Encore azalea as bonsai tips and tricks

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Hi...I've jumped right into azalea bonsai and love it..I purchased 5 Encore azaleas in 1 gal pots, and have pruned, trimmed and potted in starter pots...4 already have had one blooming flower or more! I was told that they're young plants..about 2-5 years old..does anyone have experience with these? I have some native azaleas as well..but am growing them in the ground for another year or two..any advice would be fantastic!
 

Glaucus

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I grow many azaleas, in Europe, and two out of 3 encore azaleas I had died of frost. In zone 8. During a mild winter. And they never bloomed in autumn except for the first year.
I get these got hugely popular in the US. And they do well in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana. And that some are indeed said to be hardy in zone 6.
But I am not their biggest fan.
 

Paradox

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I've not tried the Encore azalea. I have one Karume, a couple of chinzan and some satsuki azalea. These should behave similarly to Karume. I think they are a variety of Karume azalea.

Repotting into either pure kanuma or kanuma / pumice mix would be beneficial. Also feeding with fertilizer made for acid loving plants.

You're in Rochester but you don't say what state? NY isn't the only state with a town named Rochester so we can't tell where you are. Please update your profile with the state. Alot of bonsai info/advice is location based.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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If you are in Rochester, NY you are lucky to have a great resource, Bill Valavanis and the International Bonsai Arboretum. Do call, visit if you can Bill has been doing bonsai for maybe 50 years and has tremendous knowledge.


The Encore azaleas pretty much can be treated as Kurume Azalea. The second bloom in autumn only comes on older plants that have not been pruned too late in spring. If you leave them grow out and get "weedy" they will bloom twice, but they have a tendency to loose their bonsai shape. If you prune them to be in "bonsai shape" you rarely get the second bloom, because the growing tips with future buds have been removed.

(@Paradox - sorry Sandy, I needed to correct the spelling of Kurume, easy mistake to make)

The difference between Satsuki and Kurume azalea is mainly that in spring, Kurume will tend to wake up, and then bloom fairly quickly after breaking dormancy. Satsuki azalea, will wake up in spring, grow for a while, then bloom, in zone 6b or 7a starting in May or early June, finishing flowering about 4 weeks after starting. There are hybrids between the two groups and their behavior is intermediate. All Kurume and Satsuki are evergreen azaleas with relatively small thin leaves (when compared to Rhododendrons) which makes both groups nearly ideal for use as flowering bonsai.

So if you like the flowers of your Encore Azalea, great, you can treat it like a Kurume azalea in terms of when to prune it. Rick Garcia has a great book on how to grow and train Satsuki azalea, with some notes on Kurume. Almost all the horticultural information as bonsai in Rick's book about Satsuki azalea applies to Kurume except for the detail about blooming as they come out of dormancy.

I could go through the details, but if you can visit Bill Valavanis over at International Bonsai Arboretum, he will likely have Rick Garcia's book in stock and have his own take to add on azaleas.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Interesting factoid

If you prune an Encore azalea in late winter, removing most if not all the spring flower buds. As the azalea grows over the spring and summer, you often get a fairly decent flush of flowers in the late summer. But of course, you missed the spring flower show.

So generally, if you are shaping an Encore azalea for bonsai, you can prune it to keep spring flowers, or prune to try for autumn flowers, but it is difficult to get both, unless you let the thing run totally wild, and wild is not "bonsai". Though "looking wild" is bonsai. (We train our trees to look like they are from the wild, or create a scene from the wild)
 
Messages
6
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Location
Rochester, New York
USDA Zone
6b
If you are in Rochester, NY you are lucky to have a great resource, Bill Valavanis and the International Bonsai Arboretum. Do call, visit if you can Bill has been doing bonsai for maybe 50 years and has tremendous knowledge.


The Encore azaleas pretty much can be treated as Kurume Azalea. The second bloom in autumn only comes on older plants that have not been pruned too late in spring. If you leave them grow out and get "weedy" they will bloom twice, but they have a tendency to loose their bonsai shape. If you prune them to be in "bonsai shape" you rarely get the second bloom, because the growing tips with future buds have been removed.

(@Paradox - sorry Sandy, I needed to correct the spelling of Kurume, easy mistake to make)

The difference between Satsuki and Kurume azalea is mainly that in spring, Kurume will tend to wake up, and then bloom fairly quickly after breaking dormancy. Satsuki azalea, will wake up in spring, grow for a while, then bloom, in zone 6b or 7a starting in May or early June, finishing flowering about 4 weeks after starting. There are hybrids between the two groups and their behavior is intermediate. All Kurume and Satsuki are evergreen azaleas with relatively small thin leaves (when compared to Rhododendrons) which makes both groups nearly ideal for use as flowering bonsai.

So if you like the flowers of your Encore Azalea, great, you can treat it like a Kurume azalea in terms of when to prune it. Rick Garcia has a great book on how to grow and train Satsuki azalea, with some notes on Kurume. Almost all the horticultural information as bonsai in Rick's book about Satsuki azalea applies to Kurume except for the detail about blooming as they come out of dormancy.

I could go through the details, but if you can visit Bill Valavanis over at International Bonsai Arboretum, he will likely have Rick Garcia's book in stock and have his own take to add on azaleas.
Thanks...Bill Valavanis has been highly recommended to me..even my Veterinarian suggested him! I've looked into his classes...
 
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
Location
Rochester, New York
USDA Zone
6b
I've not tried the Encore azalea. I have one Karume, a couple of chinzan and some satsuki azalea. These should behave similarly to Karume. I think they are a variety of Karume azalea.

Repotting into either pure kanuma or kanuma / pumice mix would be beneficial. Also feeding with fertilizer made for acid loving plants.

You're in Rochester but you don't say what state? NY isn't the only state with a town named Rochester so we can't tell where you are. Please update your profile with the state. Alot of bonsai info/advice is location based.
Sorry..Rochester, New York
 
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