Two new azalea acquisitions what would you do if they were yours?

[Bonsaipadawan]

The more straight specimen is a ruby nugget a kurume hybrid and the smaller one is a chinzan satsuki as suggested by a member on here. I am quite happy with both specimens. I am reading up on azaleas atm and thinking of putting them in some larger vessels to get more growth.

I might be able to pick up some kanuma and sphagnum moss before spring really kicks on and get them into a larger pot.

As the title states what would you do if they were yours, showed up on your doorstep. Not sure if this kind of post is welcome but I am hoping so.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Yep, I’d grow them out.

 

[yashu]

I had (have) have some like that from last spring. They might even be from the same place… Check out this thread, good info for that sized plant.

Help me with a boring satsuki

I picked up this Momo no Haru satsuki and a few other pre-bonsai from Bill Valavanis’s International Bonsai Arboretum website. The trees all came well packed and healthy and fit the most part are very nice plants and great starters. This one however, has at a loss. Fortunately I have some time...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

Maybe consider yamagoke moss instead of sphagnum? Not sure the argument why but I’m aware yamagoke is popular for azalea.

 

[River's Edge]

The more straight specimen is a ruby nugget a kurume hybrid and the smaller one is a chinzan satsuki as suggested by a member on here. I am quite happy with both specimens. I am reading up on azaleas atm and thinking of putting them in some larger vessels to get more growth.

I might be able to pick up some kanuma and sphagnum moss before spring really kicks on and get them into a larger pot.

As the title states what would you do if they were yours, showed up on your doorstep. Not sure if this kind of post is welcome but I am hoping so.

Grow them out for a decade or two!

 

[Bonsaipadawan]

I had (have) have some like that from last spring. They might even be from the same place… Check out this thread, good info for that sized plant.

Help me with a boring satsuki

I picked up this Momo no Haru satsuki and a few other pre-bonsai from Bill Valavanis’s International Bonsai Arboretum website. The trees all came well packed and healthy and fit the most part are very nice plants and great starters. This one however, has at a loss. Fortunately I have some time...

www.bonsainut.com

Thank you there is a lot of great stuff on this thread!!!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

But before you grow these out. Unless you like what you have style wise…. Looks like you ought to wire and bend both azaleas trunks. You’ll likely not get another chance like this to change these..

Don’t water for a couple days before. Over wire the tree. Double as needed. often folks use 2.5 to 3mm but don’t be shy about z going higher on the lower trunk.

You will not be able to move the lower trunk on the Chinzan. Don’t try. Work on the top hamper. Be careful with side branches. These can be carefully wired outward sinuously side to side and up and down. It will be good practice.

Also you may not be able to move the lower portion on the trunk, especially as this is the first time you have bent one and haven’t acquired the feel for bending azaleas.

Concentrate on accentuating the movement throughout, including moving around about the axis.

Afterwards wait a couple weeks when things get warmer, then up pot both in the next size larger container for this year. If they do well, up pot again next year.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsaipadawan]

But before you grow these out. Unless you like what you have style wise…. Looks like you ought to wire and bend both azaleas trunks. You’ll likely not get another chance like this to change these..

Don’t water for a couple days before. Over wire the tree. Double as needed. often folks use 2.5 to 3mm but don’t be shy about z going higher on the lower trunk.

You will not be able to move the lower trunk on the Chinzan. Don’t try. Work on the top hamper. Be careful with side branches. These can be carefully wired outward sinuously side to side and up and down. It will be good practice.

Also you may not be able to move the lower portion on the trunk, especially as this is the first time you have bent one and haven’t acquired the feel for bending azaleas.

Concentrate on accentuating the movement throughout, including moving around about the axis.

Afterwards wait a couple weeks when things get warmer, then up pot both in the next size larger container for this year. If they do well, up pot again next year.

cheers
DSD sends

Thank you so much I can't wait to try this out. The nugget seems like it could really use some bending as it is pretty tall and straight.

I've done some wiring on azaleas but nothing on one's that are basically tall single trunks. I have noticed that they are pretty brittle. I have broken a few azalea branches before when bending hopefully I can eventually get a feel for em. I didn't know the watering trick so I am looking forward to trying that. Thank you for all of your help you've been really awesome. I bought a few of the books you and some others suggested!

 

[Ugo]

Hi!

@Deep Sea Diver suggest this is your last chance for bending the main trunk.
While this kind of "major" bend woukd be best carried out in Autum this is your last chance. One more growing season and the caliber will be even bigger.
Im not against bending now but at that size bending the main trunk will be quite challenging.
I think it will benefit if you use a bigger wire size if you atempt to bend heavily 3mm+
always try to follow a "spiral" pattern in the wire direction when bending instead of abrupt angles it will give you better feeling while placing the branche.
The wire has to really support the main trunk correctly without applying too much pressure when you install... Again as John suggest dont even try to bend the base.
Don't forget if they have a good growing season the wires will have to be taken out in a few months.. probably before the end of July to be sure the wire doesnt bite.
Unfortunately azalea "bark" react pretty badly when it comes to callus over and wire bite and will leave pholem exposed and not roll over.

I think I woukd also think about the fact there will be no flower for you this year..
If I would attemp this type of work "bending + repot" I would remove all the flower buds now before they swell and use alot of the plant energy. Maybe leave one if you want but 99% I would remove.

Hope it helps and good luck
Ugo

 

[Shibui]

What I would do and what someone else would do are 2 completely different things. What you do with these is another thing entirely.
Some would just trim those down to make short bushy bonsai and be happy with that.
Others would grow as suggested above but allow 5-10 years for that project. Do you want to spend that long developing a bonsai?
You need to decide your priorities and time lines to decide what you would do.

Agree that azaleas are generally brittle when bending. You will certainly break a few before getting a feel far they will bend. The good news is that a snapped trunk will usually sprout new shoots from the stump in a few weeks and those new shoots will give much better options for trunk lines and bends that the thick original trunk so if you do break either look on it as a bonus.

 

[Bonsaipadawan]

I was able to put some bends into them not so sure how great of a job I did but I tried my best. I did snap the top portion of the trunk of the ruby nugget. I put some cut paste and bent it back into place hoping it heals over, why idk. Either way here it is.

Also the chinzan came right out of its pot much to my surprise looks like it was hastily slip potted or something for shipment. It was shaped like another pot haha a little root bound looking.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Definitely more interesting now! It’s really hard to see the full extent of your work, but you have got the idea! Initially I recall the hardest part for me was to twist and tighten the wire while bending the trunk into a 3D shape. Then to carry on the bend all the way to the apex/new apex properly.

It sure looks like at least one of these azaleas needs a really good repot. I’d wait about 3 weeks. Bending breaks and damages some of the cells and it takes a bit of time to recover. If you choose to repot keep in partial shade for 2-3 weeks and go easy on the watering.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsaipadawan]

Definitely more interesting now! It’s really hard to see the full extent of your work, but you have got the idea! Initially I recall the hardest part for me was to twist and tighten the wire while bending the trunk into a 3D shape. Then to carry on the bend all the way to the apex/new apex properly.

It sure looks like at least one of these azaleas needs a really good repot. I’d wait about 3 weeks. Bending breaks and damages some of the cells and it takes a bit of time to recover. If you choose to repot keep in partial shade for 2-3 weeks and go easy on the watering.

cheers
DSD sends

The one that's super pot bound I'll be repotting I was thinking into the same vessel or slightly larger as you suggested. I was thinking a kanuma, pumice and maybe spaghnum or other moss mix

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

When doing a repot I rootwash out the old media unless it is similar. This link illustrates the procedure I‘ve used.

In the case it is similar media I tease the roots out radially. Azaleas like to have a bit of room, so up potting every couple years tends to be the norm here.

These are the pots we use here for developing azaleas. I find these to be durable and stronger than US terracotta. Also bore/reborn 4 side drain holes on the edge of each quadrant to improve drainage for the rainy weather out here.

Lots of media can work on azaleas. We use roughly 90:10+ Kanuma : Pumice + Biochar for all azaleas nowadays. Also cover top surface with mountain moss = Yamagoke. This keeps the loss to evaporation down.

Good Luck!

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsaipadawan]

When doing a repot I rootwash out the old media unless it is similar. This link illustrates the procedure I‘ve used.

In the case it is similar media I tease the roots out radially. Azaleas like to have a bit of room, so up potting every couple years tends to be the norm here.

These are the pots we use here for developing azaleas. I find these to be durable and stronger than US terracotta. Also bore/reborn 4 side drain holes on the edge of each quadrant to improve drainage for the rainy weather out here.

Lots of media can work on azaleas. We use roughly 90:10+ Kanuma : Pumice + Biochar for all azaleas nowadays. Also cover top surface with mountain moss = Yamagoke. This keeps the loss to evaporation down.

Good Luck!

cheers
DSD sends

Awesome I recently bought yamagoke and kanuma. Waiting for it to arrive. I'll have some time it seems to get some biochar and possibly some tokaname pots. Thanks again for such helpful responses I am super excited for spring and greatly appreciate your help