Gumpo White

[Paradox]

I guess my statement is based on what Ive seen at local nurseries around here. All of the nurseries Ive been to sell many different varieties of Karume and all of them have large leaves.
Maybe thats just what is available around here. Also every variety of satsuke and Chinzan Ive seen seem to much smaller leaves. Most of that is sold here is Karume but I have found an occasional Chinzan as well which was a nice surprise.

 

[Harunobu]

A lot of what you call 'kurume' may not be in fact strictly kurume. It is the R.kiusianum species that makes evergreen azalea hybrids have small leaves. Kurume are supposed to be R.kiusianum crossed with R.kaempferi. But some kurume have very little or no R.kiusianum in them. And then there are other species besides these two that make leaves much larger, namely R.mucronatum and R.yedoense var. poukhanense.

If we take the definition ot 'kurume' to be quite strict, I would say that their leaves and flowers are smaller than those of satsuki. In the end it depends on the individual cultivar. Even among just satsuki, the largest flower you will find will be rival the largest you can find among any evergreen azalea. The same is true for small flowers.

Yeah, it is also quite managable to deal with large or leaf size, and still make bonsai. The 'problem' with Gumpo may be that it is a dwarf form while having large flowers. If it was fast-growing and upright, it would be easier to make larger thin trunked bonsai more easily.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Hi all,
Does this qualify for a Kurume bonsai in the making. Yes it is too dominant in the bottom, but since flowering I have trimmed this quite heavily to see how it responds.

I have shown this elsewhere, but this thread is all about them and Satsuki. I do have Gumpo white and Gumpo pink, but I am frustrated at their dwarfness even with feeding.
Charles

 

[Forsoothe!]

It's in process, as are all bonsai wannabes until that day that the plant's characteristics and the designer's coaching merge into a mutually acceptable single result. The flowers here are certainly worth the candle. Who cares if it takes a long time?

 

[stu929]

Well I'm back and I grabbed both Gumpos and the Mugo. 5 gal bucket for reference.

All three have been in their pots for a very very long time. I out a quarter in each photo for reference. I believe the base on each is well over an inch. One in particular is very wide. I didn't want to dig to deep so I just took some of the soil off to get a picture. The gumpos were so deep and had been in the pot so long many of the lower branches had roots that were growing into the soil as well. The Mugo was very thick and had some movement but it have some damage. Not a big deal all three were less than 30 total. Hopefully I can keep it alive and learn from it.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice haul, looks like you have a number of good possible designs in each tree. Keep us posted.