Deep Sea Diver’s 2020 - 25 Azalea contest entry

[JudyB]

Did you do any of these without the succulent addition? Just curious...

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Did you do any of these without the succulent addition? Just curious...

Great question!

Yes we did a number of azaleas that have a small variety of plants and then others with just mountain moss. Of course the mountain moss always seems to evolve into quite a variety of mosses etc naturally. So essentially a similar effect.

The nebari effect is similar in each case.

It appears the nebari building effect is certainly due to two things. Deeper media and a constantly cool, moist environment. (Note how the ring was lowered over time in previous posts)

However It’s hard to measure whether the growth of the nebari is directly attributed to a thriving rhizosphere…. which includes the use of Biochar (which also helps keep the media moist and fosters microbial growth.

However it appears clear to me the plants grown with moss/biochar are certainly markedly healthier and robust when compared to those grown without. So much so that all azaleas and other trees in the collection are now grown this way.



Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Glaucus]

Exposing nebari too early always seemed like a mistake to me.

So you did specifically add those succulents?

For my growing field I am now exploring what I do with weeds vs cover crops&companion crops. Different from a potted environment.
Actually I had weeds & mosses overtake some of my seedling trays last year and they don't look very good.
So it must always be a balance between the azalea&bonsai species, and any mosses or other plants growing.
For sure, rip out liverworts, I'd say. I hate those things.
grasses also grow too rapidly.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Exposing nebari too early always seemed like a mistake to me.

So you did specifically add those succulents?

The short answer is yes. These three types of succulents (no clue which are their names, were added over a period of three years (now the fourth). First for testing on confers and deciduous trees. Then to the azaleas. It took a few years to grow enough to spread about. None are invasive, rather spreading, staying inside their pots as placed.

However these do need to be trimmed back about 1x a year, when btw the moss on some pots does too. All grow sideways, some mosses also need a ‘haircut’ with scissors due to growing high in the fall.

btw, We save the clippings of both succulents and Mountain Moss as these can be propagated. Mountain moss can be dried and rewetted too.

For my growing field I am now exploring what I do with weeds vs cover crops&companion crops. Different from a potted environment.

Thats for sure. Yet many of the midwestern farmers in the US have shifted to no till farming. Wonder in they got this idea from the Dutch?

Actually I had weeds & mosses overtake some of my seedling trays last year and they don't look very good.

Weeds are always removed as these drop deep roots into the roots of the seedlings. Moss is always kept on our seedlings.

In the end it was a pretty simple trade off for us, aesthetics or health/growth. We choose the latter.

So it must always be a balance between the azalea&bonsai species, and any mosses or other plants growing.
For sure, rip out liverworts, I'd say. I hate those things. grasses also grow too rapidly.

Liverworts are on the do not fly list here too.

I guess one thing I did not add, is we rarely use hazardous chemicals on our trees. Copper is used in the winter/early spring. For azaleas one chemical, imidicloprid, is used for lace bugs after blooming is finished. They have spread all up the coast from California where these little bugs were brought in by imported plants.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Trimming back. Healthy with normal slow growth. Note sacrifice branch on bottom to both thicken trunk/nebari and heal pruning scar. May cut the top and or angle the upper half.



Best
DSD sends

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Greetings!

This tree was cut back 2-3x this year with minimal blooming.

Last cut back was three weeks ago. Tree is responding well from repot this year.

Maybe the front +\- 30 degrees.


Sorta the back


Adding some bits of wire here and there in a couple weeks. Generally August is a bad month to wire azaleas. Better to let things grow for awhile, will wire in September to sort things out.

Next year likely will take the tree out of the pot, leaving the roots alone, remove the sacrifices, curate the nebari further, look at position changes and hopefully will have a couple pots to choose from to complement the tree. Otherwise it is what it is.

Will be writing an Azalea Wars thread about azaleas and pots down the line.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Been preparing all trees for wintering over. Azaleas require quite a bit prior to wintering over, especially when going to enclosed storage, to get these plants battened down properly….

Here is the little Kikisui before winter yesterday.




…Amongst other tasks we pull off the spring leaves and clearing all needles, leaves and detritus off the media the can and will cause fungus in storage.

Other tasks include pruning, cleaning the pot, ensuring the drain holes are clear, cleaning the trunk, (re)sealing old and new wounds, patching moss on the media and spraying with copper of other anti fungal treatment both before and during dormancy depending on the situation.

For us, the need for proper winter prep hits home this year. A friend lost a really good azalea due to not doing winter prep. The issue was complex. Biggest issues were inadequate prep and ventilation while in the greenhouse. The bonsai got rust, lost all its leaves. A number of fungal treatments (all haz chemicals btw) were attempted while the tree was weakened, eventually succumbing.

One last note. Perhaps the very best time, without a doubt, to wire an azalea bonsai is after the majority of winter prep has been done. (Be careful the wood is harder now.) So on went the wire. Afterwards I took a couple images of the bonsai and ended up adding more wire… and a bit more. Eventually adding on a couple wires I should have put on first to adjust the lower branches!

Hence the tree resembles a bit of a junkyard dog. But being accountable for my own wiring, as Todd S says we all should be, there is no one to blame but myself!

Here are a couple images of the little Kikisui before heading into the greenhouse for winter.

Perhaps front.



Perhaps back


Kikisui is actually more suited for a bit bigger size bonsai due to flower size. Will see better how it looks when the flowing begins.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[yashu]

Hey DSD, when will you remove wire applied at this time?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hey DSD, when will you remove wire applied at this time?

Thanks for asking. This wire likely will come off in March. The sooner the better

Timing depends on how fast the lil’ guy comes out of dormancy. I discovered one has to be especially vigilant about wire on greenhoused azaleas… also quince etc (much to my chagrin ), a couple years back.

Cheers
DSD sends