Azalea from a garden

Hi , I collected this Azalea a couple of seasons ago and I am about to give it its first styleing. Any advise would be grateful .....John

I think you need to let it grow a significant amount of new foliage before you do any styling on this one. Even considering the time of year, this plant doesn't seem to have enough foliage to support the roots and you need to let some grow.

I agree with Jim regarding your tree...I have been working on a similar one I collected a few years back...just one option to possibly consider....looks like a very fine base on yours. Good luck with it.

Regards,
Tom

The next stage in development...

JimLewis wrote:I think you need to let it grow a significant amount of new foliage before you do any styling on this one. Even considering the time of year, this plant doesn't seem to have enough foliage to support the roots and you need to let some grow.

Thanks for your comments Jim , The pic is after I have cut a lot of foliage from the tree ....John

The pic is after I have cut a lot of foliage from the tree

May I ask why?

JimLewis wrote:

The pic is after I have cut a lot of foliage from the tree

May I ask why?

I have cut them back Jim as I feel the branches that are left will be the ones I will use for styling my tree .Do you feel I have made a mistake ?...John

It doesn't look like there is a lot there to do any styling with. Are you planning to keep all three trunks?

Lee Brindley wrote:It doesn't look like there is a lot there to do any styling with. Are you planning to keep all three trunks?

Hi Lee , Yes I was planning to keep all three trunks . I thought I would style these as my primary branches then let them grow and work from there , Would you of gone about it a different way ?...John

I dont know a great deal about Azalea's but I would have thought a reduction like this would induce some serious back budding. I would have left this operation until the tree was growing I think.

Well, I don't know where you live, but it would have been better to wait until late in the growing season when there was a lot of growing foliage on the tree. I think it will survive, but I'd not do much else on it for a good while. It should start new buds, and I'd recommend that they be allowed at least one growing season to help the tree establish itself better.

There's not much taper in these 3 trunks. If it were mine, I'd eventually cut them back by about half and let new branches form.

i have a couple thoughts here, first off from the pictures it looks like one of the larger varieties. if that is the case, then you could be fighting just trying to keep the growth in check. the nodes look a bit long. you may never get it to bloom because you may be cutting off the flowers to keep the shape. secondly, you might consider layering off the 2 trunks since azeleas that size are hard to come by. pick the one you want, layer off the other 2 and have 3 trees for the price of 1!

MIKEB wrote: you may never get it to bloom because you may be cutting off the flowers to keep the shape.

Mike,

That's not exactly true. If this is an indica like 'Formosa', it can make a large bonsai with plenty of flowers. But it does need to grow so there is actually something there to work with. Those long, whippy branches are what you want to build from.

Judging from the variegated ivy on the fence you must be pretty warm, but it's hard to help when we have to guess where you are located. We aren't good mind readers.

Russell

John mentioned on his Privet thread that he lives in the north of England. Not very warm and extremely wet.

Russell, that is why i said "may" not bloom, i live in East Texas, i have several formosa in my yard. my house was built in '63 and these guys look like they have been there that long. they have gnarled, huge trunks. i have thought several times about potting them. Problem is when i prune them after they bloom in April,(May or June pruning) the new branches can easily grow 3 feet over the summer and will be straight as an arrow with about the same taper as an arrow! The new blooms as you well know are on the end of the new growth. So now the question becomes-- how late can i prune and still have flowers? First of July? and even then, how far will my flowers be from the branch-- 2 feet?? So my conclusions on using formosa ( and i agree that from the picture i thought there were formosa) is that if i were to pot them, the trunks would be the main feature pruning them to maintain shape and hopefully get a flower now and then. i dont grow them because i like the branch structure or bark- i grow them because i love the flowers!!!! there are many other trees that would make better examples of trunks and branches and bark. but if you want flowers, then get a variety that will flower for you without being 3 feet from the branch/truck. There are many dwarf varieties these days. if a person wants to experiment then by all means please do and pass on your experience. perhaps in pot culture (boy that sounds bad) the formosa could be controlled better but i have not seen any that i recognize in bonsai form and there may be a reason for that.

will baddeley wrote:John mentioned on his Privet thread that he lives in the north of England. Not very warm and extremely wet.

Oh, that John, from the north of England - how could I forget? Anyway, in that case, I got nothing. I was guessing southern USA.

Mike, I think the reason you don't see many indicas as bonsai is because they are simply overlooked for the reasons you mention. Somewhere I have a picture of a friend's and I'll try to find it. Yes, when you cut them back hard, they explode with crazy growth. Wire that to set your framework of main branches and a new head. The growth that comes later in the season, and in the next couple of years is much more tame and will set buds and bloom just fine. I think you may be trying to rush those flowers too soon. Most people say not to prune indicas in the garden after June, but that really depends on how you prune. You can always hand prune those crazy shoots that stick out too far if you need to tidy up your garden - and still leave plenty of buds untouched in the layer underneath.

R

i would love to see that picture, mine have spectacular trunks, they would be big bonsai, 3 feet high, but the trunks are big enough to support that hieght.

Here is a shoin Azelea that I collected a while back ...John

JohnOstranica wrote:Here is a shoin Azelea that I collected a while back ...John

That's comming on really well John.
Try and take your pics against a more plain background though. Its really difficult to make out the detail, especially in the first photo.

John, for the long-term health of this azalea, I think you will need to get it into a bigger pot.

When was this photo taken John? I know bugger all about Azaleas but I thought they normally bloomed in May?

Hi Lee ,It was taken today mate ,I have found some will flower early and some later .I think Satsukis flower in may .....John

JohnOstranica wrote:

Lee Brindley wrote:It doesn't look like there is a lot there to do any styling with. Are you planning to keep all three trunks?

Hi Lee , Yes I was planning to keep all three trunks . I thought I would style these as my primary branches then let them grow and work from there , Would you of gone about it a different way ?...John

Pardon me for "butting in" but I have a comment or two.

I have no experience with the Azalea, other than just having bought several as potensai, but those 3 legs look awkward to me. I can envision some excellent balance by removing any one of them (and leaving the remaining two) but I can't see all three of them cooperating, unless ...... ?

Scion wrote:

JohnOstranica wrote:

Lee Brindley wrote:It doesn't look like there is a lot there to do any styling with. Are you planning to keep all three trunks?

Hi Lee , Yes I was planning to keep all three trunks . I thought I would style these as my primary branches then let them grow and work from there , Would you of gone about it a different way ?...John

Pardon me for "butting in" but I have a comment or two.

I have no experience with the Azalea, other than just having bought several as potensai, but those 3 legs look awkward to me. I can envision some excellent balance by removing any one of them (and leaving the remaining two) but I can't see all three of them cooperating, unless ...... ?