Bonsainut's 5 Year azalea entry

[Bonsai Nut]

I'm probably going to enter two different trees in this contest (if that is ok). The first will be cutting grown, the second will be from my landscape. The landscape tree I have yet to dig out of the ground so I'll take some "before" pics.

This is a Miyuki that I got as a cutting from @Eric Group back in Nov, 2017. I think he may be surprised I still have it I've been growing it out in pond baskets ever since. It may even be sitting there for a couple more years before I start to work it

 

[JudyB]

Nice "cutting"! I think you are only allowed one entry, but I could be mistaken. I think you can have a second one if your first one fails however.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I think you can have a second one if your first one fails however.

I can vouch for the truth of THIS statement!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Nice "cutting"! I think you are only allowed one entry, but I could be mistaken. I think you can have a second one if your first one fails however.

Maybe I'll post the 2nd as my "fallback". Not sure I can use it however because it has a lot of punky deadwood and some kind of insect infestation (?)

 

[Forsoothe!]

Single trunk? (May be a dumb question, but as low as it is, it's hard to fathom a single stem)

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Single trunk? (May be a dumb question, but as low as it is, it's hard to fathom a single stem)

Yes. It is a low spreading cultivar however. It is growing more like a chunk and certainly isn't growing upright.

You can see more of Eric's miyuki here.

 

[JudyB]

Maybe I'll post the 2nd as my "fallback". Not sure I can use it however because it has a lot of punky deadwood and some kind of insect infestation (?)

Are the leaves curling?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Are the leaves curling?

Right now it is pouring rain here. Once it stops, I'll take a picture and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I have a lot of landscape bushes that were planted 40 years ago... and then ignored. Some were stumps and 95% dead... I gave them some love and they are bouncing back. One of them I was trying to get an idea of the deadwood at the base and it is riddled with holes and a bunch of ants came pouring out

 

[Pitoon]

Welcome to the contest! It took you long enough to enter . You have to pick one tree and stick with it unless it dies, then you can replace it with a new entry. This is to be fair with everyone who's entered into the contest so far.......top 3 in 5yrs will get prizes.

 

[JudyB]

Right now it is pouring rain here.

And that is as strange to hear from you as it probably is for you to experience! Looks like you got out of dodge just in time...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome to the contest! It took you long enough to enter . You have to pick one tree and stick with it unless it dies, then you can replace it with a new entry. This is to be fair with everyone who's entered into the contest so far.......top 3 in 5yrs will get prizes.

Well this is a tough year for me because I had to move in two waves in late spring and early summer. I had to bare-root the majority of my trees, and so I have been focused on getting them established in the new climate versus doing much to them. Even my black pines got repotted in May/June... which would have been a disaster if I was still in SoCal.

 

[Pitoon]

Well this is a tough year for me because I had to move in two waves in late spring and early summer. I had to bare-root the majority of my trees, and so I have been focused on getting them established in the new climate versus doing much to them. Even my black pines got repotted in May/June... which would have been a disaster if I was still in SoCal.

How are you liking NC? Hopefully the National Shohin exhibition will be a go next year. I would like to make the trip down to see it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

How are you liking NC? Hopefully the National Shohin exhibition will be a go next year. I would like to make the trip down to see it.

I love NC. It demonstrates to me how hard it is (comparatively speaking) to grow anything in southern California. The rain here, the humidity, the mix of sunny and cloudy days, the acidic soil, the soft well water... it is nirvana.

Here is one of my azalea stumps I was thinking of using if I need a fallback. I've got a bunch to choose from.

 

[Eric Group]

I'm probably going to enter two different trees in this contest (if that is ok). The first will be cutting grown, the second will be from my landscape. The landscape tree I have yet to dig out of the ground so I'll take some "before" pics.

This is a Miyuki that I got as a cutting from @Eric Group back in Nov, 2017. I think he may be surprised I still have it I've been growing it out in pond baskets ever since. It may even be sitting there for a couple more years before I start to work it

View attachment 330944

That is so cool Bnut!! Looking really healthy! Thanks for letting me know you posted this- I’ve been gone for too long (2020 has kicked me pretty hard!) nice to see some familiar faces are still around here.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

That is so cool Bnut!! Looking really healthy! Thanks for letting me know you posted this- I’ve been gone for too long (2020 has kicked me pretty hard!) nice to see some familiar faces are still around here.

Wow so great to see you - even virtually! I was almost beginning to get worried and send out the posse! 2020 has been a rollercoaster, for sure... and some people have been taking more hits than others. I hope you can see some light at the end of the tunnel(?)

 

[Eric Group]

Wow so great to see you - even virtually! I was almost beginning to get worried and send out the posse! 2020 has been a rollercoaster, for sure... and some people have been taking more hits than others. I hope you can see some light at the end of the tunnel(?)

Thanks buddy- I am sure I will be fine. I will try to come around more often! Thanks for the message letting me know to come check this thread out! Glad to see your Miyuki is doing so well- does it bloom good for you? They are great subject with small leaves and rapid growth but those blooms!!! As with any cutting there is some variance in The end stock but I tried to sell the ones with good traits..

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Thanks buddy- I am sure I will be fine. I will try to come around more often! Thanks for the message letting me know to come check this thread out! Glad to see your Miyuki is doing so well- does it bloom good for you? They are great subject with small leaves and rapid growth but those blooms!!! As with any cutting there is some variance in The end stock but I tried to sell the ones with good traits..

I got very few blooms this year... but it was due to me not the plant. In March, a lot of things happened to me personally that accelerated our move to North Carolina. We more or less dropped everything and drove across the country in late March with an SUV full of dogs and a U-Haul trailer full of bonsai I pulled all my trees out of their pots (packing the pots separately) and packed the trees, bare-rooted, in tubs. So this poor little azalea didn't really get much of a spring - just woke up one morning in North Carolina with a full repot. Not the most conducive for blooms But I still got a couple! And I understand how to selectively prune for flower color on a satsuki so I'm not too worried... or at least theoretically

It is growing from a single trunk... but it is growing horizontally. Really cool!

 

[Pitoon]

Spring is here and your azalea could be blooming (depending on your location) or starting to leaf out with this season’s flush……it’s time for updates!

I would also like to add at this time we have 3 prizes to award. Many thanks to @Forsoothe! and @Deep Sea Diver for donating. I am also donating a prize as well.

If you are no longer interested in continuing in the Azalea Contest, please let me know so we can close your thread, thanks.