Big Gekko

JudyB

Queen of the Nuts
Messages
13,751
Reaction score
23,250
Location
South East of Cols. OH
USDA Zone
6a
Whoa, you have such a huge tree and it even does the two-colour tone very well. That is quite rare.
Thanks, I wonder if the two tone is reversions in some parts of the tree. I've never seen this variety before and the pic from the seller the year previous seems to be more uniform. I myself think its pretty amazing either way. And there are some flowers with mostly white, just a tinge of border pink. Should I be worried about these reversions for any reason if that's what they are?
 

Glaucus

Chumono
Messages
950
Reaction score
1,742
Location
Netherlands
USDA Zone
7b
Gekko is supposed to be two-tone, it is the two-tone sport of 'Kagetsu'.

As always with colours in azaleas, the purple flowers are most dominant, then the red, and then the white/pale flowers. The progression is from white to coloured. And for red colour to purple colour. And generally, there are no reversions, or you can't count on them.
So the risk is that you lose the white flowers (in fact, normally a Gekko has already lost the white flowers). Then, you worry about all coloured flowers becoming purple. So follow the Jim Trumbly guide on pruning. So if you prune for colour variation, you'd prune off the purple branches. An all purple shoot is fine. but once that shoot becomes an entire branch, that branch will have lost the colour variations (except for unlikely reversions, which seems to have happened somewhat in your tree).
And if you want to propagate, shoots near those pale flowers would be best. Those may then become 'Kagetsu' with the potential to become 'Gekko'.

There is actually a sport in between Kagetsu and Gekko, where the flowers are all white centers and the pale and white flowers are lost. Because coloured with white center is dominant, it has some stability. So this often gets named. And then once they got a two-colour version, they named that one 'Gekkko'.
Actually, Kagetsu is all-purple I believe. So you could actually get a red sport of Kagetsu, which maybe doesn't have a name.

It could also be that some environmental condition threw it off somewhat this year. And that next year, the pale flowers are gone?
 

Esolin

Shohin
Messages
401
Reaction score
629
Location
So Cal
USDA Zone
10b
Absolutely stunning tree! Amazing work with it. I notice you're in Ohio. I'm curious, are azaleas and camelias generally easy to care for in northern climates? Do you have to greenhouse them in the winter or do they survive outside? I always think of them as more tropical leaning species, but perhaps I'm mistaken in this.
 

Glaucus

Chumono
Messages
950
Reaction score
1,742
Location
Netherlands
USDA Zone
7b
Evergreen azalea are zone 5 to zone 10. Zone 5 there are just a few that are fully hardy. Zone 10 should be too hot for many depending how temperate and coastal that zone 10 is.. For satsuki in pots, zone 8 to 10 is ideal. Zone 7 is fine for larger plants in the landscape.
There are some subtropical species that have not been fully explored that have potential in temperate zone 11s.
 

JudyB

Queen of the Nuts
Messages
13,751
Reaction score
23,250
Location
South East of Cols. OH
USDA Zone
6a
Gekko is supposed to be two-tone, it is the two-tone sport of 'Kagetsu'.

As always with colours in azaleas, the purple flowers are most dominant, then the red, and then the white/pale flowers. The progression is from white to coloured. And for red colour to purple colour. And generally, there are no reversions, or you can't count on them.
So the risk is that you lose the white flowers (in fact, normally a Gekko has already lost the white flowers). Then, you worry about all coloured flowers becoming purple. So follow the Jim Trumbly guide on pruning. So if you prune for colour variation, you'd prune off the purple branches. An all purple shoot is fine. but once that shoot becomes an entire branch, that branch will have lost the colour variations (except for unlikely reversions, which seems to have happened somewhat in your tree).
And if you want to propagate, shoots near those pale flowers would be best. Those may then become 'Kagetsu' with the potential to become 'Gekko'.

There is actually a sport in between Kagetsu and Gekko, where the flowers are all white centers and the pale and white flowers are lost. Because coloured with white center is dominant, it has some stability. So this often gets named. And then once they got a two-colour version, they named that one 'Gekkko'.
Actually, Kagetsu is all-purple I believe. So you could actually get a red sport of Kagetsu, which maybe doesn't have a name.

It could also be that some environmental condition threw it off somewhat this year. And that next year, the pale flowers are gone?
Thank you for this information, as sometimes detailed explanations on Satsuki are hard to come by here except it seems on this forum. I appreciate! The tree did come from Cali, so it definitely had a completely different climate to get used to. I will give it a year and only do developmental pruning again this year to see what the color does next year and see if it needs something more.
Absolutely stunning tree! Amazing work with it. I notice you're in Ohio. I'm curious, are azaleas and camelias generally easy to care for in northern climates? Do you have to greenhouse them in the winter or do they survive outside? I always think of them as more tropical leaning species, but perhaps I'm mistaken in this.
Thanks, I've only had it for one season so far, I did do a lot of pruning last year to correct a lot of problems in the interior. I don't know about camellias, but I do a cold greenhouse for all my trees in the winter here including the azaleas.
 

Esolin

Shohin
Messages
401
Reaction score
629
Location
So Cal
USDA Zone
10b
Interesting. In my mind I guess I've always lumped azaleas in with camellias and gardenias as subtropical evergreens, but it seems azaleas are more varied in what temps they can handle. Southern Indicum hybrids are common here in shady coastal landscapes where they're protected from summer heat. But they do seem to be getting harder to grow. I had several potted plants die suddenly last summer from fungal issues, including my azalea. It was super happy for two years prior. Didn't make any changes. It's a rather frustrating mystery.

Anyway, love your tree! They are so lovely in flower. Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to try another azalea.
 

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A

Carol 83

Flower Girl
Messages
11,126
Reaction score
27,129
Location
IL
Wow, wow, wow. Gorgeous tree. Love the pup as well.
 
Top Bottom