Rhododendron ‘Girard’s Hot Shot’ $3.75 Tree

4 years ago I bought this tree in an end of the year clearance sale at a big box store in Mo. for $3.75. I brought it home across the plains of Kansas and Colorado. Here it is 4 years later in a really nice Ron Lang inset planter. I think they look good together. The leaves should turn redish-orange and the flowers will be a deep red color. Should look pretty good in the fall and spring. My first Azalea.

that is one helluva good find at my favorite kinda price... howzabout a coupla tight shots ???
looks like an interesting trunk to say the least !

and i like the way the tree is being shown... viewable from all sides

Amazing. I have 2 I picked up this weekend under the same situation. i was going to let them winter in their current pots and then start cutting in the spring. I hope they look half as good as yours in 3 years.

Thanks, The tree had major branches 4-5 all going to the right side of the tree. In my Bonsai youth, I thought I could keep them and work them into the design. In Bonsai 20's, I realized they needed to be cut off, so I pulled the plug on those fine big branches and they were gone. The tree loves Plant Tone, an organic fertilizer. It was a suggestion from the Bonsai specialist at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I just sprinkled some on the top of the soil. I have several other Azalea's and they are responding well to it.

Our club tried using stand alone cocktail tables this year at the show. You can walk all the way around the tree and it was very popular idea. I am sure we will be using it every year. It was a very good idea and suggested by Larry Jackel. The tables are much taller then the normal 8' foot tables we use. Very elegant display with the tree on them.

the milwaukee club started doing that last year too with a few stand-alone tables...

gets us outta the boxes

My camera was stolen at the show. The following photo's are courtesy of Gregoire Fulghum. Gregoire was wondering around take photo's of all the trees and he was so nice to offer to send me photos of my tree's after learning my camera was stolen. I was standing next to my Ponderosa Pine tree when a gust of wind blew the back drops over. I grabbed the one behind my tree to prevent it going over and the other back drop flipped over on the right side of the table. I managed to grab it while holding on the first one. I set my camera down on the table to do this. Anyway I helped move the back drops off the tables and the camera went missing. So Gregoire and my friend Les Siroky sent me photos of my tree's. You meet some of the nicest people at Bonsai shows and apparently some not so nice. Here are some Gregoire's photo's.