Azalea maintenance question

[shinmai]

I acquired a few weeks ago a wonderful, thirty year old Ungetsu no Hikari, just after it has finished blooming and had been dead-headed. The weather here in Milwaukee for the last three weeks has been mostly sunny days [with the occasional daytime monsoon] and rain just about every other night--I haven't had to water in ten days. As a result, I have quite a bit of new growth on just about everything.

I've gently and judiciously trimmed back the bright green new shoots to maintain the beautiful styling, fertilized with a half-strength Miracid solution a couple of times. My question is this: what steps do I need to take, or what things to pay attention to, to create the best conditions for blossom formation next spring? Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

 

[j evans]

Welcome and nice tree! I am sure others will chime in with expert advice.

 

[shinmai]

Thank you.
In searching for a translation of the name, I stumbled across a document online from 2006. It's a draft of a comprehensive index of all of the cultivars, by Japanese name, English translation, color pattern etc. by a gentleman named Paul Eslinger. It's at http://hiryuen.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7971&d=1272537437. I thus discovered that mine is "Light of the Cloudy Moon."

 

[Stan Kengai]

My only advice would be to not trim any more, and just let it grow. Trees cannot be maintained in a constant state of "tidiness". You have to let them grow out, which allows them to strengthen.

 

[shinmai]

Thanks for your thoughts. I know your observation to be true based on twenty five years of raising antique English roses. Since posting, I also discovered that if I prune too late in summer/early fall, I run the risk of amputating material which will be the basis of next year's flower buds.

 

[Eric Group]

Best blooms- keep fertilizing through this growing season, do not prune any more this season. In winter, they can handle a little cold weather but freezes in the Spring can mess up the blooms!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

My only advice would be to not trim any more, and just let it grow. Trees cannot be maintained in a constant state of "tidiness". You have to let them grow out, which allows them to strengthen.

This is actually a great point that I don't think we talk about much. A lot of times people see bonsai only at shows or in books - when the trees in question are at their peak in terms of development. Like an athlete, you can't keep a tree in a constant state of "peak performance". You have to let it rest a little bit.