Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
Not bad!
Pitoon's "Azalea 2020-2025" entry
- Thread starter Pitoon
- Start date
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Posting a quick update, the azalea has recovered quite well from the second defoliation this year. It will be allowed to grow out, and next spring receive a light trim where needed.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
My azalea has to be unwired and rewired. As soon as I can get that done (hopefully this week) I will be posting updated pics of my entry.
Jimmy Pete
Yamadori
Great looking start and very informative thread for a noob like myself. Hope to learn how to wire like this soon!
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
So after like 2 weeks of wiring little by little I finally finished wiring today. I will let the azalea finish its flush of growth then cut back. As soon as I see the wire starting to bite I will remove it, and the branches should be set.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Quick update....wire was removed today as it was slightly biting in a few branches. All branches received a trim. I will let the azalea set buds this year so I can see how the tree looks with flowers. There's a couple of branches I'm thinking of removing to open it up some, but need to confirm first seeing the tree in bloom.
Before
After
Before
After
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
Good Job! A bit aggressive, but that’s the name of the game.
Right now I’m sorting out how to trim the in ground Satsuki. Too bad I can’t use a mechanic’s creeper!
As you noted there are some bar branches in there to attend to later on. You might try to do the big chops in a different year then the one you let it bloom, Or maybe you are shooting for only a partial bloom, just to check the color for pot comparison.
It does seem to me you could start pad formation on the branches you intend to keep at this point.
Cheers
DSD sends
Anyways, I can’t wait to see the lil Dorothy Hayden you sent with the Daisy bloom, but that may be a couple years
Right now I’m sorting out how to trim the in ground Satsuki. Too bad I can’t use a mechanic’s creeper!
As you noted there are some bar branches in there to attend to later on. You might try to do the big chops in a different year then the one you let it bloom, Or maybe you are shooting for only a partial bloom, just to check the color for pot comparison.
It does seem to me you could start pad formation on the branches you intend to keep at this point.
Cheers
DSD sends
Anyways, I can’t wait to see the lil Dorothy Hayden you sent with the Daisy bloom, but that may be a couple years
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
@Deep Sea Diver my intent with the hard pruning is to induce back budding with hopes of having them pop in the right places.
There's to many branches and it seems a bit congested......but I don't want to remove the wrong branch. I don't remember how big these flowers are. I just remember they are white with green throats and the petals overlap.
Next year after it blooms I will repot and wire what I plan to keep everything else will get pruned. I already have the pot, it's been patiently sitting on the shelf for 2yrs now.
If you got the Dorothy Hayden that's a cutting from this tree.
There's to many branches and it seems a bit congested......but I don't want to remove the wrong branch. I don't remember how big these flowers are. I just remember they are white with green throats and the petals overlap.
Next year after it blooms I will repot and wire what I plan to keep everything else will get pruned. I already have the pot, it's been patiently sitting on the shelf for 2yrs now.
If you got the Dorothy Hayden that's a cutting from this tree.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
It’s really big…. And looks fun!
Dorothy Hayden ( Louise Gable x Flame) x Getsu Toku). White with pale yellow green throat 3 1/2” flowers; dwarf 15 c 32 wide in 15 years. So your tree must have some good years on it already!
Cheers
DSD sends
Dorothy Hayden ( Louise Gable x Flame) x Getsu Toku). White with pale yellow green throat 3 1/2” flowers; dwarf 15 c 32 wide in 15 years. So your tree must have some good years on it already!
Cheers
DSD sends
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Looks like the flowers may cover the entire tree......it may have an interesting look.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
I found out last year that lots of folks with big flowered Satsuki cut the buds back in spring to one or less per node, spacing them at the diameter of the flower, or a bit more. Some folks even trim so that flowers are all arranged in horizontal rows, especially in some shows.
Yours will look great!
Cheers
DSD sends
Last edited:
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Quick update......the azalea is starting to fill in nicely. The right side to me looks a bit congested so I'll probably remove 2 branches to open it up some. I'll do that next year. The moss is growing so well it has completely engulfed the nebari.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
Slant style !
Cheers
DSD sends
!Cheers
DSD sends
QuantumSparky
Shohin
I love seeing posts like this and being able to see progress over long time spans! Can't wait to see it in bloom 
Rivka
Shohin
Looking lovely, i need to thinking about cultivating some good looking moss, yours is great.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Quick update......the azalea is full of flower buds. I'm planning to let it flower this year to see how the flowers look. They I'll cut back hard to continue on with the ramification.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Flowers have started to bloom. This would be the first time seeing flowers on this one since the contest started. I had let it grow out some to gain some vigor. After all the flowers open and I get an idea of bloom size overall. I'll then remove the flowers and prune it back into shape. I'm getting a feeling it needs to be a bit taller. So that may be the goal for this year in gaining some height. I haven't paid much attention to the trunk, but to my surprise it's over 1" in diameter now. It has grown quite a bit since the initial cut back.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
Looks great! I really like your over all layout. One idea and a question.
You likely already are likely thinking about this… slip potting along with pushing in the side growth each year might be an idea to enhance overall growth even more.
What is you plan for the nebari?
cheers
DSD sends
You likely already are likely thinking about this… slip potting along with pushing in the side growth each year might be an idea to enhance overall growth even more.
What is you plan for the nebari?
cheers
DSD sends
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Here's what my entry looks like now in bloom. It was hard to guess when the peak would be. Some flowers are starting to drop while others are starting to bloom. I figured I'll take pics now before I miss the window.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks!
My plan for this year was to repot it into a smaller pot. But I've decided to change my mind now that I've seen it in bloom. I'll most likely leave it in this pot for the next two years. To me this one needs another 6-8" in height for it to look right. Once I get the height dialed in then I'll repot. It's happy in this pot so I'm hoping it will give so top growth. This particular cultivar has strong basal growth which is making it difficult.
The nebari is ok, nothing to get excited about. Right now it's completely cover over with the moss. If you are curious to see what it looks like there's pics in post #1. Eventually this year I need to clean up the trunk again and have a visual of the nebari.
