One-year progression of a chinzan satsuki shohin

[Chuah]

I really really want to import an azalea!!!

Don't know about importing tree regulations in Chile. There are several Japanese Satsuki azalea vendors on the internet, they do ship to foreign countries.

 

[Robert E Holt]

Great looking Azalea. I'm just getting started with a few Satsuki, and Kurume Azaleas. I'm looking forward to spring so I can start working mine. I'm not sure I would be ready for an import of that size. Maybe in a few years when I learn a little more about styling them.

 

[Chuah]

Great looking Azalea. I'm just getting started with a few Satsuki, and Kurume Azaleas. I'm looking forward to spring so I can start working mine. I'm not sure I would be ready for an import of that size. Maybe in a few years when I learn a little more about styling them.

It is a good idea to start with something inexpensive to learn more about the trees. I mail ordered different young satsuki cultivars to experiment and make sure they can grow in my area. I have friends bought beautiful specimen satsuki at shows and they bonsai died within a year. I now have about 30 cultivars surviving our zone 9 weather through experimentations with cheap nursery plants.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I currently have 4 or 5 different cultivars most of them bought from a local nursery. The largest is about 2 inches. I just found them in the last couple of months, so none of them have been styled or repoted yet. Trying to wait until next spring to make sure they are all growing well.

 

[sorce]

This afternoon, I thinned the growth and removed all the buds to get ready for over wintering.
To develop a tight growth with inner branch ramifications, one has to cut back severely in spring.

Your tree is looking great! I would let it grow strong next year without any cutting, and then wire the long shoots out next fall. Then the following spring you can cut it back again. Should be ready for show in a couple years if you use that process. Also work on healing those wounds some more and you'll have a great little show tree!

Looks good.... forget the flowers now and prune, prune, prune for the next two growing seasons. Then you will have some decent pads created or at least enough ramification to form them.

I am not sure the OP was really looking for advice anyhow

It's amazing what a really nice tree can do to folks!

Lol guys!

Sorce

 

[barrosinc]

Don't know about importing tree regulations in Chile. There are several Japanese Satsuki azalea vendors on the internet, they do ship to foreign countries.

Chile is the problem, it is not allowed. And second, the seasons are the other way round so I wouldn't know when to import one. I have some cuttings made the japanese way... But I have 20 years ahead of me for something not even as good.

 

[The Bonsai Herald]

You are right, this tree needs to develop more ramifications the next two years and to develop a more mature look.

Yes, while this true, severe cut back was done this year. Everytime I've done severe cut back like this with Dave, we let the tree recover for 1 year, wire out that fall, and then cut it back again in the spring to start getting ramification.

Here is a tree I SEVERELY cut back, in fact I didn't like the original branching at all, so I cut everything back to the trunk and left nothing. Here it is 4 years later.

The OP didn't cut his back as severely as I did, but he did cut it back pretty severe. In my experience working at Dave's nursery for 3 summers, you need to let it grow for a year to recover and get the best results.

 

[The Bonsai Herald]

Also we rarely ever let our Satsukis flower, unless it's a show year.

 

[jk_lewis]

Also we rarely ever let our Satsukis flower, unless it's a show year.

???? It does NOT hurt your Satsuki (no "s" in Japanese plurals) to bloom. You are depriving yourselves.

 

[Andrew Robson]

???? It does NOT hurt your Satsuki (no "s" in Japanese plurals) to bloom. You are depriving yourselves.

You're right, it doesn't hurt them to bloom, but it's a massive waste of energy. Blooming is the second biggest stress to an azalea, the first being bare rooting. Letting them bloom is just wasting viable energy that could be used for development. I don't know about you, but I would rather have a nice tree without flowers than a bad tree with flowers. Once I'm happy with the branching of my trees, I'll let them bloom, or rather half bloom since you don't need all the flowers anyway to have a full bonsai in flower.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

In that case, I assume you've already removed the flower buds for next year? My understanding is the bulk of energy output is forming buds, not opening them.

 

[0soyoung]

It seems to me that 'all that energy' has been invested in the bud before you can distinguish it from a vegetative one.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Likely. If anything, I have found that azaleas in flower require a lot more water.

 

[garywood]

Any time a cell divides it requires energy (ATP) As buds swell (dividing cells) it needs energy but (green buds) also supply energy there. Is it enough? I don't think anyone knows definitively. I don't know of any experiments to measure that but it could be out there. That's not one of those horticultural posers outside of bonsai. ;-)

 

[Robert E Holt]

Based on every thing I have learned, if you cut the buds at the wrong time, the plant will simply try to develop new ones. The primary goal of the plant is to reproduce. The experts I have talked to say to cut the buds just as they start to swell in the spring. This will give the best results as the plant will then redirect energy to growth.

 

[Chuah]

Thank you everyone for the comments, discussions and satsuki growing advises. It is great that everyone share their knowledge and experience, and we all can learn and benefit from these threads. I wrote a blog on the progression of this little tree, incorporated everyone's comments and advises where appropriate, and my thought process in the first styling and future vision of the tree. Happy satsuki growing!!

https://bonsaipenjing.wordpress.com...on-of-a-shohin-chinzan-satsuki-azalea-bonsai/