ota, about Satsuki; even though I can't keep one alive in my area. He used to be a Satsuki bonsai show judge years ago. Please remember this schedule is used for Southern California weather, but I think you can adapt it to suit to your area. Some points are so important that my teacher kept emphasizing:
1. No transplant within a month before flowering time (you need to know when yours will have flower)
2. No fertilizer before flowering time.
3. The last trimming is in July.
Hope it helps. Bonhe

 

[bonhe]

Oops, I'm so sorry because the attachment is so small, I don't think you can read it!! What can I do? Bonhe

 

[Just Duane]

Thanks for posting bonhe, maybe I can help here. Hope people can see this better?

 

[bonhe]

Thanks for helping me out, Just Duane. Bonhe

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Bonhe...

I'm curious... I don't understand the code for transplanting young and old trees on the upper left. Could you translate this for me? Everything else looks spot on, even for up here.

Thanks so much for sharing that!!

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

 

[emorrin]

I came across this link when looking at Azaleas a few months back:

http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATCareCalendarforSatsukiAzalea.htm

 

[Just Duane]

Victrinia, I believe the code is

Young trees repot every year or every other year

Old trees repot every 2-3 years

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Victrinia, I believe the code is

Young trees repot every year or every other year

Old trees repot every 2-3 years

Ahhh... interesting... I am not sure why one would want to repot a young azalea so often. I wonder what the thought would be behind that...?

Thanks for the cipher though!

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

 

[kytombonsai]

Victrinia,
I try to repot my azaleas every other year. If I go longer the roots become a solid mass. They seem to grow with more vigor on the 2 year cycle. I even do the larger ones every other year. One of our club members went to Japan a few years ago in February and saw a nursery repotting Satsukis. He said they were removing all roots back to the nebari including all hair roots. This seemed very extreme to me and I don't think I will try it. The most roots I have removed at one time is about 70% and the tree survived. It didn't grow well until the second year but it's still alive.

Tom

 

[Just Duane]

I'm not exactly sure of Mr. Otas reasons & I hope bonhe will chime in on that. I myself am gonna repot my younger Satsuki every year or every other to get the old junkie soil out from my rootball. I cut almost half off from the bottom & sliced pie pieces out too

The tree is doing good & ready for ramification.

bonhe, please excuse, I don't mean to jack your thread, just sharing.

 

[kytombonsai]

Duane, I think I heard your tree let out a big sigh of relief after being repotted. That was some nasty looking muck it was planted in. Nice tree.

Tom

 

[Just Duane]

Tom, that tree nearly cooked me a steak after it was repotted Yes, the soil was nasssssty!

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

I was planning on repotting mine next year myself... just because the roots were so thick. I didn't dare take off more than I did last time, as the tree was lacking strength when I got it. But it bounced back like a kid afterwards, so I wanted to take it down more... I want to eventually get it level with the pot and not mounded. The base of my tree was about two and a half inches under the soil line, and I got it into a smaller pot than it was in. So I did take off a lot, but I left sections undisturbed. I'll be disturbing them next year.

Duane... another beauty... you possess an embarassment of riches in the way of satsuki.

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

 

[bonhe]

Victrinia, I believe the code is

Young trees repot every year or every other year

Old trees repot every 2-3 years

You're absolutely right.
Bonhe

 

[bonhe]

I'm not exactly sure of Mr. Otas reasons & I hope bonhe will chime in on that. I myself am gonna repot my younger Satsuki every year or every other to get the old junkie soil out from my rootball. I cut almost half off from the bottom & sliced pie pieces out too



The tree is doing good & ready for ramification.



bonhe, please excuse, I don't mean to jack your thread, just sharing.

No problem at all.
Mr. Ota told me that the young tree needed a frequent transplant to renew the soil, so that the tree can grow faster. Bonhe

 

[Just Duane]

Victrinia, that talk is way too proper for me to comprehend (i'm just a local boy) lol, thank you


Bonhe, thank you for sharing what is passed on to you. Mr Ota holds a wealth of information!

 

[bonhe]

Bonhe, thank you for sharing what is passed on to you. Mr Ota holds a wealth of information!

You' re welcome Just Duane. I always like to share my knowledge with other people here or in my profession. Yes, Mr. Ota is one of the great bonsai artists in Southern California. Bonhe