arthurob

G'day,

Yes, from 'down under'.

I specialise in growing Satsuki Bonsai and if you have done nothing yet I would recommend you put some good sealer on the bare wood of the wound to stop any rot getting in. Azaleas rot very easily so I would give the tree a good spray of fungicide first, let it dry and then apply sealant. Features of this sort are not commonly shown on Satsuki as the wood is not hard like Juniper and you cannot really make a nice feature of it.

In most cases people use a nice little rock that will fit in and use a shape that will enhance the shape of the base of the tree.

What you have is a nice piece of material which should do well in zine 9 as Kozan comes from a fairly cold part of Japan as far as winters go. Do give it frost protection but don't let it get so warm that the buds start to swell.

Make sure you use a very open mix. If you can't get Kanuma soil in the USA then something like Redwood saw dust, cat litter or calcined clay and some fairly coarse gravel will make a good mix. Add some trace elements.
Importantly do not let it stand in water. you will kill it very quickly but it does require plenty of regular water.

When you train the branches make sure you wire plenty of curves side to side and up and down to create interesting lines.

There are a million things I could tell you about it but this might help you a little.

Arthurob