Coral Bell Azalea Repot

[wlambeth]

Some before shots

 

[wlambeth]

Here are some shots.
I know I should have removed the flowers but damn they are beautiful!

 

[joey]

why do you need to remove the flowers? isn't that the point to have the flowers? i am new to bonsai sorry if these are dumb questions.

 

[0soyoung]

why do you need to remove the flowers? isn't that the point to have the flowers? i am new to bonsai sorry if these are dumb questions.

NO. YES, resp.
After the flowers have bloomed, they will consume a hefty amount of carbohydrate making seeds (if they were polinated). You don't want this happening with bonsai. Also there is a surge of vegetative growth after flowering.

So, the basic technique is to shear/cut-back azaleas once the flowers fade.

Flowers are just tip buds gone wild. Flower buds form sometime after the summer solstice. You will notice elongation generally stops when this happens (because the tip bud is morphing into a larger flower bud and is no longer a bud that can extend a stem and leaves). You should not shear/prune any more that season if you want flowers in the next year. Of course, if you don't want flowers, all you need do is to cut off the branch tips in summer/fall. It is contentious whether this really helps with trunk/stem thickening.