My first urban yamadori of the year....Azalea

[DRIFTER7777]

Went to a house that was being torn down and asked the owners of the land if i could dig up unwanted bushes....this is one of the 4 fat trunk azalea's i found...i will get the other 4 this weekend

 

[rockm]

Nice score.

 

[Poink88]

Congrats! I hope all of them survive.

 

[DRIFTER7777]

im not sure if this is a normal azalea or a sasuki azalea....the leaves are pretty small...not sure if that due to the size of the azalea...anyone know?

 

[rockm]

It's most likely a "normal" azalea. Satsuki aren't commonly planted around here as landscaping.

 

[johng]

I think if this were mine, I would cut those heavy branches way back right now, leave 2-3"...this could make a very nice, heavy trunked, tree of about 12"....be brave...you won't regret it.

Seal the cuts!
john

 

[Beng]

The base color/texture, and leaves look like a kurume azalea I have. The leaves are way to small to be a run of the mill american azalea, could be satsuki as well. http://www.bonsaitoolchest.com/download/azalea_kurume.pdf

 

[rockm]

Be VERY careful in reducing large branching substantially. Azaleas are notorious for "sap withdrawal" on big pruning wounds. They can get substantial die back on major trunks if cut back too hard all at once...

 

[DRIFTER7777]

these were the sizes of the leaves i pulled off the biggest to the smallest

 

[Beng]

Be VERY careful in reducing large branching substantially. Azaleas are notorious for "sap withdrawal" on big pruning wounds. They can get substantial die back on major trunks if cut back too hard all at once...

Are all azaleas prone to die back from large cuts? I haven't noticed this and i've cut several down from 3-4 feet to under a foot flush to the next leader without problem. I do always seal the wounds completely, and at the point I did cut them back there was another strong leader ready to grow in that area. Only problem i've had with my azaleas is battling fungus, and some kind of mite one time years ago. They take forever to heal wounds though.... Perhaps I should stop cutting them back so hard and exercise more caution next time I reduce mine.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good find...even better when it brings it's own lunch!
You'll know if it's a kurume if it blooms first (around April), then grows new foliage. Satsukis tend to grow foliage first, then bloom in May-June.

 

[rockm]

As for the exact variety you have, it's probably clear as mud and not all that important, read through here:

http://rhodyman.net/01-EvergreenAzaleas-SortingOutTheConfusion.pdf

 

[Poink88]

They take forever to heal wounds though.... Perhaps I should stop cutting them back so hard and exercise more caution next time I reduce mine.

Kimura suggests having multiple smaller sacrificial branches rather than the common grow then chop method (like that used in trident maple) in thickening the trunk. Smaller branches will heal much faster when finally chopped/eliminated. Luckily, maintaining/pruning the top urges back budding at the bottom so this method works very well. Just FYI.