Azalea About To Pop!

Here's my Azalea that's about to POP! I believe it's a satzuki, hope someone will confirm. I'm excited for this, but would enjoy a little guidance. How long do you leave the flowers before pruning and repotting? Sorry for the sideways photo, I never understand why that happens. Cheers.

hometeamrocker wrote:Here's my Azalea that's about to POP! I believe it's a satzuki, hope someone will confirm. I'm excited for this, but would enjoy a little guidance. How long do you leave the flowers before pruning and repotting? Sorry for the sideways photo, I never understand why that happens. Cheers.

It looks like a Kakuo variety
Xuan

Very nice little tree. It would have been nice to weed your pot before you took the pic, though. I've been looking for an azalea with small, single flowers.

On the sideways picture: I understand that -- at lease for photos taken with an Apple product -- the photo orientation depends on how you held the camera/device. HOWEVER, the software that comes with the camera/device should allow you to edit it and turn it. I did it for you, on software I have on my computer, but we get so many these days, we'd go crazy doing it for everyone. Just take a bit more care and learn your equipment. Better yet, get a REAL camera.

Thanks Xuan Le And Jim Lewis. I'll snap more as it progresses, and I'll weed it:) The trunk looks pretty massive in the photos, but it's a clump of 5 trunks that I'll better detail in coming photos. Any words on pruning/repotting after flowers? At what point do I remove?

Hometeamrocker,

I think waiting until the tree has passed it's blooming peak would be the best time to remove all the spent flowers, ovaries and any remaining unopened flowers. You may also want to eliminate excess leaf buds or new shoots at the same time, then repot.

I like the flowers on this particular specimen. Hopefully, you will be able to confirm Xuan Le's ID of Kakuo.

Jim,

Rukizon (or Kazan) azalea have a small leaf, slow growth rate and the smallest satsuki flower I have seen. It may be what you are looking for.

Regards,
Martin

Any words on pruning/repotting after flowers? At what point do I remove?

There is no biological reason to wait until after flowering. In fact, your azalea will do better if that work is done in early spring, just like any other temperate zone plant. We just don't want to miss the blooms, so the tradition of repotting, etc. after blooming started.

It will be, however, important to do it as soon as possible after flowering hits its peak. I never wait until the last bloom has gone. When most of the flowers start to wilt, I pluck them all.

If you keep the flowers themselves dry you will get to enjoy them a bit longer.

Thanks JQ!

First, DO NOT repot satsuki (this is Kakuo, a satsuki/kiusianum (miyama kurishima) hybrid) AFTER they bloom in the American South. All of the Japanese Books say this, but we ain't Japan. We don't have the cool rainy season that they have in June.

"Rukizon" is an American word, I've always blamed Brussel Martin. I never met anyone in Japan that knew this satsuki by this name. It's other Japanese name is 'kakubu chinzan'.

Thanks Russell. But, when is the right time for repot? It's in desperate need, the soil is so hard I fear I may have to break the pot to get it out. Not sure what you mean by the Rukizon statement...

The rukizon statement was an add-on to Martin's, neither here nor there.

You can slip this plant out of what it's in and into a new (bigger) pot anytime, really. But if you're really going to clean roots and do a thorough washing and repotting... that's something that needs to be done when it's cool.... February or March for ME. Then don't let it bloom. As the buds swell, remove them.