New to Bonsai Kansas City

[KCnoobonasai]

Hello, I'm from Kansas City , have a few trees growing ( some from WM/HD nursery stock, most from "suburban yamadori" a few more in ground ) thought I would make a post. Getting into bonsai has happened exponentially, and now I have lots of material I haven't figured out what to do with, but I have purchased a few components for a substrate mix and now I'm jumping in head first.

First mistake was buying lava rock with the idea of crushing it and sifting it to fill up all the pots I need. Really wish I could use the rock straight out of the bag , I might expirement on a tree or two..

Anyway after building some crude filters and killing my back out in the heat , I had crushed a good amount into 1/2 pieces and less into 1/4 pieces , also used a colander to sift for dust , not sure the size but it's not super fine.

I had a nice ceramic pot , three drain holes , it was on the taller side , intended for a Cascade design for a small juniper I bought last year. The bottom was filled half way with 1/2 red lava and then a mix of perlite, bark chips, and the 1/4 lava..but it wasn't enough and it sat way to low in the pot.

The plant was rootbound in it's original nursery pot, I raked out the roots radially, and did a baby pruning on the roots , I then transfered it back into it's old pot but with my new mix. Half 1/2 lava on bottom , and the 1/4 lava , bark, perlite mix on top ...

Unfortunately a day I imagined I'd be potting lots of my big material , I ended up planing one tiny plant in a pot I didn't intend to plant it in . More to come including pics ...thanks

 

[KCnoobonasai]

so I have 3(4) Azaleas from a house that was being torn down . One is pretty dead and may have been from the start , I'm concerned for the three remaining plants. These are old shrubs but I don't know the date , house was Mid century early 1950s, so could be fairly old. One is doing ok , but the potting was not done with proper bonsai soil . Anyway I'm thinking of taking cuttings but also splitting the root base . On one particular shrub , it's the only one to bloom so far and it's looking healthy .

 

[sorce]

Getting into bonsai has happened exponentially

Welcome to THE Definition!

Sorce

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

View attachment 191038 so I have 3(4) Azaleas from a house that was being torn down . One is pretty dead and may have been from the start , I'm concerned for the three remaining plants. These are old shrubs but I don't know the date , house was Mid century early 1950s, so could be fairly old. One is doing ok , but the potting was not done with proper bonsai soil . Anyway I'm thinking of taking cuttings but also splitting the root base . On one particular shrub , it's the only one to bloom so far and it's looking healthy .View attachment 191029View attachment 191030View attachment 191037View attachment 191040View attachment 191042
View attachment 191041

Hi KC,
I really like your azalea you have pictured with its small leaves and small flowers.
I haven’t heard about “splitting” Azaleas before and I don’t see why not if you were to get both divided with healthy roots on both etc.
My 2 cents (advice) would be to chop the whole azalea off at between 6-12 inches and build bonsai from there. Yes, they back bud very vigorously if all leaves cut off. If you chicken out of this, apart from trying this on one of your 3 or 4, you just have a lovely shrub at 2/3 foot tall ( not really Bonsai lol).
As for your soil, yes Bonsai soil is best, and I like your made-up mix a lot, but apart from looking hungry I don’t think that soil is that bad.
Plenty of threads here on developing bonsai azaleas, and I think one thread named “azalea beast” might help re the massive chops etc.
Hop that helps,
Charles

 

[KCnoobonasai]

Thanks to both of you. I ended up taking a couple cuttings , and then I split the plant in half and repotted . Lava on bottom , then some pea gravel , peat, and perlite. I removed all the flower buds but I'm giving it a chance to recover before I do any massive chopping . I have two other azaleas to play with anyway .

Here's a picture of the little juniper pre bonsai that I hope to make into a Cascade style.

And the two main azaleas after being split.