Michael_Marinelli
Yamadori
Hey guys.
I have a satsuki shrub that I’ve been wanting to chop into a bonsai for awhile and I have a general idea as to what shape I’m trying to achieve and everything, but I’m having an issue with timing. I live in zone 9a and people I’ve asked have advised me to not chop until january or early february so the azalea has some time to recover in relatively low temperatures. But the issue is that I just graduated high school and I’m going to be off to college in august, living on campus a few hours from home. If I chop the shrub and repot it into a bonsai pot before I go off to school, I’d be able to take the tree and care for it and water it and fertilize it regularly in college. But this would require me to try to recover it from trunk/root chopping in hotter, harsher weather over the summer. If I leave the tree here in hopes of waiting until january/february to chop it, I would not be able to rely on my parents to properly care for it (fertilize it, water it, etc.). I know for sure my mom would forget to water it and let it fry in the florida sun.
So I’m kind of stuck.
What gives me hope though is that ever since I made a few smaller chops around the base to thin it out, I’ve seen new buds come in even this past month in the hot weather, leading me to believe that if i chop it before I go to school in the summer I have hope that it will make a recovery. But I could be wrong. The tree is also in good health. But I’m just not sure.
What should I do?
I have a satsuki shrub that I’ve been wanting to chop into a bonsai for awhile and I have a general idea as to what shape I’m trying to achieve and everything, but I’m having an issue with timing. I live in zone 9a and people I’ve asked have advised me to not chop until january or early february so the azalea has some time to recover in relatively low temperatures. But the issue is that I just graduated high school and I’m going to be off to college in august, living on campus a few hours from home. If I chop the shrub and repot it into a bonsai pot before I go off to school, I’d be able to take the tree and care for it and water it and fertilize it regularly in college. But this would require me to try to recover it from trunk/root chopping in hotter, harsher weather over the summer. If I leave the tree here in hopes of waiting until january/february to chop it, I would not be able to rely on my parents to properly care for it (fertilize it, water it, etc.). I know for sure my mom would forget to water it and let it fry in the florida sun.
So I’m kind of stuck.
What gives me hope though is that ever since I made a few smaller chops around the base to thin it out, I’ve seen new buds come in even this past month in the hot weather, leading me to believe that if i chop it before I go to school in the summer I have hope that it will make a recovery. But I could be wrong. The tree is also in good health. But I’m just not sure.
What should I do?