Repotted my box store azalea......

[Wee]

The root system looked healthy but I did leave it too long in this pot.

Before......

Time for some root work....

All potted up with a new haircut....

Brian

 

[W3rk]

Nice find. That's a heck of a trunk for box store material... what chain?

 

[Wee]

Thank You.....It was either Home Depot or Lowes....I don't remember how big it was when I bought it.....Let me see if I can a pic when I first got it.

Brian

 

[Wee]

Here is the oldest pic I could find from 2014....I definitely left it in that pot too long....Almost 5 years.

Brian

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Azalea are one of the few trees that the trunk will continue to increase in diameter at a reasonable rate while in a bonsai pot. Most trees will increase very, very slowly once put in a bonsai pot. Thanks for sharing the before and after.

 

[just.wing.it]

Azalea are one of the few trees that the trunk will continue to increase in diameter at a reasonable rate while in a bonsai pot. Most trees will increase very, very slowly once put in a bonsai pot. Thanks for sharing the before and after.

Do you think that has anything to do with them being basally dominant?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

pretty much true of all Satsuki, even the ones listed as being more apically dominant rather than basally dominant. While I understand what the term means for growth pattern, I have no idea what it means physiologically for the azalea. SO I will just say, most azalea trunks will increase in diameter while in a bonsai pot. Period. I won't generalize beyond that.

Probably one reason is as bonsai there is a tendency to pot azalea in deeper and slightly larger volume pot than maples or elms of similar size. Again not certain if this is causal, but might be a factor.

The deeper and slightly larger pots for the azalea are done for the health of the tree, pot them too shallow and they won't do well. Or so all I've been told seems to say. They are probably exceptions floating around out there.