LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
Some nice looking material excellently photographed. Everything looks nice and healthy, good growing!
chopped up Azaleas
- Thread starter Eric Group
- Start date
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Just furthering the "time lapse" on this Gumbi... Makes me smile every day I walk out and see a new bloom has popped for me! 
Eric Group
Masterpiece
This is probably my favorite one I worked on this season so far! HUGE tree! There is a "before" just to show all the growth and the rest of the shots are after it got the second big pruning this season... This is a JT Lovett Satsuki with cool little double layered pink blooms... the nebari on this one!!!! WOW
Before any additional pruning:
After a bit more work:
Attachments
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Probably at peak bloom now... This is the last one I will likely post of this guy this year. Well... No promises! ;-)
Cannot believe that MONSTER Satsuki above this got zero comments! That thing is beautiful... Well it is still really raw, but it WILL be beautiful. This Gumbi is something else though... Not planning on changing much with this little guy except the pot. Maybe next year. Any ideas what might be a good choice?
Cannot believe that MONSTER Satsuki above this got zero comments! That thing is beautiful... Well it is still really raw, but it WILL be beautiful. This Gumbi is something else though... Not planning on changing much with this little guy except the pot. Maybe next year. Any ideas what might be a good choice?
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Update time for this Miyuki- Let this one grow a while, layered the top branch off per Kathy Shaner's advice and re-potted it into a proper container!
right off the bench and into the new pot:
A little haircut/ refinement.. VERY little!
And a closeup of the pot which I LOVE- thanks @hometeamrocker !!
Mellow Mullet
Masterpiece
This one is beautiful. As for pot choice, I think one a little wider and I like just a plain brown, no glaze, for azaleas. I think it shows off the flowers more. I hope to one day have all of mine in that type pot, right now they are in just what I have on hand.
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Thanks John! Yes, certainly they can go in unglazed as well, but I like them just fine in glazed containers- as long as the glaze doesn't detract from or clash with the blooms.
muted greens, cream colors (this pot has both) and even blue can go well with an azalea IMO. I see some of the finest azaleas displayed in both glazed and unglazed containers, so clearly this is one of those trees that has no set "rules" for how you display them. The shape seems to fit the tree well, but there is always room for refinement. Maybe a bit wider and a tad more shallow would be good, but a year and a half ago, this tree was in a 3 gallon nursery can! I wanted the first bonsai pot for it to be a bit deeper so I wouldn't have to go too hard on the roots.
Slow Learner
Yamadori
I agree. I like the color and shallower and wider sounds to me like an improvement.
Mellow Mullet
Masterpiece
Oh, I like your pot too, nothing wrong with it. It looks nice. I was speaking only on my preference. who made it, I like the size and depth?
John
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Eli made it!
@hometeamrocker
Aka Waldo St Pottery on FB
Really good stuff coming from ATL! I had this tree in mind when I bought the pot honestly. This one or perhaps a Maple, but I just liked the way the Azalea fit in it for now, the Maple may go there eventually.
Mellow Mullet
Masterpiece
Waldo Street Pottery
Chumono
Thanks for the plug Eric, the tree looks great!
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Pulled this monster inside to do a little winter work to it
That is what it looked like right off the patio...
Did some minor snipping, sealing carving.. and just a tiny bit of wire.. probably less than half way through with the work I want to do to it right now... just sort of ran out of time
Not a huge transformation yet but the overall shape is starting to show.. this is one possible front just because the wide base is visible and separation between trunks is evident.. the overall tree leans forward a bit which is good and some of the cuts at the top are hidden well... still need to wire a BUNCH of branches obviously but lacking the time to do it all at once means it will take a few days to get it all done.
Mellow Mullet
Masterpiece
Looking Good, Eric. I did some work on a few of mine before the ice apocalypse and several already had the sap flowing and are now weeping from the few cuts that I made.
John
John
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Good sign... we had a "snowpocalypse" here too! Snowed from about 9:00AM-noon Saturday morning and we even saw some accumulate on windshields and fallen leaves! It was all melted by about 2 PM.
discusmike
Omono
You have a lot of nice azalea Eric!
kale
Shohin
Hello! Just wanted to piggyback off this thread because google search “aluminum sulfate satsuki azaleas” brought me here. I have a satsuki that is on the mend from its death bed last year. After a repot into kanuma this past spring, it is now throwing out lots of new small growth everywhere. Only problem is the new growth is still pale yellowish instead of a nice rich green. Should I stay on course and hope for the best or is there something else I could do to help it? I have 2 others that are green and thriving that get the same water. Maybe water this one less since it isnt as vigorous? On top of that, one of my 2 jbps is also struggling and has me wondering about my water ph. Open to any advice, thanks guys!
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Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
Hey @kale !
Sorry to hear a couple of your trees aren’t doing well.
Given the Satsuki was properly root washed and all the old soil was removed before if was placed in kanuma … and there is good drainage in the pot….and the kanuma was sifted and washed properly…. don’t see the quantity of water as an issue. Kanuma is so well draining that it’s is very rare that quantity of water is an issue. So rare I’ve never seen it, unless the drain holes are plugged with dust.
Just to be sure put that pot underwater to the rim for 15 minutes, then water well and chock it up on its side to facilitate drainage for awhile. If yellow water comes out, this may be the issue. (btw: We drill an extra hole on each side of our pots to enhance drainage. This makes chocking up the pot on on side very effective…)
Yet there are other trees with issues…. and others without. So water likely isn’t an issue. That really only leaves roots, fertilizer or too much sun.
Can you please take an good image of each tree and post these? … and also post a couple azalea and maple that aren’t affected?
Cheers
DSD Sends
Sorry to hear a couple of your trees aren’t doing well.
Given the Satsuki was properly root washed and all the old soil was removed before if was placed in kanuma … and there is good drainage in the pot….and the kanuma was sifted and washed properly…. don’t see the quantity of water as an issue. Kanuma is so well draining that it’s is very rare that quantity of water is an issue. So rare I’ve never seen it, unless the drain holes are plugged with dust.
Just to be sure put that pot underwater to the rim for 15 minutes, then water well and chock it up on its side to facilitate drainage for awhile. If yellow water comes out, this may be the issue. (btw: We drill an extra hole on each side of our pots to enhance drainage. This makes chocking up the pot on on side very effective…)
Yet there are other trees with issues…. and others without. So water likely isn’t an issue. That really only leaves roots, fertilizer or too much sun.
Can you please take an good image of each tree and post these? … and also post a couple azalea and maple that aren’t affected?
Cheers
DSD Sends
Glaucus
Omono
If an azalea gets chlorosis, because it was not acidic enough, too wet, had weak roots, was stressed, it can take up to a year for it to recover. It needs strong healthy roots to properly take up all the nutrients that are already available in the soil.|
Kanuma should be acidic enough. And kanuma should also prevent overwatering, if it is fresh kanuma, which it is. But there is no magic sauce that turns a sickly plant into a healthy one.
If the new growth is still pale green, then the roots right now are not able to provide the leaves with the proper nutrients. It may be that they are not available in the soil. But more likely, the roots are not able to provide them to the plant.
Throwing the kitchen sink at a sickly azalea is often a bad idea. Yes, aluminium sulphate could be used to acidify a garden soil. But aluminium ions are toxic to plants. Alternatively, iron(II) sulphate is better. As is ammonium sulphate. If you have a garden soil. The best way to lower garden soil pH is elemental sulphur. Both Iron(II) and ammonium are needed by plants and generally not toxic. The sulphate part will acidify.
When your azalea is in kanuma, and your water is hard (high in bicarbonate ions) and high in pH, the kanuma substrate may struggle to keep the root in the proper acidity. But you don't have an azalea in garden soil, with a lot of buffering capacity pH-wise. Where lowering the soil pH may be advantageous, you are growing in substrate as kanuma is not a soil. If you water a lot, you easily flush out all the minerals plant need.
I do not know what kind of pale leaves you have. If there are green veins, you likely have an iron deficiency caused by too high a pH. In that case, Iron(II) in the form of Fe-EDTA or Fe-EDDHA is best. This is chelated iron. Which is easier for the plant to take up than iron(II) sulphate. Including at high pHs, where iron(II) salts often are not soluble, the chelated iron will be. The issue azaleas get in higher pH soils is that they fail to take up enough Iron(II) / Fe2+.
If the entire leaf is pale, you likely have a nitrogen deficiency. And you just need a safe low yield low concentration but consistent fertilizer source.
Azaleas are salt-sensitive plant that need low levels of fertilizer at a low pH. A high pH with a lot of salt will harm the azalea in several ways.
The safest option is to take distilled or RO water. And to add the proper fertilizer and nutrients that the plant-soil system lacks, at a low concentration. Low enough so that the salt concentration in this water is comparable to your tap water.
And to add small amounts several times. And allowing the rain, which is water with almost no salts at all, to wash out excess salts in between fertilizer applications.
If your tap water is very hard, you do not get enough rain, and you grow your azalea in kanuma, you may need to add acid to your tap water to neutralize the bicarbonates in the tap water. This way, they do not get deposited in the kanuma. And they do not increase over time the pH the roots experience while trying to take up nutrients like Fe2+.
Tap water pH value, bicarbonate concentration, and many other mineral contents, should be available on the website of your local water supplier. For sure they test these values all the time. Usually, you can access them online.
Kanuma should be acidic enough. And kanuma should also prevent overwatering, if it is fresh kanuma, which it is. But there is no magic sauce that turns a sickly plant into a healthy one.
If the new growth is still pale green, then the roots right now are not able to provide the leaves with the proper nutrients. It may be that they are not available in the soil. But more likely, the roots are not able to provide them to the plant.
Throwing the kitchen sink at a sickly azalea is often a bad idea. Yes, aluminium sulphate could be used to acidify a garden soil. But aluminium ions are toxic to plants. Alternatively, iron(II) sulphate is better. As is ammonium sulphate. If you have a garden soil. The best way to lower garden soil pH is elemental sulphur. Both Iron(II) and ammonium are needed by plants and generally not toxic. The sulphate part will acidify.
When your azalea is in kanuma, and your water is hard (high in bicarbonate ions) and high in pH, the kanuma substrate may struggle to keep the root in the proper acidity. But you don't have an azalea in garden soil, with a lot of buffering capacity pH-wise. Where lowering the soil pH may be advantageous, you are growing in substrate as kanuma is not a soil. If you water a lot, you easily flush out all the minerals plant need.
I do not know what kind of pale leaves you have. If there are green veins, you likely have an iron deficiency caused by too high a pH. In that case, Iron(II) in the form of Fe-EDTA or Fe-EDDHA is best. This is chelated iron. Which is easier for the plant to take up than iron(II) sulphate. Including at high pHs, where iron(II) salts often are not soluble, the chelated iron will be. The issue azaleas get in higher pH soils is that they fail to take up enough Iron(II) / Fe2+.
If the entire leaf is pale, you likely have a nitrogen deficiency. And you just need a safe low yield low concentration but consistent fertilizer source.
Azaleas are salt-sensitive plant that need low levels of fertilizer at a low pH. A high pH with a lot of salt will harm the azalea in several ways.
The safest option is to take distilled or RO water. And to add the proper fertilizer and nutrients that the plant-soil system lacks, at a low concentration. Low enough so that the salt concentration in this water is comparable to your tap water.
And to add small amounts several times. And allowing the rain, which is water with almost no salts at all, to wash out excess salts in between fertilizer applications.
If your tap water is very hard, you do not get enough rain, and you grow your azalea in kanuma, you may need to add acid to your tap water to neutralize the bicarbonates in the tap water. This way, they do not get deposited in the kanuma. And they do not increase over time the pH the roots experience while trying to take up nutrients like Fe2+.
Tap water pH value, bicarbonate concentration, and many other mineral contents, should be available on the website of your local water supplier. For sure they test these values all the time. Usually, you can access them online.
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kale
Shohin
Thanks @Deep Sea Diver and @Glaucus! I’ve been dissolving sulfur in my watering can and using that. It seems to be recovering. May start dosing with chelated iron. But I think I like the direction its heading so not going to try anything drastic. Here’s some photos, along with 2 other ones that are doing well. All 3 of them are the same age. Interesting to see what different states theyre all in.Similar threads
