First Flower-Azalea

[MachoThumb]

There’s an older gentleman near me that has a little bonsai nursery behind his house(he might even be on here!). I had been meaning to stop by and get a new plant and finally stopped by today. I picked up a little juniper and an azalea.

After spending some time on here, I realized I probably should have picked one with a better root structure. It looks like he’s done some pruning but I’d appreciate some tips on what I should do with it. I re-potted it when I got home as I plan on trimming back the roots tomorrow. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[MachoThumb]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

Thanks! Glad I found this resource to learn more about bonsai.

 

[shinmai]

First, it is very helpful if you add your location and temperature zone to your profile as it helps people to answer your questions in the context of your climate.
Normally one would trim roots when repotting. I’m guessing that by repotting you mean you plunked it into another container, since it looks like it’s still in nursery soil. Azaleas as bonsai are usually potted in kanuma, a very specific baked and crumbled clay from its namesake city in Japan. Kanuma has three cardinal virtues: (1) it’s mildly acidic, which azaleas need; (2) it drains well, which is important because azaleas don’t like to be too wet; and (3) it is soft, allowing the fine feeder roots to push their way through. It’s readily available on Amazon or from a bonsai supplier, in one or two quart bags to handle one or two plants.
Young azaleas seldom have any ‘structure’ to their roots, and it takes years to develop meaningful nebari. When you take it out to look at the roots, you should expect a mat of finer, fibrous roots, reminiscent of a Brillo pad or a cocoa-fiber door mat. DO NOT use a hose to wash out the old soil. You can generally remove the lower two thirds of the root mass in the nursery pot. Beyond that, your first repot should reduce the root mass only enough to give you two fingers worth of space on each side and underneath, and that space is where the kanuma goes.
Personally, I have 35 azaleas and rhododendrons in pots. If you have questions, feel free to start a private conversation and I’ll help where I can. You would also be well advised to read the posts of our friend Mellow Mullet, who is to Japanese azaleas what Noah was to wood boats—he knows of what he speaks.

 

[MachoThumb]

First, it is very helpful if you add your location and temperature zone to your profile as it helps people to answer your questions in the context of your climate.
Normally one would trim roots when repotting. I’m guessing that by repotting you mean you plunked it into another container, since it looks like it’s still in nursery soil. Azaleas as bonsai are usually potted in kanuma, a very specific baked and crumbled clay from its namesake city in Japan. Kanuma has three cardinal virtues: (1) it’s mildly acidic, which azaleas need; (2) it drains well, which is important because azaleas don’t like to be too wet; and (3) it is soft, allowing the fine feeder roots to push their way through. It’s readily available on Amazon or from a bonsai supplier, in one or two quart bags to handle one or two plants.
Young azaleas seldom have any ‘structure’ to their roots, and it takes years to develop meaningful nebari. When you take it out to look at the roots, you should expect a mat of finer, fibrous roots, reminiscent of a Brillo pad or a cocoa-fiber door mat. DO NOT use a hose to wash out the old soil. You can generally remove the lower two thirds of the root mass in the nursery pot. Beyond that, your first repot should reduce the root mass only enough to give you two fingers worth of space on each side and underneath, and that space is where the kanuma goes.
Personally, I have 35 azaleas and rhododendrons in pots. If you have questions, feel free to start a private conversation and I’ll help where I can. You would also be well advised to read the posts of our friend Mellow Mullet, who is to Japanese azaleas what Noah was to wood boats—he knows of what he speaks.

That’s good info! Thank you.

Yeah I just put it in the larger pot for now. I’m not sure what direction to go with it. Would it be better to just let it grow for a year or two in this larger pot to develop a stronger trunk structure? I read some posts from people suggesting to plant younger ones in the ground for a while.

 

[j evans]

Yes Welcome!