Bonsainoob88 5 year azalea competition entry

[Deep Sea Diver]

Believe me, I’ve been there! So don’t ever feel bad asking for help. In a couple of years you will be helping others.

So here’s where the art comes in.

First try to visualize what you want the design to be. Then see what is there that you can use.

The main goal in basic most designs is to identify a leader to go up. Find that, then include any prospective branches.

Here’s a couple example cut backs.. ignore the wiring, look at the growth.




In these examples I’m merely setting up a line and keeping growth that will either become branches or will build growth from that area downwards…. these will be sacrificed later.

If you aren’t sure you will need something, keep it for later. The goal is always to advance the growth you need towards the future design form, as modified over time.

Always favor top growth over basal growth.
If you aren’t sure if you will need something, keep it for later.

Once done loosely wire the growth in place. When the growth hardens in late winter early spring you can wire a bit more formally, but not too tight.

If your horticulture is good… and it seems to be, the plant will fill in. If you look closely at the included photos you will see growth already filling in.

Finally It’s good practice to take cuttings and learn to grow these out. They will make great practice trees in the future… will give you confidence and improve your skill set. (I took over 450 cuttings this year…. buts that’s a whole ‘nother story!)

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsainoob88]

OK thanks again DSD I will be giving them a good water tonight and tomorrow morning will be going for it

 

[Bonsainoob88]

OK here goes. 1st bit of styling done on my entry to the competition. I managed to get over 40 cuttings , I'll be happy if 25% strike any more a bonus.
Anyway here it is , now tear me apart

 

[Forsoothe!]

Sorry, but I keep seeing disjointed non-plans offered/stated that forget that there is a timeline and many seem to forget that you can only accomplish just so much in each given year. I think a lot of people are going to arrive at the finish line with trees that are still a year or two away from presentable. To wit:

Year One: Reduce the branches to the starting point of the goal canopy. A “tree” has some amount of bare trunk & branches that can be viewed from the front at eye level, otherwise it is a bush. Bushes are not bonsai. It is from this basic architecture that the ramified canopy will grow. Feed modestly. Only allow or encourage ramification that suits your proposed design this year, trim off all flower buds as they appear without damaging the underlying foliage cluster buds. Eliminate extra branches, muy pronto! In autumn tip prune for ramification in 2nd year.

Year Two: Feed modestly. Continue tip pruning to encourage ramification and definition of clouds, eliminate flower buds as they appear.

Year Three: Repot into show pot. Feed modestly. Continue tip pruning to encourage ramification and definition of clouds, eliminate flower buds as they appear.

Year Four: Feed modestly. Continue tip pruning to encourage ramification and definition of clouds, eliminate flower buds that are badly located (too interior) for The Show.

Year Five: The jig is up, show us what ya got. Here, 4 years of ramification and modest growth into a compact tree-looking plant having wasted nothing in 3 years of growing and foregoing blooms, now covered with blooms on a finely ramified visible frame.

You may notice that nowhere is there room for a bad year, chopping back to zero again, letting grow wild and chopping back, or starting late. The people who have planned ahead and restrained themselves to following the plan will be in the running.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Good Morning. I see you’ve been busy!

That was ambitious for this time of the year. But in for a penny in for a pound. With luck, your tree will survive, backbud and you will be a year behind due to your earlier loss, but in good shape.

At this point, here’s what I would do. From what remains the tree still has one of the classic “cartwheels“ azaleas put out at each flowering site. So you’ll want to choose two of the three horizontal branches to remove. This leaves you one going up, one sideways.….

Then stop the very tip of the growth on the remaining horizontal branch. This will force the growth backward, leaving the main stem to grow up unrestrained.

With luck, you will see some backbudding all along the main stem and branch. Keep all the new growth the forms this year for now. It is your hope of the future.

This final cut will make the tree look even sparser, but given a successful winter over, you will be on the proper flight path to develop this tree. In the future you will want to force the growth of the horizontal branch back further to fit the design you have started… of an informal upright.

The post by @Forsoothe! above is excellent advice for growing out from this point. Knowing you lost a tree and are a year behind…. It won’t exactly fit where you are, but will start to next year.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsainoob88]

I think I've misunderstood your post yesterday advising me what to do . I tried to follow what you'd said here. Did you mean to pick the main line and a side branch, but just leave the rest of the new growth to grow free ?

Greetings!

It’s pushing the window for a big cutback of older growth, but from what I can see you already had a line started and the mess of foliage that grew just after your blooming post is all first year growth. So you can try this idea if you desire.

Find the mainline. It will likely have a rosette of branches off the flowering point. Keep two, one as your leader and one as a side branch. Cut just the tip off the chosen side branch. This can very lightly wired to a horizontal position Remove the others at their base.

Next. Do the same at any other flowering points, except cut back to one branch and stop the tip growth.

Selectively remove the remainder of the branches. Any that fit the design you’re forming should be kept, stopping the very tip growth. Remove the others at the base.

Please send a couple side views when done.

Cheers
DSD sends
Cheers

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hmm…. not sure this matters anymore? The thought was to keep one side branch and the mainline intact at every junction site.…. And leave anything you weren’t certain about. Maybe there was only one junction site?

Anyways, what you did seems perfectly ok, and took a lot of courage to do! Just a bit late for my personal comfort, as I’m not aware of your wintering over situation . As long as you have a good winter over plan/site, all should go well.

It would be good to get rid of the cartwheel, either now or next spring. The energy diverted to these extra branches will slow the overall growth and these wont ever be part of a bonsai design. In the long term the goal would be to get at least 3 or more, horizontally separated, branches emanating from different sides of the mainline.

There’s a pretty decent thread on BNut about this here.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Hmm…. not sure this matters anymore? The thought was to keep one side branch and the mainline intact at every junction site.…. And leave anything you weren’t certain about. Maybe there was only one junction site?

Anyways, what you did seems perfectly ok, and took a lot of courage to do! Just a bit late for my personal comfort, as I’m not aware of your wintering over situation . As long as you have a good winter over plan/site, all should go well.

It would be good to get rid of the cartwheel, either now or next spring. The energy diverted to these extra branches will slow the overall growth and these wont ever be part of a bonsai design. In the long term the goal would be to get at least 3 or more, horizontally separated, branches emanating from different sides of the mainline.

There’s a pretty decent thread on BNut about this here.

Cheers
DSD sends

OK cool I will cut them later on , I'm still waiting on my cutpaste so I'll do it when I seal it up . It'll be spending the winter in my greenhouse (unheated) .... seemed to cope well last year so should be OK this year .

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nice!

btw you can use wood glue, plumbers putty or numerous other items as a substitute

Ciders
DSD sends

 

[Bonsainoob88]

That is a great thread about the 'WHIP'

... I cut the cartwheel from the edge of the horizontal branch and sealed wounds. I left the cartwheel at the top of the main trunk. Do I need to take take off aswell or leave it? I'm assuming cut it back to the next set of leaves because I don't want branching at the end ?? Where should I be cutting it ? Red, blue or green ?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

That is a great thread about the 'WHIP'

... I cut the cartwheel from the edge of the horizontal branch and sealed wounds. I left the cartwheel at the top of the main trunk. Do I need to take take off aswell or leave it? I'm assuming cut it back to the next set of leaves because I don't want branching at the end ?? Where should I be cutting it ? Red, blue or green ?

Photo?

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Photo?

Edited post

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Blue and just outboard (left) of green ought to do the trick.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

btw: Leave what you call the cartwheel main trunk alone. It should grow unrestricted for now.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Seems to have done alright since the chop mid August. Growing nicely . Should I nip the side shoots off the leader and the side branch or leave till next springtime ?

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Here a pic

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nicely done! Your choice mate.

I’d plan on wiring the main leader and chopping the side shoot late winter before the tree starts back budding strongly.

Best
DSD sends

 

[bunjin]

We never have grass like that! So much green. Okay, let them grow a bit now as getting girth will be the goal since you have decided on a main trunk. Increase pot size when roots fill the existing container.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

We never have grass like that! So much green. Okay, let them grow a bit now as getting girth will be the goal since you have decided on a main trunk. Increase pot size when roots fill the existing container.

Nice green grass is one of the benefits of living somewhere that rains 99% of the year

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Nearly a year on from my last post . Today I have wired and about a month ago I repotted my azalea plants .
While wiring I managed to snap 2 of my azaleas main leader in basically the same place on each .

Never mind next time I'll be more gentle . Defo up there with the front runners for the competition though

for reference it was the one in the wooden box that was my entry . Just doing it for a bit fun now don't think it's competition worthy .