Satsukibonsai.com "Tutorial"-Translated to English

[HamburgerTrain]

Translated copy of Tutorial - SatsukiBonsai

docs.google.com

Thought this may come in handy for some folks. Now I'm going to go read it!!!

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Nice

 

[HamburgerTrain]

Nice

I think we live in similar usda zones, Portland is 9a but my neighborhood specifically is 9b.
I recently acquired a large Arabesk Azalea and am wondering what would be best plan of action at this point. I would need to chop the root ball considerably in order to put it in a colander, nursery pot or some type of crate.
Would it be safer just to throw it in the ground until late winter/early spring?
If I were to prune the roots now and pot it up would I want to reduce branches or foliage proportionate to the root ball or just go ahead and hack it back to a stump?
This probably isn't the best time of year for collecting urban yamadori, but when I see large plants on craigslist for less than $10 it's hard to resist, and it came with a few babies.

 

[baron]

Cool! I mostly just use the google auto translate?

 

[Harunobu]

I think we live in similar usda zones, Portland is 9a but my neighborhood specifically is 9b.
I recently acquired a large Arabesk Azalea and am wondering what would be best plan of action at this point. I would need to chop the root ball considerably in order to put it in a colander, nursery pot or some type of crate.
Would it be safer just to throw it in the ground until late winter/early spring?
If I were to prune the roots now and pot it up would I want to reduce branches or foliage proportionate to the root ball or just go ahead and hack it back to a stump?
This probably isn't the best time of year for collecting urban yamadori, but when I see large plants on craigslist for less than $10 it's hard to resist, and it came with a few babies.

I would just put it in the ground. Then see how it grows in 2021. And maybe do some pruning to prevent problematic growth, like reverse taper. Or branches all coming from the same node. @Deep Sea Diver is nearby your area. So climate-wise he can maybe give you advise. 'Arabesk' should be way hardier than whatever your winter can throw at it.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

At this point I’d plant it right in the ground in a wind sheltered area, morning sun, afternoon shade. (See final note)

Please do not prune the roots right now. You can lightly prune the top to remove any suckers though.

I’d recommend using 50% sifted fine fir chips, 25% Peat and mix in 25% soil or less.

If you have a clay layer that you have to dig into, don’t, it will prevent drainage and create a bathtub that will kill your azalea.

In this case, Instead plant it above the clay layer using more of the mix to build up your bed around the azalea for about a couple foot around the plant.

Finally put a ring of chips about 2” high on the surface just outside the drip edge of the rootball.

If you don’t have a wind protected space, create a 360 wind barrier around the azalea.

Also, remember that all USDA zones are created alike. For example, your climatology is not like a similar USDA zone in Alabama, even though your low temperatures may be.

All my recent azalea purchases (40+ to date, although my better half says there are 100s!) are dug in the beds inside my cold frames to protect from wind, pots and all. Then I’ll pull them in 2021 and decide which get pruned and planted in ground and which go in oversized pots. You could do this if you have a similar set up.

Finally I’d download the edited Guide here vs your version

cheers
DSD sends
PS: Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.