Lorax7 Gibraltar Azalea #1 progression

Lorax7

Omono
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Location
Michigan
USDA Zone
6a
Didn’t capture a picture of it before I worked on it and repotted it into a colander. Here it is in 2018:
AE596ED0-6F67-4446-8EDB-C4883E2AEEDD.jpeg

Fall 2021:
B1859E81-9B81-4CAB-B8C0-CACA72E066AC.jpeg
 

Deep Sea Diver

Masterpiece
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USDA Zone
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Gibraltar is one of the very toughest azaleas, good to zone 3!

A couple hints for aesthetic and survival. Cut off branches svery slightly convex vs concave as in other bonsai. Use chisels or a knife to finish smooth. Their wood is really hard, but the bark is thin compared to many bonsai. So a slightly convex cut will heal smooth vs a concave cut which will not.

Second, cut paste any cut bigger then a pencil cross section or a bit smaller if multiple cuts. Azaleas are very prone to
desiccation.

Finally, it’s better to leave a bit of foliage on a branch when cutting back if you want good assurance that it will grow. A hard cut with no foliage left on it has a hard time keeping the sap flow going and can die back. While a cut back leaving foliage has a much better chance of back budding as the sap flow is still kept intact, albeit at a reduced rate.

Well done,
DSD sends
 
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