Features of azalea care

Anton

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I live in Kiev (Ukraine). Is there a difference in azalea care if I am not in Japan but in Kiev? 1) In winter, the azalea must be brought into a closed cool place (0-5 degrees). I need to remove most of the foliage from the tree in autumn? Are there any other features?
 

Shibui

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Not much use me giving you info. Azaleas stay outside all winter here.
There are many different types of azalea. Some deciduous, some evergreen, some tolerate colder areas. Do you know what sort of azaleas you have?
Hope that some of the azalea experts from colder areas can help with winter advice for you.
 

Anton

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Our winters are cold. 0-15 degrees below zero.Yes I know. satsuki osakazuki, hi-no-maru, hanabin, Murasaki
 

sorce

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I never really gave them a chance, but I quit trying to fuss with them here, roughly same temperatures.

Sorce
 

Deep Sea Diver

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Interesting place to grow satsuki! It looks like a fun experiment. Please post some photos.

Winter storage is mandatory in your area. 0-5C is ok, but 4-5c would be best. Water as needed. Depending on your media it could be every couple weeks, go with the chopstick method. Ensure the area is ventilated.

A couple of your azaleas are fairly delicate in my experience like Hi no Maru especially if it’s younger.

Besides that I’d follow the same routine as in any other place. You’ll need to create your own timeline of care however. It will be compressed compared to Japanese timelines of care.. Hopefully there are other satsuki bonsai folks out there to help

Also absolutely do not remove any foliage per @bwaynef recommendation. Let the old leaves fall off naturally. Then remove the fallen leaves from the media. It is possible that all the leaves will fall off if the tree gets too cold.

I look forward to hearing how things go next spring.

cheers
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Deep Sea Diver

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Interesting place to grow satsuki!

Winter storage is mandatory in your area. 0-5C is ok, but 5c would be best.Water as needed. Depending on your media it could be every couple weeks, go with the chopstick method. Ensure the area is ventilated.

A couple of your azaleas are fairly delicate in my experience like Hi no Maru especially if it’s younger.

Besides that I’d follow the same routine as in any other place. You’ll need to create your own timeline of care however. It will be compressed compared to Japanese timelines.

Also absolutely do not remove any foliage as @bwaynef recommended. Let the spring leaves fall off naturally.

btw It is possible that all the leaves will fall off if the tree gets too cold. In that case they should come back the first year…

Looking forward to seeing how things go by next spring!

cheers
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Anton

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Interesting place to grow satsuki! It looks like a fun experiment. Please post some photos.

Winter storage is mandatory in your area. 0-5C is ok, but 4-5c would be best. Water as needed. Depending on your media it could be every couple weeks, go with the chopstick method. Ensure the area is ventilated.

A couple of your azaleas are fairly delicate in my experience like Hi no Maru especially if it’s younger.

Besides that I’d follow the same routine as in any other place. You’ll need to create your own timeline of care however. It will be compressed compared to Japanese timelines of care.. Hopefully there are other satsuki bonsai folks out there to help

Also absolutely do not remove any foliage per @bwaynef recommendation. Let the old leaves fall off naturally. Then remove the fallen leaves from the media. It is possible that all the leaves will fall off if the tree gets too cold.

I look forward to hearing how things go next spring.

cheers
DSD sends
They hibernate on a glazed loggia. The window is open for ventilation - otherwise the humidity is 70 percent. Two osakazuki azaleas overwintered in this way. I do not store outdoors in winter, the frosty wind and the temperature can change quickly. There were fallen yellow leaves - I removed them. Cuttings from 1 to 3 years old.
 

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Anton

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More photos. I brought it home to take a picture. Two of them are eaten by caterpillars
 

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Shibui

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The few satsuki varieties I grow here manage winter temps down to -4C occasionally so they will be OK at just under freezing if necessary but a bit warmer is probably safer as posted by @Deep Sea Diver .
Mine stay outside all year round because it never gets too cold here.
Satsuki are currently in flower down here.
 

Deep Sea Diver

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They hibernate on a glazed loggia. The window is open for ventilation - otherwise the humidity is 70 percent.
. Cuttings from 1 to 3 years old.
Looks like you have a handle on your horticulture. Osakazuki is one of those old reliable cultivars.

Looks like you are fully ready to work on your benching and pad development.

I see you have wrapped the base of the nebari of many. Have you found this to encourage growth of the nebari faster? I usually raise of the near trunk level with a 3cm high circle band about 5-8 cm away from the trunk and fill it with kanuma here to do that.

Cheers
DSD sends
 

Anton

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Looks like you have a handle on your horticulture. Osakazuki is one of those old reliable cultivars.

Looks like you are fully ready to work on your benching and pad development.

I see you have wrapped the base of the nebari of many. Have you found this to encourage growth of the nebari faster? I usually raise of the near trunk level with a 3cm high circle band about 5-8 cm away from the trunk and fill it with kanuma here to do that.

Cheers
DSD sends
I don't feed azaleas in winter. There were problems with the cuttings last winter - in the spring they disappeared.
fed before winter - PK liquid bonsai fertilizer and during the growth period - Biogold Original.
I am preparing some cuttings for the Non-Agari style. Subtracted two methods, I want to check in practice.
1) a) Around March or April start with an year old cutting. Remove only part of the soil directly underneath the base of the trunk, and insert a two inches bamboo stick or sililar facsimile from beneath the roots pointing upwards into the center.
b) Next wrap the mass of roots around the stich with either strips of raffia or plastic. The raffia will eventually rot by itself but plastic strips must be removed at the next transplanting season.
c) Plant in a growing pot and leave it in a sunny place. Exposing the roots to the sun will increase its size. --- ITS WORK!(The roots are much thicker!) Repeat this procedure again in a year using a longer stick thereby exposing more roots and wrapping a little lower than the time before.
d) Expose only the base of the roots and cover the rest with muck. This Procedure ma y be repeated for several years until the desired height is attained.
2) about the same as in the video:
and
--- the thickness of the roots is not visible, I cannot report the result.

Deep Sea Diver, Do you let azaleas bloom once every three years?
 

Anton

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I noticed that when the climate is more tropical, there is a lot of humidity, they grow well. But if dry, the opposite effect. For this summer, I keep the cuttings in a greenhouse.
These cuttings are less than 5 months old and have been in the greenhouse.
 

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Deep Sea Diver

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I don't feed azaleas in winter. There were problems with the cuttings last winter - in the spring they disappeared.
fed before winter - PK liquid bonsai fertilizer and during the growth period - Biogold Original.
I am preparing some cuttings for the Non-Agari style. Subtracted two methods, I want to check in practice.
1) a) Around March or April start with an year old cutting. Remove only part of the soil directly underneath the base of the trunk, and insert a two inches bamboo stick or sililar facsimile from beneath the roots pointing upwards into the center.
b) Next wrap the mass of roots around the stich with either strips of raffia or plastic. The raffia will eventually rot by itself but plastic strips must be removed at the next transplanting season.
c) Plant in a growing pot and leave it in a sunny place. Exposing the roots to the sun will increase its size. --- ITS WORK!(The roots are much thicker!) Repeat this procedure again in a year using a longer stick thereby exposing more roots and wrapping a little lower than the time before.
d) Expose only the base of the roots and cover the rest with muck. This Procedure ma y be repeated for several years until the desired height is attained.
2) about the same as in the video:
and
--- the thickness of the roots is not visible, I cannot report the result.

Deep Sea Diver, Do you let azaleas bloom once every three years?
Nice!

I can see you can create a wide base by successively upotting in a large pot.

The method I’ve seen used is to clean the roots of 3 yoa plants, then start by burying the azalea in the top of a soda bottle that is planted vertically in the soil.

The Kanuma is smaller on top and gets larger on bottom, Sphagnum on top

Cut down top and slowly remove Kanuma from the top over time while removing roots that impede the design.

Repeat.

I haven’t let any of my azaleas in training bloom for two years except to allow a bloom check to see if the cultivar is true to type.

My older azaleas are on a two year bloom rotation except that the bloom has had 2/3 of the buds removed. That’s controversial.😎

best
DSD sends
 

Anton

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Nice!

I can see you can create a wide base by successively upotting in a large pot.

The method I’ve seen used is to clean the roots of 3 yoa plants, then start by burying the azalea in the top of a soda bottle that is planted vertically in the soil.

The Kanuma is smaller on top and gets larger on bottom, Sphagnum on top

Cut down top and slowly remove Kanuma from the top over time while removing roots that impede the design.

Repeat.

I haven’t let any of my azaleas in training bloom for two years except to allow a bloom check to see if the cultivar is true to type.

My older azaleas are on a two year bloom rotation except that the bloom has had 2/3 of the buds removed. That’s controversial.😎

best
DSD sends
Thanks for the invaluable experience, I will definitely take for practice.
ordered the following books from the USA:
Bonsai Techniques for Satsuki Paperback – January 1, 1979 by John Y. Naka - this book helps me a lot.
Bonsai Techniques I, Bonsai Techniques II - by John Y. Naka
Satsuki Bonsai - by Janine Droste
Japanese Satsuki Bonsai: How to Grow Satsuki Bonsai and An Introduction to their Varieties
still ordered
Could you write what kind of literature l can read on the Azaleas for self-development?
Thank you for helping
 

Anton

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All these books were written in the USA or Japan, and I live in Kiev, it was interesting how much there are differences in the care of azaleas.
 

Belong

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Hello.
I have an Azalea that has leaves that is starting to go brown at the tips. What am I doing wrong. Please help
I live in the Western Cape in South Africa.
Thank you
 

Deep Sea Diver

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The books you have ordered are good. The only ones I can think of that would help you you haven’t ordered are.

First. Floral treasures of Japan, Satsuki Azaleas, by Kennedy. This is a pretty straightforward explanation of techniques, nothing complicated in his delivery. One of my favorites along with Naka and Callaham below.

Second Satsuki Azaleas by Callahan. Perhaps the best overall on information. No one can beat Naka’s book on styling so far… Very good in depth guide, goes into lots of detail and also lots of information on different cultivars, although I see most of yours are fairly recent. This book is much sought after and out of print. So pricey on the used book market.

The book you have on order, Japanese Satsuki Azalea, by Watanabe is good, especially to learn about growing older trees, yet the translation is a bit off.

On video there is a guy called Bonsai Master on YouTube Try the link. I learned a good deal from him about working trees, requires patience and a bit repetitious, but good.

Your greenhouse cuttings are growing well! Is the greenhouse heated?

I grow cuttings on heat mats, then put these in a cold greenhouse during winter. Out temperatures are warmer then yours over all.

For those growing to be whips I grow out year around the first year on heat mats in my garage. The next year they grow out with the other bonsai, then winter over in the greenhouse until I wire and bend them next spring. Next year they’ll all go into the ground for a few years.

I too have a good number of cuttings this year. These are wintering in one of our cold greenhouses and growing out our garage. There are a couple older bonsai trees there. The other greenhouse has mostly pre bonsai 2yr whips and 3-4 year trees.

Oh yes, I don’t fertilize the cuttings the first 8 months except with a weak solution of fertilizer along with some Hydrogen Peroxide in with the spray bottle they get sprayed with every day.


C196F0E4-0E50-44CF-B1B4-5FCB9E7CB3E1.jpeg
cheers
DSD sends

btw: Please double tap your icon to edit your information by entering your location and USDA hardiness zone (6a). Then others will know right away where your approximate location is and what your basic climatology is.
 

Deep Sea Diver

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Hello.
I have an Azalea that has leaves that is starting to go brown at the tips. What am I doing wrong. Please help
I live in the Western Cape in South Africa.
Thank you
@Belong

Welcome Aboard!

Sorry, but you are bombing someone else’s thread. Please start your own thread with your question as include photos and details of your horticultural care procedure.

It’s the best way to get everyones attention. Its easy to do. …. and we’ll be glad to help😎

Also please read the above post about editing your user information.

cheers
DSD sends
 

Anton

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Hello.
I have an Azalea that has leaves that is starting to go brown at the tips. What am I doing wrong. Please help
I live in the Western Cape in South Africa.
Thank you
Send a photo, so it will be clear what is with the azalea. Describe the temperature where the azalea is, what kind of soil, how often you water.
 
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