Fashion Azalea

[drew33998]

So I have three of these azaleas that were discounted. All three had multiple trunk coming out of them. I am thinking of doing this one as a single trunk. Another will be a raft style. The last will also be a raft only with more trunks(really haven't thought too much about the last one yet). The photos are kind of bad. John G. any thoughts? Thanks

 

[lordy]

any idea what that black on the stump is? I saw a landscape hedge of azalea that all the wood on was black. Turns out it was a world-class case of scale. Into the dumpster with them. Hope that is not what is on yours.
Keep those pics coming. Azaleas can be very rewarding. I just bought a fat stump at an auction. Come on Spring!!

 

[johng]

Well...I am not 100% sure but I think fashion is one of the early bloomers...most of what I have done has been with satsuki which are much better at coming back from heavy cutbacks.

It certainly does look like it has a nice base. It is kind of hard to tell from the pics exactly what the two main branches do just above the base. First thing I would do is figure out what the black is...could be sooty mold from aphids...and clean it up. Then, If it were mine, and I was willing to take a chance on the back budding, I would take a good look at those two trunks and figure out which one offers the best transition from the base and which will be the easiest to cut off with the expectation of healing the wound....then just weigh your choices and make a decision on which way to go. Then, just do it! I would wait would for Spring though.
John

 

[Poink88]

The black looks like spray paint. Maybe a sealer for (what looks like) a middle trunk that was removed earlier?

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Well...I am not 100% sure but I think fashion is one of the early bloomers...most of what I have done has been with satsuki which are much better at coming back from heavy cutbacks.

It certainly does look like it has a nice base. It is kind of hard to tell from the pics exactly what the two main branches do just above the base. First thing I would do is figure out what the black is...could be sooty mold from aphids...and clean it up. Then, If it were mine, and I was willing to take a chance on the back budding, I would take a good look at those two trunks and figure out which one offers the best transition from the base and which will be the easiest to cut off with the expectation of healing the wound....then just weigh your choices and make a decision on which way to go. Then, just do it! I would wait would for Spring though.
John

Johng,

Yes, Fashion is an early bloomer. I thought it was kurume, but the google reveals that it is a Girard hybrid. I found it similar in many ways to kurume (thinner growth, slower to thicken trunk and branches, early bloom). They seem to have extra nice roots in terms of good surface ramification. I stopped growing Fashion and sold or raffled off the one I had as the new growth was very vertical and difficult to form into foliage pad (yikes did I really write that?). It budded back strongly after chopping in the spring after blooming.

Regards,
Martin

 

[drew33998]

The black looks like spray paint. Maybe a sealer for (what looks like) a middle trunk that was removed earlier?

Dario you are correct sir. I used the black tar sealer when I chopped all the superfluous trunks off.

 

[drew33998]

any idea what that black on the stump is? I saw a landscape hedge of azalea that all the wood on was black. Turns out it was a world-class case of scale. Into the dumpster with them. Hope that is not what is on yours.
Keep those pics coming. Azaleas can be very rewarding. I just bought a fat stump at an auction. Come on Spring!!

Yea it is sealer . I cut all trunks save two to the base/nebari/main trunk ??? I will post some more pics soon. Always up for a challenge you know

 

[drew33998]

Here are some more pictures. The second is a close up of the first tree at the base. The first and third are of a different tree. One that I am thinking of doing a raft or banyan style.