Got a nice little Wakaebisu Azalea at Lowe's.....

[Wee]

Stopped by the Canton store because I haven't looked thru their stock in a few months and found a nice little single trunk Azalea. Other than cutting the lip off the plastic container and brushing away about an inch of dead leaves I haven't done anything to it.....It is probably too late this year anyway, I'll just slip pot it into a bigger grow box and wait till spring to do any work. It's hard to tell from the pics but those are quarters stuck in the soil for size comparison.

Brian

 

[jk_lewis]

Waka Ebisu is one of the best Satsuki for bonsai, and I've never seen one at Lowes. Good find. But you have a LOT of sorting out of all those branches clumped close together down at the bottom. I'd thin out a lot of the top so you can see where the branches go before making any irreconcilable decisions about the main branches (but I think that very thick "branch" will have to go).

 

[Wee]

I hope to find a nice trunk and nebari below the surface....If not it was still a good buy for $13.

Brian

 

[barrosinc]

For 13 bucks it is like finding it next to a garbage can... awesome find is awesome!
It seems to have an inmediate potential as shohin.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Our Aussie came from Canton, GA! Some days, I'd trade her for that azalea...

 

[Wee]

Briggs would love that....He is always looking for a hottie.

Brian

 

[Wee]

I dug about 3/4" down around the trunk looking for the root base and only found more trunk.....I would really like to find where the roots start to flare out but I don't want to do too much this time of year. Lots of fine roots every where on top but most don't seem to be attached to the trunk.....How far can I dig to find the nebari without doing too much damage....? Below is a video of the trunk.

[video=youtube_share;MmdYYFuqPZk]http://youtu.be/MmdYYFuqPZk[/video]

Brian

 

[Adair M]

There's plenty of roots, you're not hurting anything by going down to find the nebari.

Nurserymen are notorious for planting too deep in the pot.

Keep digging.

Cut the top layer of roots off with sharp scissors, flat across the top.

You can also shear off half the foliage, so you can see what branches you have.

Remove almost all the flower buds. (Keep maybe a dozen so you can see some pretty flowers next spring.) But since you're growing this for bonsai, you need to get the tree to spend it's energy growing new branches, not expending it on flowering. Removing the flower buds will really accelerate the growth next spring.

Really, on something like this, you're really not going to be able to use 95% of what's there. What you're looking for is a trunk line. Pretty much everything else will get pruned off. It will bud out new branches. And you can train those horizonally.

When looking for the trunk line, choose the front based upon the nebari. (So dig it out!) Then look how you can create the best taper.

When you prune, don't leave stubs, nor leave deep gouges in the trunk. Carefully carve it smooth, then use cut paste immediately.

Good find!

 

[johng]

There's plenty of roots, you're not hurting anything by going down to find the nebari.

Nurserymen are notorious for planting too deep in the pot.

Keep digging.

Cut the top layer of roots off with sharp scissors, flat across the top.

You can also shear off half the foliage, so you can see what branches you have.

Remove almost all the flower buds. (Keep maybe a dozen so you can see some pretty flowers next spring.) But since you're growing this for bonsai, you need to get the tree to spend it's energy growing new branches, not expending it on flowering. Removing the flower buds will really accelerate the growth next spring.

Really, on something like this, you're really not going to be able to use 95% of what's there. What you're looking for is a trunk line. Pretty much everything else will get pruned off. It will bud out new branches. And you can train those horizonally.

When looking for the trunk line, choose the front based upon the nebari. (So dig it out!) Then look how you can create the best taper.

When you prune, don't leave stubs, nor leave deep gouges in the trunk. Carefully carve it smooth, then use cut paste immediately.

Good find!

Quality advice from Mr. Adair!!

I wouldn't hesitate to find the roots now...those need to be the basis for your pruning decisions. You could probably do the drastic pruning now, but I think I would wait until spring...gives you plenty of time to make good decisions when you finally go at it.

I was always taught to leave a stub on big branches when pruning azaleas but have learned through experience that Adair advice is right on the money! I always use a fine saw to make my big cuts on azaleas and then smooth it out with a knob cutter and sharp knife.
Cutting them flat and sealing well is the only way I have ever had any successful healing...when they start to heal they will cover pretty fast.

For my taste, this cultivar makes better larger bonsai than smaller...larger leaves and flowers than some...for me it is also one of the more "trunky" satsuki which also makes it more conducive to larger trees.

Results are always better with numbers...I would go back and buy any other single or double trunked stock they had...just sayin

Have fun!

John

 

[Wee]

There was only 3 others and they were multi trunk...I even e-mailed the nursery's local rep to see if she would tell me where anymore could be found in my area....No e-mail back as of yet. I'm gonna slip pot it today after I find the base.... I will wait till spring to do much else. I have looked at 100's of box store azalea's and this one is the only one with a decent size single trunk I have found so far.

Brian

 

[Adair M]

After you find the nebari, you need to shear it back at least 50%. Hedge clippers will do.

Waiting until spring is just wasting 6 months of time this tree could be starting to create new buds/branches.

This tree has potential, yes. But remember, this is a $13 tree. If you kill it, it's not like you're killing a $1,500 import! (You won't kill it, trust me!)

There is a great YouTube video by Peter Warren. It's in two parts where he shows how he shears azaleas, then trims them. You can defoliate azaleas. They'll come back.

 

[Wee]

I didn't find much in the way of a nebari.... I dug down about another 1/2" and found lots of pencil lead sized roots and just didn't want to dig any further down. I may selective prune some of the top branches today, I just haven't made up my mind yet. Thank ya'll for all the advice.

Brian

 

[barrosinc]

Any ideas how long that will take to turn into a nebari??

 

[Wee]

My guess 5 years before it looks like much of anything.

 

[Adair M]

I hope you removed the little circling ones.

That's WAY over potted.

Here's what will happen: When you water, the water will be pulled down by gravity. It will take the path of least resistance. Which is where there are no roots. Which is around the outside of that box. Your roots, however, are under the trunk of the tree. The water runs off the old rootball, down through the new soil, and out the bottom. The roots under the trunk dry out.

Pull the thing back out of that box, and put it back into the nursery can! Really!

If you need credentials on me, call Steve at Plant City Bonsai in Clermont and ask if you should follow my advice.

 

[Wee]

Anything I leave in a plastic nursery pot gets destroyed by my dog....Not sure why but he will, trust me on that. Adair I'm not saying you are wrong at all and I appreciate the advice, but leaving anything in the plastic nursery pots is just not an option for me. I may just go ahead an do a drastic cutback of the roots and foliage and cross my fingers and hope it makes it.....After all like you said it is just a $13 tree.

Brian

 

[GrimLore]

Anything I leave in a plastic nursery pot gets destroyed by my dog....Not sure why but he will, trust me on that. Adair I'm not saying you are wrong at all and I appreciate the advice, but leaving anything in the plastic nursery pots is just not an option for me. I may just go ahead an do a drastic cutback of the roots and foliage and cross my fingers and hope it makes it.....After all like you said it is just a $13 tree.

Brian

Let it grow and be healthy until early Spring. Do a heavy pruning while it is dormant and you can see all of the branches. Do a root reduction and replant it in the box over a tile/plate/board or similar to encourage horizontal root growth. It will take a LOT of abuse and go crazy when it starts to bud. You will also have better results controlling the roots in the grow box.

Note to self: Don't give your dogs empty water bottles to play with. When you do everything that smells of plastic is fair game

Grimmy

 

[RustyNail]

just my 2 cent's on breaking the dog from chewing your plastic pot's.this came from the breeder of my german shepherd . take a spray bottle and mist the pot's good and then sprinkle red pepper on them.it worked for me with her she's a year old now .

also nice azalea good luck with it.

 

[Wee]

Good advice on the red pepper on the outside of the plastic containers..... I'll try that the next time I find 1 gallon boxwood or azalea on sale for 3 or 4 bucks. I went ahead and cut back both the rootball and the foliage today....Maybe it will make it if not another lesson learned....Adair was right the middle of the rootball was not as wet as the rest of the soil. I need to start picking up some typical flower pots at the thrift stores so I can slip pot when I need to. I'll post some pics of the reduction tonight.....Still got work to do outside and posting from my cell now.

Brian

 

[Wee]

Here are the reduction pics....I did find a better nebari I just had to cut some of the wild roots growing from the base to see it....I have no clue how much damage this might do...I guess I'll find out. I had heard and read about the mass of roots that azalea produce but didn't expect just how dense they would be.

Brian