SeanS’s 2020-2025 contest azalea entry

[SeanS]

I’m in!

Bought this azalea from our local big box hardware store, Builder’s Warehouse, 2 weekend ago. I went in for some garden supplies and noticed a sea of pink at the entrance to their outdoor area. 15 minutes later after looking through about 50 azaleas I chose this guy. Cost me R110 ($6.68 today).





Today I got to work. You guys weren’t joking about the fibrous root system! Took ages to reduce the rootball.





Potted up in crushed LECA and peat moss for a bit of extra moisture and acidity. I may reduce that second trunk on the right coming off the right hand branch once I get some foliage and know what I have to work with.

Updates to follow...

 

[SeanS]

How can I fix my thread title?

 

[SeanS]

Cut the 2 side branches back further

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Looks good, now to let it grow.

 

[Pitoon]

Welcome to the contest. Looks good so far. What's wrong with your thread title?

 

[SeanS]

Welcome to the contest. Looks good so far. What's wrong with your thread title?

“Contest azalea” instead of azalea contest

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Welcome to the contest

I’m curious to which cultivar you’re working with?

cheers
DSD sends

 

[SeanS]

Welcome to the contest

I’m curious to which cultivar you’re working with?

cheers
DSD sends

Me too! Unfortunately it was only labeled as “azalea”. Satsukis aren’t really a common thing here unless they’ve been imported, of which I only know one person in Cape Town that does so.

I’m happy with my no-name 5 stamen deep pink azalea

 

[Harunobu]

Maybe 'Red Ruffles' aka 'Euratom'?

 

[SeanS]

Maybe 'Red Ruffles' aka 'Euratom'?

Looks promising!

 

[SeanS]

And we’re off! (I think)

 

[Harunobu]

Yup, make sure the sun doesn't burn the new shoots. Happened to some people. But I think you'd be ok in temperate spring weather.

 

[Pitoon]

Looking good!

 

[SeanS]

Yup, make sure the sun doesn't burn the new shoots. Happened to some people. But I think you'd be ok in temperate spring weather.

Ok thanks, I’ll be aware of sunburn. It’s towards the back of the bench it’s on behind a leafy maple and under 40% shade net but I’ll make sure it stays away from direct sun.

Exciting times!

 

[Harunobu]

Sounds like it will be ok. There were a few people that had the new growth go to crisp. But they were in the northern hemisphere and did a hard chop like this near mid summer.

 

[SeanS]

Loads more buds have appeared, all over the tree. I’ll update once the first ones open.

 

[SeanS]

A little over a month since the initial chop.
Wish I had taken that right hand “trunk”/upward branch down lower or removed it all together

 

[Harunobu]

You are getting tons of buds anyway. You can let these shoots elongate. Then remove more mid to late summer.
The only difference between having removed it further down earlier is that you may have gotten more buds lower down, near the cutting site. But you are getting buds all over anyway.
This is only a problem if buds only appear near the cutting surfaces, and none appear further down. Then the cut would have been better further down.

If you let this grow for 1 or 2 seasons, you aren't getting any reverse taper anyway. So there is no harm in realizing you might have removed too little.
I think you mean that section that goes straight up and is rather long, and also bends slightly back towards the central trunk. The only question is that if you want to remove it completely, and have buds appear where you remove it, how long do you wait for it to gain enough new energy to respond strongly to that cut?

And that all kind of depends on where you want to take this design futher. Do you want to put dome shaped bunch of dense foliate on top of this, to kind of make it a mame. Or you do want to grow out these new shoots, and then have them ramified, more like a delicious tree whose branches are reaching out for the sky?

 

[SeanS]

You are getting tons of buds anyway. You can let these shoots elongate. Then remove more mid to late summer.
The only difference between having removed it further down earlier is that you may have gotten more buds lower down, near the cutting site. But you are getting buds all over anyway.
This is only a problem if buds only appear near the cutting surfaces, and none appear further down. Then the cut would have been better further down.

If you let this grow for 1 or 2 seasons, you aren't getting any reverse taper anyway. So there is no harm in realizing you might have removed too little.
I think you mean that section that goes straight up and is rather long, and also bends slightly back towards the central trunk. The only question is that if you want to remove it completely, and have buds appear where you remove it, how long do you wait for it to gain enough new energy to respond strongly to that cut?

And that all kind of depends on where you want to take this design futher. Do you want to put dome shaped bunch of dense foliate on top of this, to kind of make it a mame. Or you do want to grow out these new shoots, and then have them ramified, more like a delicious tree whose branches are reaching out for the sky?

Great feedback @Harunobu, thank you!
I want a small tight dome of foliage and flowers, a classic dome shohin/mame azalea. That’s why I’m wondering about shortening or removing that second “trunk”. I could chop it just above that first set of buds and use those extensions to fill in the right side as a second pad above the main right branch. But I’ll let it grow for now and make a decision next season.
Or should I take it down now already?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Stylistically it might be best to remove all but the tall central trunk in the first image. (Left of the two taller trunks). That way you could grow a nice trunk, which is interesting already, and get rid of the wheel spoke junction at the base while still building the design you have described. It has the added advantage of having some well placed buds to start to grow branches already given your shohin mame inclination. Then one might also develop a plan to create a good nebari over time, starting with raising the media level a bit to cover part of the base bulge to encourage rootage there.

That said, at this point you are doing some good things horticulturall. Well done!

cheers
DSD sends