Thickening azaleas

[RKatzin]

Boy, not even a pissoff jerk on that one. I guess I'll keep my dumb ideas to myself on next arising. Ooooookydoeky then

 

[Poink88]

This (grafting) is what I will be attempting to do next year. (Read post #16 above)

 

[johng]

Boy, not even a pissoff jerk on that one. I guess I'll keep my dumb ideas to myself on next arising. Ooooookydoeky then

Be a trailblazer then! In more than 20 years I can't say that I have ever seen grafted azaleas. Perhaps that is because the root and bud back so well??

give it a shot and teach us something!
john

 

[Poink88]

Be a trailblazer then! In more than 20 years I can't say that I have ever seen grafted azaleas. Perhaps that is because the root and bud back so well??

give it a shot and teach us something!
john

You are right but I'll try because the leaves & flower on mine are HUGE! I am really not sure if it will work.

I have seen a Japanese demo on youtube where the master thread grafted an azalea. My plan is cleft grafting come spring. I will report what happens...good or bad.

 

[RKatzin]

I have no problem blazing trail, just scouting out the hills ahead to get an idea where I'm heading. Thanks for the replies.

So it's not such a far fetched thing. Now there are azaleas up there and they are quite old and good size, but if we're going just for trunkage there are rhodys up there that are really big, probably a two man carry to get them in the rig.

I'm all for seeing where this leads. It's a project in the making and who knows, might even be interesting to see what the idgit does next.

I'll let you know how things go, Rick

 

[bumblebee]

Be careful with the wild (native) azaleas. They don't like
their roots to be messed with. Survival of transplants
is iffy in my experience.

Libby

 

[barrosinc]

So, if you want to have a trunk, prune off the branches from the base, leaving only the one stick you want to become a trunk. Then you want to encourage all the foliage growth on that stick that you can get. Most azaleas readily back bud, some are so much so that all you need to do is expose the bare stem(s) to sunlight.

....You may want to remove the flower buds as soon as they are set so that all the plant's energy goes into vegetative growth...

In other words, if you are after just making a trunk, shear it in the spring, put it in the sun, fertilize, water, and let it grow.

Ok, so leave everything on one stick.
Cutting off flower buds when they set (does that mean when they are fully grown flowers but havent opened yet?)
Fertilize.
What do I do when I see backbuds? Do I cut them off immediately?

 

[0soyoung]

Ok, so leave everything on one stick.
Cutting off flower buds when they set (does that mean when they are fully grown flowers but havent opened yet?)
Fertilize.
What do I do when I see backbuds? Do I cut them off immediately?

So, first, you eliminate competing 'trunks'. Then, you execute that final statement of mine. "... shear it in the spring, put it in the sun, fertilize, water, and let it grow." While I thought that was clear, you want to keep the backbuds (let it grow) because they occur on the one trunk you have chosen by eliminating all the other potential trunks.

By flowers "set" I meant:

• if you want the flowers, wait until they're beginning to drop
• if you don't want flowers, shear as soon as you distinctly see buds and/or new leaf growth emerging.

 

[barrosinc]

So, first, you eliminate competing 'trunks'. Then, you execute that final statement of mine. "... shear it in the spring, put it in the sun, fertilize, water, and let it grow." While I thought that was clear, you want to keep the backbuds (let it grow) because they occur on the one trunk you have chosen by eliminating all the other potential trunks.

By flowers "set" I meant:

• if you want the flowers, wait until they're beginning to drop
• if you don't want flowers, shear as soon as you distinctly see buds and/or new leaf growth emerging.

Thanks! English isn't my first language.

 

[0soyoung]

Thanks! English isn't my first language.

It is far from obvious. Being in Santiago is the only hint that this might be.

I try to make it simple and easy to understand, but I get complaints that I too often do the opposite. So, I'm pretty sure the difficulty is not your language, but mine (0sogood --> 0 = naught [sic]).

 

[barrosinc]

It is far from obvious. Being in Santiago is the only hint that this might be.

I try to make it simple and easy to understand, but I get complaints that I too often do the opposite. So, I'm pretty sure the difficulty is not your language, but mine (0sogood --> 0 = naught [sic]).

Thanks! I am receiving 4 kurume azaleas on sunday! And really wanted to know. I speak English but some terms just don't translate quite well.

 

[0soyoung]

You may find stuff on The Satsuki Enthusiast blog to be of interest. I just found it recently (via a little self-promotion here on BNut) - nice blog Andy; I especially liked the post I've linked to (above).

 

[Victrinia Ensor]

As with many things deciduous thickening is a practice of free growth, cut back... and grown again. They achieve this best in open soil.... the trick with the sphagnum moss is related to the acid it leeches into the soil when it's watered.

All azaleas are Ericaceous plants (of the heather family), and therefore acid loving. They are not as able to absorb nitrogen from non-acid sources.... so interestingly certain very cheap lawn fertilizers can be very good food for them. The ones which are derived from ammonium sulfate. Bacteria convert nitrogen to ammonium, and other bacteria convert ammonium to nitrate. These latter bacteria are less active at higher pH. High levels of organic matter and low pH can reduce the availability of nitrogen to plants by fixing the nitrogen in the microorganisms. Miracid is NOT made of ammonium sulphate.

Ideal pH is said to be 4.5-6...which is considered slightly acidic. Over 6 and the trees will exhibit weakness and stress. Iron supplemented to feeding schedules is highly recommended.

Grow healthy.... and it'll go big.... but best when unrestricted.

V

 

[barrosinc]

I grow azaleas for their flowers and am not focussed on trying to make trunks with them. I find them to be slow to thicken even though the principle is the same as with any (temperate) tree: lots of foliage on a stick is the way you make it thick.

So, if you want to have a trunk, prune off the branches from the base, leaving only the one stick you want to become a trunk. Then you want to encourage all the foliage growth on that stick that you can get. Most azaleas readily back bud, some are so much so that all you need to do is expose the bare stem(s) to sunlight.

I shear and deadhead my azaleas after they have bloomed (they begin growing vigorously at the time they bloom) and again about August (February for you, I believe) which does stimulate backbudding. You may want to remove the flower buds as soon as they are set so that all the plant's energy goes into vegetative growth. Some evergreen azaleas set flower buds in the fall, others in the spring, but regardless, they are always at the tip of a twig, so this can usualy be done by trimming/shearing at the right time instead of tediously picking each bud one at a time.

In other words, if you are after just making a trunk, shear it in the spring, put it in the sun, fertilize, water, and let it grow.

Again, I grow azaleas for their flowers. I shear them at least twice a year. My focus, though, is on sculpting the canopy where the flowers will appear. For me the skeleton is secondary. Over time, I clean up the stems and even remove some to make an attractive skeleton.

I just received my kurume azaleas. They are not as thick as I wanted, but I will none the less, turn one into a bonsai shape (thickest one), one wait to do cuttings or airlayers and work it next year, another one put in the ground to thicken. The forth is a hinomayo, it looks more like a bush and will be planted in my house garden, hopefully reproduce it to get a bunch of them.

They have tiny leaves and heaps of closed flower buds. I will sheer all my azaleas in spring as you said.

Hope I do well.

 

[barrosinc]

As with many things deciduous thickening is a practice of free growth, cut back... and grown again. They achieve this best in open soil.... the trick with the sphagnum moss is related to the acid it leeches into the soil when it's watered.

All azaleas are Ericaceous plants (of the heather family), and therefore acid loving. They are not as able to absorb nitrogen from non-acid sources.... so interestingly certain very cheap lawn fertilizers can be very good food for them. The ones which are derived from ammonium sulfate. Bacteria convert nitrogen to ammonium, and other bacteria convert ammonium to nitrate. These latter bacteria are less active at higher pH. High levels of organic matter and low pH can reduce the availability of nitrogen to plants by fixing the nitrogen in the microorganisms. Miracid is NOT made of ammonium sulphate.

Ideal pH is said to be 4.5-6...which is considered slightly acidic. Over 6 and the trees will exhibit weakness and stress. Iron supplemented to feeding schedules is highly recommended.

Grow healthy.... and it'll go big.... but best when unrestricted.

V

How to measure acidity in bonsai soil?
Kanuma is not available in Chile.
Does the fertilizer say ammonium sulfate? how to recognize those?

 

[0soyoung]

How to measure acidity in bonsai soil?
Kanuma is not available in Chile.
Does the fertilizer say ammonium sulfate? how to recognize those?

First, my apologies to Ms. Vic for horning in, but I must say that it isn't as complicated as it sounds. I grow azaleas in nothing but calcined clay (Turface MVP) with the same balanced fertilizer that I use for everything else.

You likely can buy an 'azalea/rhododendron fertilizer' that uses amonium sulfate. This will acidify your soil as well as supply nitrogen so that you likely will not have any worries. Chlorosis is the result of insufficiently acidic soil. The soil has too high a pH if you see green lines in your otherwise pale green to yellowish leaves. Just adding a pinch or two of iron sulfate (sold as Ironite in the U.S.) will cure the problem in bonsai soil (and in the ground, but it will take more iron sulfate than just a pinch).

By 'a pinch' I literally mean the amount you hold between your thumb and index finger when pinched together - just like a 'pinch of salt' in cooking.

 

[barrosinc]

Thanks!

I found:
Granulated fertilizer
http://www.anasacjardin.cl/producto/completos/fertilizante-para-azaleas-camelias-rododendros/

And iron sulfate
http://www.anasacjardin.cl/producto/fertilizantes-jarditec/fertilizante-sulfato-de-fierro-jarditec/

Should i get the first?

 

[0soyoung]

Thanks!

I found:
Granulated fertilizer
http://www.anasacjardin.cl/producto/completos/fertilizante-para-azaleas-camelias-rododendros/

And iron sulfate
http://www.anasacjardin.cl/producto/fertilizantes-jarditec/fertilizante-sulfato-de-fierro-jarditec/

Should i get the first?

That should work well.

 

[barrosinc]

thanks so much!
I will post pics later on today.

 

[barrosinc]

I purchased the stuff you told me too yesterday.
Should I cut the flower buds off now in winter?