nursery azalea

[memphisdank]

hi everyone! i live right outside of memphis tn. i have a few bonsais over the past few years that i have bought from brussels bonsai in olive branch ms. i have had very good luck so far! my question now is about taking an azalea from home depot and cutting it back so i can put it in a bonsai pot. can anyone give me some advice on this? i think it is a good time to do it now as where im at we are getting into the 70's now. any help will be appreciated!

 

[Paradox]

I have a few azaleas myself and most people say that you shouldnt prune or repot until after they are done flowering. You should also cut off the flower buds as the flowers die and drop their petals. Also you should keep it in the shade for a few weeks after you repot so it can adjust.
I have followed this advice and so far it has worked fine.

 

[memphisdank]

ok thanks a lot! this is the first time to do this with any tree, so i am a bit nervous!

 

[Paradox]

Perfectly understandable, we all were with our first tree or two or three. Youll feel that way again on the first tree you spend any kind of money on too. The only way to learn is to do. You will kill a few along the way; we all did. Just dont get discouraged it is part of the price we pay to learn how to bonsai.

 

[memphisdank]

yeah i am really worried about killing it but it only cost 5 bucks at home depot but thats not really the point! i just want to keep it from dying and hope it will do well! thanks again for the advice

 

[AppleBonsai]

You found a Satsuki at HD?! Or is it a Euro var?

 

[memphisdank]

no satsuki... it is some kind of hybrid. prob not the best for bonsai but we will see what happens! it is very tiny right now in a 1 gallon nursery pot!

 

[Paradox]

It is probably the regular garden variety Karume azalea common in the U.S.. I have one that I bought a couple of years ago. They have larger leaves and coarser growth than Satsuki, but they are perfectly fine to learn with.

 

[AppleBonsai]

Oh yeah cool. They are fun to play with. Here is CA they are pretty hard to kill. But I agree with Paradox, try not to do too much playing until after it flowers-that is the better time! Good luck and post any progress pics. I killed many of things from HD! But as Paradox mentioned- that's part of the learning experience! And better to kill a $5 HD plant than something you would regret even more. But I have killed a couple of those back in the day too.

 

[barrosinc]

this video is all you need to see:

 

[memphisdank]

i dont see the video. i have watched videos on you tube from chasnx and the bonsai student over and over but talking to someone seems to do better for me!

 

[memphisdank]

oh i see it now.

 

[sorce]

i dont see the video. i have watched videos on you tube from chasnx and the bonsai student over and over but talking to someone seems to do better for me!

John's videos are way better!

He knows a lot more!

Sorce

 

[GrimLore]

You can cut it back now. If you do make it proportional - cut the same percentage of foliage as you do root. Put it in partial sun for a few weeks and do no let it dry out. You will quickly learn that potted Azalea like to be damp NOT wet and hate dry... Cutting blooms after bloom never seemed to make any difference to me. I do however cut buds on some plants to divert the energy to plant growth rather then bloom.

Grimmy