Yamadori help

digger714

Shohin
Messages
367
Reaction score
7
Location
Mooresville, NC - USA
USDA Zone
7B
Azalea yamadori help

I have some trees that i just dug up yesterday. They were on a property that has been for sale for a couple months now. Anyway. The property is getting listed, so i had to take them out before tuesday. I still have 4 more to get today, but am wondering if they should be cut back now to the trunk? or leave a couple leaves on each branch? or just leave the entire canopy until spring, and then chop back? I got as big of rootball as i could get. They are all planted on mounds, so they came out pretty easily. Was hoping it would wait until spring to sell, but oh well. Hoping i can give them a chance. They are boxwoods, and azaleas. The azaleas have some pretty good nebari & trunks. Any help would be appreciated.

I guess i should have put this in the Collecting section.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN2835.jpg
    DSCN2835.jpg
    200.7 KB · Views: 66
  • DSCN2828.jpg
    DSCN2828.jpg
    204.6 KB · Views: 66
  • DSCN2831.jpg
    DSCN2831.jpg
    201.2 KB · Views: 65
  • DSCN2832.jpg
    DSCN2832.jpg
    208 KB · Views: 63
Last edited:

grog

Shohin
Messages
385
Reaction score
22
Location
Iowa
USDA Zone
5
I would be a coward and leave quite a bit of foliage. Any new growth at this time of year will probably be pretty tender by the time the cold comes back. Your winters are quite a bit milder than where I'm at though so maybe it wouldn't be so problematic for you.
 

digger714

Shohin
Messages
367
Reaction score
7
Location
Mooresville, NC - USA
USDA Zone
7B
Yes, that is my concern. I know we have at least 8 - 10 weeks of season before any freezing weather comes around, and then i could still bring them in the garage at the coldest times. It usually doesnt get real cold here until december or january. then we still get days in the 50's and 60's. A few of the leaves on one branch have already started wilting a little, so we'll see.
 

ghues

Omono
Messages
1,554
Reaction score
3,140
Location
Campbell River BC Canada
USDA Zone
7b
I'd leave on all the foliage this time of year and then see what remains after next growing season. I'm learning the hard way that I should not do amything to collected material for at least two years.
Good luck.
Cheers G
 

digger714

Shohin
Messages
367
Reaction score
7
Location
Mooresville, NC - USA
USDA Zone
7B
I went out today, and have a couple branches that the leaves are turning crispy. Should i just cut the leaves off and leave the stems? Thanks for the advice.
 
Last edited:

Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Messages
13,959
Reaction score
45,884
Location
B’ham, AL
USDA Zone
8A
If it's crispy, I'd remove it from the azaleas, but don't disturb the roots as you cut. Given your climate, and since it's shedding growth anyway, I might be tempted to cut it back to the main branches you plan to keep for the design, and keep it misted several times a day and encourage it to pop back. We're in our fall growing season, and most everything is pushing pretty good growth right now. You still have time to harden off a flush of growth before winter and those kurume azaleas are hardy as anything. Good luck.
 

digger714

Shohin
Messages
367
Reaction score
7
Location
Mooresville, NC - USA
USDA Zone
7B
They have good nebari and trunks. The branches are probably 3' long or so, and all the foliage is on the top, so i am probably taking them all the way to the trunk. They were in a hedge configuration. Should i cut all the way back to the trunk, or just cut back to the main branch? Either way, all the foliage would come off. Am i correct in thinking that any branches that are losing leaves, probably had roots that were disturbed when digging, or is it just the shock of digging them that causes it? Thanks alot Brian.
 
Last edited:

Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Messages
13,959
Reaction score
45,884
Location
B’ham, AL
USDA Zone
8A
Most likely it will bud back at the base, and around any old scars near the nebari no matter what you do now. Try to leave a little growth close to the trunk if you can, but if you take it back to the trunk, you'll probably get buds where the pruning wounds are (use cut paste for better buds at the cuts), then you can continue rebuilding next year from new growth. The older shoots are probably too coarse to use anyway. You'll save yourself some time cutting it back to the main trunk or branches you plan to use.

Once you prune back, keep everything that grows for the rest of this year and you can start eliminating unnecessary shoots next spring when you know what's alive. It's going to take 5 years for new shoots to become decent ramified branches, but the result will be far better.

Yes, the loss of roots caused the tree to wilt, but most azaleas have shallow, tight root systems, so it should be ok, just keep it misted and well-watered for the next 3-4 weeks.
 

digger714

Shohin
Messages
367
Reaction score
7
Location
Mooresville, NC - USA
USDA Zone
7B
Thanks alot Brian. I really want to learn as much as i can about azaleas. I own a grading business, and am always taking out older landscapes to start new jobs. I have more trees that i know what to do with now, so i only take the good ones. Thanks again for your help.
 
Top Bottom