Satsuki Azalea

TreeBay

Azaleas make wonderful bonsai, but you need to keep in mind that they have some distinct requirements:

Azaleas, like Dogwood, *love soft water, low soil pH, filtered sun and humid summers. *If the soil ever dries out, they will likely die. *On the other hand they won't tolerate wet feet for any length of time either or crown rot can begin.

Azaleas can be pruned back hard without any real risk to the plant. *Healthy plants will bud profusely after pruning. *Keep in mind that they are shrubs so they will tend to sprout from the base rather than the apex.

Pots should be deeper than other bonsai and wounds are very slow to heal, so they should be cut with sharp tools and covered over to avoid drying out. *The humidity requirement pretty much rules out keeping one indoors for any length of time in most areas.

Spent flowers should be removed entirely or they will go to seed and rob the plant of some energy. * All of the flowers and any remaining buds should be removed after the plant has achieved about 80% bloom. *Cut back to two healthy leaves on each branch.

Just before flowering the azalea may try to send out some growth around the base of the flower bud. *If these new branches grow out a bit, the flower bud will be lost. *So you need to decide whether you're growing for flowers or foliage at that point.

The JRL-0164 Pro Azalea Shear is designed for trimming new foliage or deadheading azaleas.

Fertilize with Organic fertilizer or MirAcid. (A Miracle-gro product with a low pH).

For soils, its really hard to beat Kanuma, a particular type of yellow pumice imported from Japan with some wonderful properties. *It is extremely porous and the roots of the plant will grow right into it. * Some growers use a basic bonsai mix that has been enhanced with peat moss, but peat moss is very hard to wet once it has dried, and it tends to stay wet, which can cause rot at the crown of the azalea. *I can't say enough good things about Kanuma, except its price.


Some additional info on Azaleas can be found in the Articles section of the TreeBay Bonsai Tools & Supplies site.

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