Attempting an Azalea

Kayauss

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Hi everyone! I’m new to the forums and to bonsai but I’ve always loved the art and wanted my own tree. I was at Lowe’s (I know, not the best place to shop for nice plants) and happened upon this little azalea with four little trunks and thought, wow that could look like four little trees! So I’m going to try just that, make my little azalea plant look like four distinct trees. What do you guys think? I repotted it and used some stakes to gently spread the trunks apart as well as pruned back some dead and ugly branches. Any tips? (I need to get a saucer, but for now I’m using that bin)2C1B3A47-EDC7-40F8-8D8C-306E9C9C26AA.jpeg
 

Harunobu

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Well, it is almost dead. Four Belgian indica cuttings in a pot. Or did you prune it? Honestly, this plant should have been free. Probably, it is 'Aquarell'.
This is the way that plant should look like:
1602016272659.png

Nornally, I would say, pick the best out of the 4 in terms of trunk structure. And then prune the others to nothing so they die. Then cut wedges into the root ball and repot. And keep the top roots mulched. Work on the nebari potential at some later point when it is recovering. These have been supercharged to greenhouse force them and look really good as they are on sale, then to be thrown away.
 

Kayauss

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One or two of them look really nice, should I try cutting the others back? I did prune them a little but they were very sparse When bought. I still have the receipt and the pots and I thiiink I can return them if they do die, and they weren’t too expensive so if it doesn’t work out I’m not too upset.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Welcome to the site!

It would help if you put your location in your profile, so people know what USDA plant zone you live in.

Right now I'd focus on trying to keep the azalea alive, and learning as much as possible from the experience. Assuming you live in the northern hemisphere, at this time of year (depending where you live) most trees and plants are winding down their annual growth cycle and are getting ready for winter - even if winter means a month or two of dormancy with no below-freezing temps. This is usually not the time to aggressively prune plant material, because they don't have much time to recover before winter. But I don't want to depress you! Take good care of it and who knows - next summer it might look like the picture @Harunobu posted :)

From a design perspective, you should be trying to make your bonsai look like a tree (or trees) in nature. You don't usually see two trees that are growing symmetrically - let alone four. That is why a tree nursery may look beautiful with its rows of perfect landscape trees - but it never looks natural. When designing a bonsai that looks like a forest, clump or raft of trees, you usually want to work with an odd number of trees, you want the trees to be of different sizes - with one clear dominant one, and you want the trees to complement one another so they look like a small natural vignette. You would prefer to work with three or five trunks versus four, and if you were working with three trunks, you would arrange them in some other fashion than an equilateral triangle or a straight line. Does all this make sense? You want it to look natural in its asymmetry.
 

Kayauss

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That makes sense! I’ll fix it now but I’m in Florida, zone 10.
i didn’t consider that. Would it be possible to train the trunks to grow more separated? That was my plan originally. Judging from your advice I feel like I should probably cut down the least promising trunk?
 

sorce

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I don't know anything about azalea, Ceptin how fast they die....

But I'd cut them flower buds off, cuz it seems like it will push them then kick it.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

Harunobu

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Considering how it looks, I don't really know what to advice. It can be hard to keep these alive even if they are in prime health. You can remove the flowers, yes, so it needs less water. I would also put something on the roots so they are covered. Either your potting mix, peat, fine pine bark, or sphagnum.

The stakes to get them to move further away from each other seem kinda pointless. You can repot them at a different angle in the future. Getting movement in the first part of the trunk right now is kind of impossible. They get too brittle too early.

But I kind of want to say that you shouldn't invest too much energy and emotion into this plant. I would rather tell you to go to a different shop and buy a nicer one with proper health. Inspect the 4 trunks for movement and bonsai potential. And if you find one pot that has 1 with potential, buy that one. Then prune away the other 3 trunks to nothing, cut wedges in the root ball, and plant it in your garden in a spot with afternoon shade. Make sure it has well-draining acidic soil.

You can try to keep this one alive as well. But that is less than ideal. So I kinda feel bad trying to give the best advice, since the results may be disappointing even if you give it the best care.
 

Clicio

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Try to keep this one alive.
It's tough, believe me, specially in Florida.
Keep it in dappled sun, or completely protected from direct midday and afternoon sun in the summer. Remember they like acidic soil.
 

Pitoon

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Go to the library and get yourself some bonsai books, specifically for azaleas if they have it.....or go to stone lantern they sell books for decent prices. Study, study, study......
 

Kayauss

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Thanks for advice guys, I’m gonna try my best with this one for now. There’s definitely one trunk I really like, and it’s the healthiest anyways, so I’m gonna give it time and see what happens as far as health. I agree about pruning back the flowers, that seems like a good idea.
 

Shibui

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I agree that 4 equal spaced trunks will never look really natural so at some stage you will need to remove one or more of them but that does not have to mean killing them. I know most beginners have trouble believing we can transplant a small tree with very few roots but it is not only possible but also quite easy.
These are now only thin sticks so you have plenty of time to plan while you learn how to keep them alive and happy. If they survive you can plan to cut one or more of the trees out of there and pot them up in separate pots and they should also grow well. You can give away, sell or develop more azalea bonsai with the extra ones.

BTW, azaleas do not grow well indoors so I hope you plan on keeping these outside. A saucer under the pot helps keep the table clean but be careful that the pot does not sit in a pool of water for more than a few hours at a time or you may end up with root problems. If you really need a saucer try filling it with stones so the pot sits on the stones above any excess water.
 
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