My 'Ben Oki' azalea

[Brian Van Fleet]

This kurume azalea was one of several I collected from the front yard of our first house in 2000. This one really caught my eye, double trunk, decent crawling nebari, and a great double trunk. I dug it in '00 or '01. Ths '02 image is the earliest digital photo I have. Somewhere, I have one of it still in the ground. The house was built in '61, and this was part of the original landscape.

I took it to a Ben Oki workshop after it gained a bit of strength. Here are some photos of the initial styling in 2005...that's me in my younger and thinner phase:

Here, Mr. Oki is teaching a lesson on how determine the relative strength of different parts of the tree, mostly by leaf size.

This photo is the 'after' shot. The reoccurring saying of the day (not mine) was, "there, much simpler now".

Here is the azalea after the '05 growing season:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here it is in spring '07, flowering...still sparse.

During the '07 season, it started to bulk up a bit, and I started into a routine with the tree. Grow until June, prune hard. Wire in Fevruwry to get the buds in the right places, and let it bloom. Prune hard again in June, and remove wires. It seems to work.

It was last repotted in straight kanuma in '08.
A shot of spring '09, wired and blooming. Notice how the flower buds on this one have several flowers per bud?

Mid summer '09, before cutting back. Much later, and the flower buds will not have time to develop for the next spring show.

Fall image nice and tidy, and ready for blooming:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

In bloom, '10:

This was the first year I removed all but one flower from each bud. The result was a less-congested look. I like the look, but it is a lot of work.

Mid summer '10. The nebari on the left needs to develop more. It's starting to creep, but still small compared to the right side. If I repot it next year, I should be able to pot it slightly higher and show another 1.5"

After pruning back in the summer. The ramification is developing well. During a storm in '10, a big branch fell out of the oak above, and snapped a large branch put of the right trunk. It was pinky-thick, and 10" wide. It didn't take long to fill the gap, but the cut paste is visible in one of the photos above. '10 was the last year every branch was wired.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Spring '11

After unwiring and summer pruning, '11. Notice where all the fertilizer is...packed around the area where the nebari needs to improve

Growing back, after summer pruning. Just enough time allowed to grow a few nodes and set a few buds...

'11 fall color:

 

[Dan W.]

ok...I'm drooling....waiting in anticipation for this years spring photo's....lol

Thanks a million for sharing the pogression Brian.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is what the compound flower buds look like:

After removing all but one flower per bud (done a little late this year):

This is also a good way to control the blooming period. If you want to speed things up, remove the little ones, slow it down, remove the bigger ones.

Before debudding:

After removing the more advanced buds (slowing it down a bit)

Next week it should reach full bloom...

 

[Alex DeRuiter]

Absolutely beautiful tree and a thorough progression. Thank you for posting this, Brian!

 

[Ang3lfir3]

great tree and progression .... azalea blooming already ..... so jealous of the weather right now

hows the nebari coming along with the one sided fert ??

 

[edprocoat]

Is your back yard pretty secure? I only ask as I will be returning to Ohio in the next week or two, Birmingham Al. would not be too far out of my way and after looking at this tree I had the strong urge to stop by and "borrow" it !!!

Thats a beautiful tree you have, its great what you have accomplished with this. How about a picture with you in your older, fatter stage to compare the total tree/owner transformation?

ed

 

[Harunobu]

Hmmm, I like it better without flowers for some reason.

 

[raydomz]

Holy hell!
What a nice tree this is. The progression is great.
This is definietly a great thing for beginners to see, especially those who may be considering a very drastic pruning to establish an overall shape. It DOES pay off!


Very lovely tree.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Brian,

Nice work on a great azalea bonsai. What cultivar is it? Wakabaisu?

When I saw your bonsai I immediately saw another design idea. The straight rise in the trunk is quite severe and might be modified by simply angling the trunk.

Just a quick unsolicited idea.

Bill

PS: Keep up the good work!

 

[Dav4]

Great tree, beautiful with or without flowers. Nice progression, as well.

 

[woodguy]

Really nice tree and progression! Thanks for sharing.

 

[JudyB]

BVF once again shows us all the rewards patience and following a plan can bring. Kudos.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian,

Nice work on a great azalea bonsai. What cultivar is it? Wakabaisu?

When I saw your bonsai I immediately saw another design idea. The straight rise in the trunk is quite severe and might be modified by simply angling the trunk.

Just a quick unsolicited idea.

Bill

PS: Keep up the good work!
View attachment 22010

Thanks Bill. Since it was growing in the landscape, I've never been able to id the cultivar, but Wakabaisu fits the description. There is a tiny piece of plastic tag embedded in the back where the trunk splits...always wish there was a little more there...with the cultivar!

Love the design idea, it is definitely more interesting, and this one has become a bit static. Tilting it resolves the long straight section, and the weaker nebari on the left side. Thanks, I'll play with it.

 

[JudyB]

Brian, I'm wondering something, it's just a curiosity....
If you could go back to the original styling, would you have done any thing different? And when the top reduction was done that day, did it shock you? I see that the tree has turned out perfectly to the plan, but the first couple of pictures surprised me seeing how much was taken out at the beginning.

Don't misunderstand my question, I see the fruition of the design at the end, but at the beginning, it's very hard to see it. And I know that I would've been daunted at that reduction.

This is a prime question for those of us at the beginning end of things,- can we do the work that needs done at the beginning to get the tree on the path that will elevate it in the long run.

Wakabaisu sometimes flowers twice in a season, have you ever seen this on this tree?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Ang: It is coming along, and definitely outpacing the activity on the right. Unfortunately, so is the whole left side, which means holding back the top more.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian, I'm wondering something, it's just a curiosity....
If you could go back to the original styling, would you have done any thing different? And when the top reduction was done that day, did it shock you? I see that the tree has turned out perfectly to the plan, but the first couple of pictures surprised me seeing how much was taken out at the beginning.

Don't misunderstand my question, I see the fruition of the design at the end, but at the beginning, it's very hard to see it. And I know that I would've been daunted at that reduction.

This is a prime question for those of us at the beginning end of things,- can we do the work that needs done at the beginning to get the tree on the path that will elevate it in the long run.

Wakabaisu sometimes flowers twice in a season, have you ever seen this on this tree?

I never doubted how much he removed, because these things are so tough (again, grow what grows in your area), and he definitely took his time assessing the tree first. But, notice how well the branching grew and filled out, whereas the trunk hasn't changed at all after a decade in a pot. Looking back on it, knowing what I know now, I probably would have removed more, or chosen trunk lines with more movement and taper. To correct that now, I'd have to go back even further than we took it at Mr. Oki's workshop, undoing the last 7 years. I'd do that, and might at some point, but think how much better the tree would be in 2022 if I only left sections with good movement and taper back in '05, instead of starting over a second time...

This is a case for building a tree from the base-up. I have learned (time and again), that you can't go back and correct some things without undoing everything...like trying to untie a knot in an extension cord without unplugging one end. Now, I won't leave anything on a tree I'm developing that bothers me even a little. My "3rd generation" bonsai are better trees for this reason.

As for the vision from the workshop, Mr. Oki did a drawing for me, which he signed. I framed it and it's hung in my office at times (splash of mud and all). It is now fuller than his drawing, and that is pretty cool, but I am becoming dissatisfied with it and it is time to resolve some of the flaws in the right trunk. Bills idea is a creative and conservative approach that uses the whole tree, which is a good place to start.

 

[JudyB]

Now, I won't leave anything on a tree I'm developing that bothers me even a little.

I've found this to actually make things easier as I move forward, to not leave anything that I dislike alone.
Thanks for letting me in your head. It's helpful to my understanding of developing a system of how to work.