Satsuki in bloom

Here is a Satsuki Azalea from the NC Arboretum:

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This bonsai is more "traditional" than many in the collection, and the branch structure isn't wonderful, but it's not too bad to look at when it's in flower. I don't know the name of this variety; can anybody identify it? (Russell Coker, are you out there?) Here is a close up of the flowers:

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Hi AJ.

This is waka-ebisu, probably the most often encountered satsuki here in the South. Along with gumpo (that is sold as pink, fancy pink and white - even though they are all the same gumpo) it has a long history as a garden azalea here on the Gulf Coast. Incidentally, I only saw one in Japan and it came to a show from Kyushu where it is more commonly used for bonsai. Waka-ebisu is a warm weather satsuki and Kanuma was just too cold for it, and me too !! You may want to be careful how much cold it is exposed to. It is a great bloomer and a strong, fast grower but may be damaged in a cold Asheville winter.

Russell

Thanks for the information, Russell. I thought if anyone on this site would know, it would be you!

When I was putting the recent pictures of this azalea in the file where they belong, I came across an older image of the same bonsai, which I had forgotten:

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You can see that the blooming was not so dense that year (2003). You'll also notice that the azalea wasn't really the subject of the picture. In my file this image is labeled "New IPM Program."