Thanks
@Moridin . In that case the OP shouldn’t need to be concerned about repotting right off.
I apologize in advance if it seems like I’m hijacking this his thread. There’s a fine line for answering open ended questions.
Books in General, my favorites, Deborah Koreshoff Bonsai…, Understanding Bonsai by Pieter Loubser, Flowering Bonsai by Peter D.Adams, but on to Azaleas.
I’m going to unload some of my databanks on this post about Satsuki. Likely I won’t have the bandwidth to do this again for a couple years, so if you are interested in satsuki here it is. ( btw there are many others on site with years more practical, and differing, experience to date that it would be interesting to hear from. Like
@shinmai @JudyB @Shibui @Leo in N E Illinois and
@Mellow Mullet to name just a few.
btw: I’m bound to miss something and will not talk about references like Galle’s Azaleas and Satsuki Dictionary etc.
Books: Specifically for satsuki Floral Treasures is as good as it gets for beginners…. short of Callaham’s Satsuki Azalea and Naka et al Bonsai Techniques…. yet both are out of print. Callahan is the best overall.
There is a really good resource in the Resource Section posted
right here on BonsaiNut that is very helpful and is free!
Also Bonsai Tonight sells a satsuki book by Watanabe for $18.00 that is really good, especially for the process of crafting a tree. Its translation to English is a bit lacking, so it needs a couple three read through to ’get it’.
Finally Janine Droste‘s Satsuki Bonsai from Bonsai Europe is also a good beginner book too with lots of photos, but pricey due to origin in Europe…. see if it’s on eBay or other second hand sites.
Styling: Before I get going I must point out that you live in the catchment area of one of the best satsuki clubs in the US. I hope you’ve reached out to them for help. They have years of in depth practical experience.
Only one US book exists with detailed instructions on how to do multiple types of styling azaleas, Naka, Ota and Rokkaku’s Bonsai Techniques for Satsuki. That’s why it’s the book to get for styling ideas. However they start all their techniques from whips, a really good reason to learn to grow whips from cuttings. Watch for a decent price on publication this on eBay…. if that ever happens. Yet last check it was $299-$579!
There exists another, much more comprehensive book on styling that was translated toEnglish and copied in limited quantities (with the authors permission) and passed out in limited the NoCal area when Master Suisho Nakayama, the President of the Japanese Satsuki Assn visited. His bookSatsuki Bonsai is the most comprehensive that I have ever seen. I only mention this because someone in the club might loan you and
@Moridin a copy.
Side note: Online YouTube the only clips I found had to do with styling informal uprights, yet but there is some great stuff… perhaps 20+ clips on maintenance by a Japanese Master merely called Bonsai Master. These are subtitled, but one could learn a real lot frm watching these.
Final on styling: There are numerous articles (some repeated!) on styling azaleas from existing plants, cuttings, young and old found in back issues of International Bonsai, Bonsai Today, Bonsai Magizine, Bonsai Focus and Golden Statements. It took me well over a year to find most of these. However, with a bit of perseverance one can search and find these.
Propagating Multi Patterned Azaleas: Floral techniques has a great discussion and illustration on this process. The very best is from Jim Trumbly, again from your area, (Roseville)
This article was published in The Azalean. This is pertinent in that There are two Yuki cultivars, one of which you have. Mr. M might know which. Both are multipatterned.
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To propagate these type azaleas (not just satsuki) to yield “True to type” clones from cuttings one needs to mark and select the correct areas to take shoots from... see the references ….
Gotta go.
Cheers
DSD sends