Literati Satsuki

[Dav4]

The trees would get watered when they were placed on the floor, the mulch was applied around and over the pots to the trunk, then the mulch was watered. Honestly, the mulch was typically frozen solid by the end of December and stayed that way until March or even April. Watering was accomplished by placing available snow on to the mulch surface to melt in...if the mulch was wet, the bonsai soil was wet. Never lost a tree overwintered this way. The biggest issue with mulch in a garage is the chance for vermin to set up shop. Key points were to not put the trees into the garage until late November and to have lots of spring loaded traps around. Most mice and voles will have found their winter homes way before Thanksgiving, and the traps would usually take care of any hungry critters that wandered into the area. Fwiw, I've never had any critter damage on azaleas...maples are an entirely different story.

 

[AboveBeyond]

The trees would get watered when they were placed on the floor, the mulch was applied around and over the pots to the trunk, then the mulch was watered. Honestly, the mulch was typically frozen solid by the end of December and stayed that way until March or even April. Watering was accomplished by placing available snow on to the mulch surface to melt in...if the mulch was wet, the bonsai soil was wet. Never lost a tree overwintered this way. The biggest issue with mulch in a garage is the chance for vermin to set up shop. Key points were to not put the trees into the garage until late November and to have lots of spring loaded traps around. Most mice and voles will have found their winter homes way before Thanksgiving, and the traps would usually take care of any hungry critters that wandered into the area. Fwiw, I've never had any critter damage on azaleas...maples are an entirely different story.

Thanks for the explanation. Critters shouldn't be a problem, there's no way for them to get inside the garage.

 

[JudyB]

there's no way for them to get inside the garage

There are always a way for mice to get in...
Sounds like a good plan for the winter though. I like this tree better the more I look at it. Nice pickup.

 

[rockm]

The problem with overwintering in a garage will be light--and possibly air circulation (and probably rodents--especially if the winter is a hard one). If your azalea is deciduous and loses its leaves in the fall, that's great. There's no issue.

However, I've got an imported satsuki variety that is NOT deciduous. It retains some leaves even through the bitterest winter winds--it endured -4 F this past winter several times with only a mulched pot on the ground in the backyard out of the wind. The previous year I had sprung for overwintering space in a cold greenhouse, which worked Very well. I couldn't afford the greenhouse storage last winter though, but I ended up learning how winter hardy my variety of satsuki variety is (Shiro ebisu, by the way, is the variety)

I've had friends try to overwinter satsuki azaleas in their garage here in No. Va. and those (rather expensive imports) developed fatal fungal infections as a result. Darkened conditions, I suspect, weakened the plants and made them susceptible to infections, especially fungal infections which are pretty common in damp garages with limited air circulation.

If this were my plant I would get back in touch with the seller and ask:
What variety it is?
How winter hardy is it?
How they overwintered it?
Whether they have winter boarding if it's not hardy.

Also FWIW, this "style" of satsuki is designed pretty much as a scaffolding to display flowers. To some that's great, to others, it looks strange and they look to a drastic "redesign" to solve a problem that's not really a problem.

If I were you, I'd hold off at least two years on this before doing anything. It is very weak and is dropping lower limbs. That needs to be addressed. There are specific care regimens for satsuki that can help out. Get the Stone Lantern Azalea book for some of that. It's definitely worth the $ and should be required reading if you're a new satsuki owner.
http://www.stonelantern.com/Satsuki_Azaleas_for_bonsai_tree_and_azalea_lovers_p/b1sat.htm

 

[AboveBeyond]

Thanks for the response Rockm. I'm considering winterboarding it at the nursery's greenhouse. I purchased the book you recommended.

What variety it is? Unknown (usually it's noted on the tag)
How winter hardy is it? Unknown
How they overwintered it? Greenhouse
Whether they have winter boarding if it's not hardy. Yes

 

[Dav4]

NEBG overwinters their azaleas in a cold greenhouse that never sees freezing, and they do offer over winter boarding. Having said that, I've seen more then a couple of trees boarded there suffer or die from over watering or fungal disease. Again, these issues are why I never bothered w/ satsuki until I moved south. Fwiw, the satsuki 'Eikan' I bought from them has spent weeks frozen solid down here in GA, and seen temps as low as 2 F a few times without skipping a beat. It's the long, sustained cold I'd be afraid of. Personally, I'd contact John Romano, the resident teacher at NEBG and describe your overwintering options to him. He'll steer you in the right direction.

 

[Dav4]

One last thing...as Mark pointed out, the tree is weak. Satsuki like sun, so give this one a lot. Mine sits right next to my large RMJ and gets 5 hours of mid day GA sun every day.

 

[AboveBeyond]

All great advice and I talk to John all the time.

 

[rockm]

[QUOTE="Having said that, I've seen more then a couple of trees boarded there suffer or die from over watering or fungal disease. [/QUOTE]
Wow. I've been using a cold greenhouse at a bonsai nursery here in Va. for going on 20 years to overwinter a pretty valuable tree. Never had an issue with the proper care.

 

[rockm]

[QUOTE=" It's the long, sustained cold I'd be afraid of.[/QUOTE]

Mine withstood WEEKS of single digit temps/wind/snow this winter--which was the worst in two decades. It was frozen solid beginning in December and didn't thaw out completely until March. I covered it completely with snow (when it was available) to avoid some of the worst, but it looked very bad in the middle of Feb. with withered leaves. I was certain it was a goner. It apparently hasn't missed a beat though and is growing strongly now.

 

[Dav4]

[QUOTE="Having said that, I've seen more then a couple of trees boarded there suffer or die from over watering or fungal disease.

Wow. I've been using a cold greenhouse at a bonsai nursery here in Va. for going on 20 years to overwinter a pretty valuable tree. Never had an issue with the proper care.[/QUOTE]
I probably wasn't being fair when I mentioned this. NEBG boards hundreds of trees each winter and most of them appeared to do just fine. I lived close by for 10 years and visited them regularly and I'd see some trees show signs of decline while being kept there...and the trees were invariably watered whether they needed it or not.