New to Bonsai, New Satsuki Azalea

Kubruceiii

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I realize the bud is hard to see - it is at the base of the taller branches low and right of the center of the picture.
 

Deep Sea Diver

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You are welcome.

Ok that’s clear. Closed new year brown buds - could be caused by fungus ‘bud blast’... or caused by exposure to freezing temps.

Encircling roots - common issue with nursery or untrained azaleas. Happens all the time. Some folks gradually raise the level of the media over a couple years and new roots will form on the surface to cover these.

Rock wool is ok with some cuttings, not so much for azaleas as it is really hard to get this medium out of the roots later on.... and if you don’t the leftover areas will be centers for fungus growth. I use a 50/50 peat and perlite mix. ...rough peat if you can get it. Basic a seedling mix with additional small perlite, although I’m testing straight kanuma this year so I don’t have to wash roots clear of media later on.

Any rooting powder will work. However the folks at Nuccios Nursery who specialize in azaleas and camellias tested rooting power vs not and found no difference in success.

Good luck and keep us posted... btw you might consider joining the 5 year Azalea Contest even though it started last year, you are in a good place to do soand you’ll learn alot. @Pitoon runs this contest.

DSD sends
 

Kubruceiii

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Ok that’s clear. Closed new year brown buds - could be caused by fungus ‘bud blast’... or caused by exposure to freezing temps.
It was exposed to low temps, right at freezing, and I even pulled it inside on nights that dropped below freezing, so it may be that. However, the buds seem like they may be continuing to develop so I suppose it could still bloom this year.

Encircling roots - common issue with nursery or untrained azaleas. Happens all the time. Some folks gradually raise the level of the media over a couple years and new roots will form on the surface to cover these.
Thanks, I will try something like this as what I have right now is fairly unsightly, in my opinion.

Rock wool is ok with some cuttings, not so much for azaleas as it is really hard to get this medium out of the roots later on.... and if you don’t the leftover areas will be centers for fungus growth. I use a 50/50 peat and perlite mix. ...rough peat if you can get it. Basic a seedling mix with additional small perlite, although I’m testing straight kanuma this year so I don’t have to wash roots clear of media later on.

Any rooting powder will work. However the folks at Nuccios Nursery who specialize in azaleas and camellias tested rooting power vs not and found no difference in success.
All great information to know, thanks so much! I did have one hell of a time cleaning the roots when I repotted and still didn't get rid of all the bits of peat and bark. I will throw together a mix like the one you described and see what happens.

Good luck and keep us posted... btw you might consider joining the 5 year Azalea Contest even though it started last year, you are in a good place to do soand you’ll learn alot. @Pitoon runs this contest.
I'll look up that contest for sure - it will be something to work towards and give me motivation, if nothing else.

As for updates, the tree seems to be doing fine and I did feed once since repotting and will feed again this week. When you water either plain water or with fertilizer, you you allow significant runoff to occur? I do as this is how I've always watered/fed potted plants but the kanuma mix seems like it wouldn't hold nutrients very well if you overwatered during regular watering session.

Pruning question - do all bonsai need wound sealer after pruning or is it more for sensitive species that are more prone to infection or drying out?
 

Deep Sea Diver

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“I'll look up that contest for sure - it will be something to work towards and give me motivation, if nothing else.”
@Pitoon is the head honcho on this contest

“As for updates, the tree seems to be doing fine and I did feed once since repotting and will feed again this weekend. When you water either plain water or with fertilizer, you you allow significant runoff to occur? I do as this is how I've always watered/fed potted plants but the kanuma mix seems like it wouldn't hold nutrients very well if you overwatered during regular watering session.”

Yes, I do with water, not as much runoff with fertilizer though some always comes out. Btw ....there are azalea expert Bonsai masters in Japan who say its virtually impossible to overwater Kanuma. (However I believe some folks might find a way!). I use 90:10 Kanuma and pumice to create a more friable media.

As far as nutrients go, Kanuma has the highest CEC for media short of bark. In case you aren’t up to speed on CEC... this basically means Kanuma holds onto cations (nutrients) and slowly releases these over time. So no worries on the nutrient side. Personally I use Miracle grow for azaleas with humic acid on top of osmocoate plus because and am open to But there are plenty other combos folks use to good effect though, but that’s my reasoning.


“Pruning question - do all bonsai need wound sealer after pruning or is it more for sensitive species that are more prone to infection or drying out?”

Really good question!.... and a great way to get into a cat fight on BNut 😉! This topic is almost as controversial as what media is the best to use for....? My thought is yes, I use cut paste on all my trees and we use cut paste at the museum on all the trees there. (Lac Balsam). Frankly it think it works ...and better safe then sorry is my rationale.

cheers
DSD sends
 

Kubruceiii

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Yes, I do with water, not as much runoff with fertilizer though some always comes out. Btw ....there are azalea expert Bonsai masters in Japan who say its virtually impossible to overwater Kanuma. (However I believe some folks might find a way!). I use 90:10 Kanuma and pumice to create a more friable media.

As far as nutrients go, Kanuma has the highest CEC for media short of bark. In case you aren’t up to speed on CEC... this basically means Kanuma holds onto cations (nutrients) and slowly releases these over time. So no worries on the nutrient side. Personally I use Miracle grow for azaleas with humic acid on top of osmocoate plus because and am open to But there are plenty other combos folks use to good effect though, but that’s my reasoning.
I remembered what CEC was from back in my undergraduate days while getting my BS in ecology, but I did a quick look on Google to brush up - good stuff!

I'm curious how you use the osmocote - do you just top dress or do you mix it into the kanuma (assuming you use kanuma)? Also, do you use a liquid humic acid?

Really good question!.... and a great way to get into a cat fight on BNut 😉! This topic is almost as controversial as what media is the best to use for....? My thought is yes, I use cut paste on all my trees and we use cut paste at the museum on all the trees there. (Lac Balsam). Frankly it think it works ...and better safe then sorry is my rationale.
Thank you for sharing your technique, I will do the same then! I suspected it wouldn't hurt whether it needed it or not, and it could prevent disaster, right?
 

Deep Sea Diver

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I'm curious how you use the osmocote - do you just top dress or do you mix it into the kanuma (assuming you use kanuma)? Also, do you use a liquid humic acid?
I used to put Osmocote plus on top of the soil. This year I’m buying fillable tea bags to put it in so I can have better control of the stuff, esp during the summer.... but we do have a whole lot of birds in the yard, so I wonder if this experiment will last😉. I mix the liquid humic acid right in with the Miracle gro for azaleas. My frequency is 1-2 weeks depending in the time of the year and whether the tree is flowering (withhold ferts).

Start in easy with the fertilizer as one of the two main reasons azaleas die is overfertilization.... next overwatering.... there is a third... desiccation in the winter...
Thank you for sharing your technique, I will do the same then! I suspected it wouldn't hurt whether it needed it or not, and it could prevent disaster, right?
For cutpaste, absolutely not.

A couple final thoughts, I am in zone 8b and you are in zone 6, (you should add this to your profile) so your watering frequency and maybe timing of fertilization are going to be different as we don’t get the blazing heat events you folks do.

I’m quite a bit of a @Walter Pall advocate for his philosophy on watering/media/fertilization, modified for our area my needs and in this case for azaleas, which maybe a bit different then other folks do. You really ought to study his thoughts on media, watering and feeding just to get an idea of what this is. I call it the Walter Pall triangle. His videos on watering etc are on YouTube and in his blog. Consider it another tool in your bonsai toolbox.

cheers
DSD sends
btw: now is the time to start to figure out your wintering over plan
 

Kubruceiii

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Thanks again, those are all great things for me to spend some time reading up on and watching videos of - I truly appreciate your time.

As for our USDA zone, we're moving in a couple of months so I'll probably just add the zone where we're headed.
 
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