Azaleas I'm working on

[VAFisher]

This is a nursery Chinzan I got last year. It flowered pretty well this spring and then I chopped it back pretty hard. It's grown pretty well since the chop. I like the base and the 4 trunks. I don't have a very clear vision of where it's going yet, but I hope I can make something nice out of it.

 

[VAFisher]

My local nursery often has 1 gallon azaleas on sale for $3. This is one of those. I forgot to take before pics or even note what type it is - oh well. I bought about 12 of them this spring and planted a bunch around the yard. I couldn't find a good spot for the last one so it became a test. I chopped it way back, cut the roots to almost nothing and stuck it in this little pot. I figured for $3, why not.

 

[VAFisher]

These next 2 were landscape plants at my brother's house for a number of years. He didn't want them anymore and they ended up at my Mom's. She asked me if I wanted them and I said "Uh yeah". I dug em up this spring right after they finished blooming. No idea what type they are but the blooms are red.





The second one is pretty weird with the fused trunks.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Those look nice, good job on cutting them back.

 

[sorce]

pretty weird

It's odd.... But I like that composition.

I reckon that'll be something nice!

Sorce

 

[VAFisher]

I thought I would update my azaleas. I believe these first 2 are the same variety but I don't know what they are. They are getting ready to bloom so I guess that makes them Kurume? Most of these leaves fell off this winter except those surrounding the flower buds. But they are also putting out new growth now at the same time as the flowers getting ready to open. I repotted this one and exposed more of the base. I like the double trunk, semi cacade thing it has going on.



After it blooms, I'll give the branches a good cutback and start working on the branch structure a little more. I could also see it in a deeper pot next time too.

 

[Eric Group]

Hard to tell without blooms open, but... yeah probably Kurume, not quite red enough for a Hino, Xmas cheer or Han's red... Maybe a Girard's "hot shot", though not 100% Girards are Kurume.

There is a Kurume called "tradition". That looks a lot like this color...

 

[VAFisher]

I couldn't decide what to do with the weird raft thing - especially the right side of it where it was fused together and had that long trunk running along the soil. So I decided to make a much smaller tree out of it. I hacked off the right side and now I'm left with this. It's still weird for an azalea, but I'm hoping I can make something cool with it.

 

[VAFisher]

This one is a Chinzan that I cut back hard last year. I removed extra branches and wired the remaining ones and rotated the front slightly.

 

[VAFisher]

And last but not least, my little one. It's some kind of satsuki that I bought for $3 last year. I forgot to make a note of the variety. Oh well.

 

[VAFisher]

Hard to tell without blooms open, but... yeah probably Kurume, not quite red enough for a Hino, Xmas cheer or Han's red... Maybe a Girard's "hot shot", though not 100% Girards are Kurume.

There is a Kurume called "tradition". That looks a lot like this color...

Thanks man. I guess it doesn't really matter to me exactly what it is, but I like having some that bloom early and some that bloom later. Keeping crape myrtles in the collection also, means flowers for most of the year. Which is cool.

 

[VAFisher]

Quick update on this one because it's almost in full bloom. I remembered it being more red but I like this pink color too. I slipped it into this pot that was sitting empty after I repotted my trident earlier this year. I like this combo better. The other was too big I think - especially with the impending cut back the tree will get when the blooms fade.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Stunning blooms! And great job with cutting back. Most regret not cutting back further...but, I don't think you will have to worry about that.

 

[VAFisher]

Not a single photo left in my Azalea thread. Damn you photobucket! Oh well. I'm looking for some advice on this little Chinzan. I chopped it back pretty hard 2 years ago and let it grow last year. This is what it looks like now.


And a better shot of the base.



You can see that I had to prune off several trunks which left scars but they are becoming less and less noticeable and I find the base pretty interesting. I originally left 4 trunks but ended up doing away with one last year and now am left with the 3 that you see. My issue is that it currently just kinda looks like a bush in a pot - and not a tree. I've been considering what to do about that but thought I would get the advice of the forum. The best thing I can come up with is to keep the left hand trunk about the height it is or maybe shorten it a little. While growing the right hand trunk much taller. I'm unsure how the back trunk will fit into this plan but maybe it will be somewhere in the middle. What would you do if this was yours? @Mellow Mullet? @Dav4? @JudyB?

 

[Dav4]

I'd get some wire on the branches that can be bent without too much effort and try to develop some pads and movement to the canopy... it wants to move to the left so accentuate that. Also, I'd carve back those chop scars to fresh wood and seal well.

 

[JudyB]

One thing about azaleas is that they don't really have to look like a tree necessarily. They are really developed to show off their flowers more than their tree like structure. However if you can have both why not! I would really spread this thing out to make a wonderful umbrella type shape, which is where it seems to want to go. I like this base and the trunks. Just keep it going in this direction I would say.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I agree with Dave and Judy, just put some wire on it to spread it out. It already has a pleasing shape, just needs a little tweaking. Forget about letting it get much taller, the trunks aren't thick enough for that. After it blooms, thin the foliage some.

 

[VAFisher]

Thanks all. Spreading it out is not an option I had considered but it makes sense.

 

[VAFisher]

Update pics. These first 2 are unknown varieties to me but they bloom early so I think they are some sort of kurume hybrid. I missed out on the blooms this year because I put them out one morning this spring when I was doing the 2 step and it was too cold.
The foliage turned black and died. I don't know if the flower buds were effected or not but I went ahead and just cut them back. They came back pretty strong. Hopefully I'll get to enjoy blooms next year.

 

[VAFisher]