My 'Ben Oki' azalea

[ABCarve]

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You’re keeping us in suspense!! So where did this fallen soldier come from?

 

[Cadillactaste]

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That branch was hollow inside... you mentioned taken from the right side. So waiting for this tease show to come to an end to see the final results. You mentioned it was having branches die. Think it was from the hollowed branch issue?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

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Bold move!

 

[Ruddigger]

Was that the right trunk?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I couldn’t quite get the planting angle I wanted in this go, but here is the result for now...

 

[bwaynef]

I *LOVE* the new pairing of pot & tree.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Wowzer! I really like where you took it!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Full bloom shot.

 

[badatusernames]

That’s lovely. I’m so tempted to dig an overgrown one and plant a new one in my yard…

Bjorn’s comments on a recent Q&A got me nervous about mine in terms of how he described how azaleas can have their apexes die - I was under the impression hard cutbacks at the base would mitigate that, but it sounds like it can be a real roll of the dice over time, regardless.

Do you do anything in particular beyond pruning technique to mitigate that, or do you have any in-depth azalea horticulture resources you leveraged to learn how to avoid that? I have the book on flowering bonsai from I believe Peter Adams but I’m curious if there’s something even more in depth, akin to Merrigioldi’s book on maples

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

That’s lovely. I’m so tempted to dig an overgrown one and plant a new one in my yard…

Bjorn’s comments on a recent Q&A got me nervous about mine in terms of how he described how azaleas can have their apexes die - I was under the impression hard cutbacks at the base would mitigate that, but it sounds like it can be a real roll of the dice over time, regardless.

Do you do anything in particular beyond pruning technique to mitigate that, or do you have any in-depth azalea horticulture resources you leveraged to learn how to avoid that? I have the book on flowering bonsai from I believe Peter Adams but I’m curious if there’s something even more in depth, akin to Merrigioldi’s book on maples

Well, clearly I have been unsuccessful in mitigating that.

Here is what I have heard/experienced:

1. Azaleas seem to have about a 40- 50-year life span as bonsai. Don’t remember who told me that. Mine was likely planted around 1962, dug around 2002, so it’s on borrowed time for sure.

2. I have seen dead apices on azaleas more than any other tree in a bonsai pot. Kathy Shaner said there is really no coming back from it. Once the apex dies, the tree follows eventually. They have a strong root-> branch connection, and they usually die from the branch all the way down.

3. They have thin bark and the twigs tend to dry out over time causing dieback. Peter Warren talks about how older growth constricts and it is important to hard prune them often to keep the twigs ‘young’ and green.

 

[badatusernames]

Well, clearly I have been unsuccessful in mitigating that.

Here is what I have heard/experienced:

1. Azaleas seem to have about a 40- 50-year life span as bonsai. Don’t remember who told me that. Mine was likely planted around 1962, dug around 2002, so it’s on borrowed time for sure.

2. I have seen dead apices on azaleas more than any other tree in a bonsai pot. Kathy Shaner said there is really no coming back from it. Once the apex dies, the tree follows eventually. They have a strong root-> branch connection, and they usually die from the branch all the way down.

3. They have thin bark and the twigs tend to dry out over time causing dieback. Peter Warren talks about how older growth constricts and it is important to hard prune them often to keep the twigs ‘young’ and green.

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Glaucus]

Makes it even more impressive when you see those 100+ year old huge Kozan and Ozakazuki. Makes you wonder about the special knowledge to keep them alive. Or about how many similar ones died before making it to that age with similar expert care.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

I have heard the 50 years as a bonsai story to…. dunno if it’s an ”urban myth” or a horticultural thing. I’ve seen photos of older, yet I think it’s more about the way bonsai has been practiced in Japan…. long view…. multiple generational maintenance with procedures used that only occur in ten, twenty, or even thirty year cycles.

… Just on the basic side.

Roberta Walters a Gondo instructor, back in the day, mentioned the need not to let azalea bonsai bloom out every year, but to hard prune one year, repot another and bloom fully the third. Most folks I know are hesitant to do this, choosing to let the tree fully bloom each year. Perhaps a choice to not sacrifice for the tree’s long term growth vs the hobbyist’s short term gain

….More infrequent procedures to revitalize the azalea. Hard choices.

There are some other hints to normal ‘rebooting’ practices in Japanese authored books and videos that have popped up over time in research that it also seems many folks wouldn’t often consider doing to a prized azalea bonsai in non Japanese countries... maybe as it occurs infrequently to (Nakayama, Wantanabe, ‘The old Master’ etc. However Jonas D and Michael Hagedorn have illustrated a couple rebooting techniques over the years in their blogs.

The issue is how to determine when to pull the trigger to perform these actions before a tree has degraded to a point of minimal or no return. The how is fairly straightforward, although perhaps tough psycologically.

- Trunks are often rebooted In a number of readings/videos showing taking off “entire ‘old’, still visibly functioning branches” and regrowing entire new branches.

- Chopping all main branches off the existing azalea bonsai trunk, leaving multiple twigs (always leaving some green) to reboot or partially reboot the tree … Its also commonplace to perform this technique on field grown trees to create the structure after pulling a tree from the field.

- Peremptorily chopping back a trunk to regrow/reboot the design. This was an actual existing bonsai. @Brian Van Fleet ’s Ben Oki tree is an excellent example of this.

Just some musings…

Cheers and Happy Easter!
DSD gets back to work!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is a fall color shot. I’m not crazy about this tree anymore, but it does still look nice with some colors.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Starting to bloom.