Kanuma & Watering Schedule

Miss Janel

I recently repotted an azalea in kanuma. It was in a peat mixture which was retaining a lot of water. The tree is not healthy and my hope is that the kanuma will help. My question is should I revise my watering plan. I had been watering about 3X per week.

Any help is appreciated.

Janel

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D3rutat

it doesn't really help to know how often you water. I mean, where i live, i have to water everyday bcos it's really hot in here. But at your place i dont know. Trees should be watered only when the top soil is dry, but in the case of an azalea when it's almost dry.Never let an azalea go dry.Give it as much indirect sun as possible and keep it warm. Have you done any rootpruning when repotted?

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Bonsai Club Romania

matsu

Janel: Azalea are the most sensitive trees I know of when it comes to overwatering and root rot. How and when you water will depend on your specific climate and, of course, the tree itself. I see you're in zone 9 and perhaps in LA. I too live in zone 9, Houston (zone 9a). Our climates may be similar with high temps, humidity and annual rainfall. High humidity, even with high temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, really retards the rate of water usage by the tree and evaporation from the soil itself. That said, I think you're right to have taken it out of the peat based soil as it certainly retains too much water, at least for my climate. I tried pure kanuma before and it also retained too much water, particularly when I used the small grain size (1/8" to 1/4"). If you have it in pure Kanuma, you'll still need to be very careful with watering. Wait until the top 1/2" or more of the soil is dry before watering. If you get a lot of rain and can't control the watering precisely, you may want to consider putting it under a shelter where it gets the sun it needs but is protected from rain. All this really depends on your specific climate. My current azalea mix is 2/3 pumice and 1/3 Kanuma, all in the medium (1/4" - 1/2") size. On smaller trees, I top dress with the same mix but with the small grade size. The top dress is to try to keep an even moisture level in the soil as the top dries much faster due to evaporation. As an alternative, you can place spagnum moss on the surface to minimize the evaporation. All the best and good luck. Regards, Paul

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Regards, Paul

Miss Janel

Thank you both for your response.

Paul,

I'm also in Houston so I'm interested in where you get your pumice from. A mix of two thirds I would think would keep costs down since kanuma is so expensive.

The good news is that I checked the tree this morning and as of today it is just putting on new growth. I think this is a positive sign. I'm watering every other day and it's currently placed in full sun.

Thanks Again,

Janel

matsu

Janel: I get my Pumice (called Hyuga), Akadama and Kanuma from El Dorado Bonsai in CA. They have the best prices; however, the shipping costs are high. For the last couple of years I haven't been able to find agricultural pumice locally, but like the Hyuga a lot. I've never had much true success with the soil mixes many use in our area that mainly consist of haydite, turface and pine bark. Maybe its me or my microclimate, but these local mixes just hold too much water when the daily summer afternoon thunderstorms start rolling in from the Gulf. All in all, these are expensive soil components, but they work great for me. Also, using $15 worth of soil (hyuga, akadama and kanuma) rather than $3 (haydite, turface and pine bark) for a tree I've been working on for 18 years seems like false economics to me.

Anyway, here's the link for El Dorado and ask for Dolly if you call: http://edbonsai.com

Good luck. Best regards, Paul

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Regards, Paul