a part of Satsuki care

bonhe

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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
 

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bonhe

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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

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

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bonhe

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Thanks for helping me out, Just Duane. Bonhe
 
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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
 

Just Duane

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Victrinia, I believe the code is

Young trees repot every year or every other year

Old trees repot every 2-3 years
 
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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! :D

Kindest regards,

Victrinia
 

kytombonsai

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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

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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:)

azrepot8.jpg


The tree is doing good & ready for ramification.

3-26-0918.jpg


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

kytombonsai

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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

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

Kindest regards,

Victrinia
 

bonhe

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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

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


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

bonhe

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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
 
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