How to make azalea whip

[Poolie130]

I used a pair of sharp pruning shears and shaved down with a knife will show pics later when the sun in photos is not so unpredictable. Sealed all cuts with top Jin. @Deep Sea Diver I had a question about the after care after pruning like this I was thinking of letting it hangout in the shade for a week after this and just keeping up on the water until I see good steady new growth.
Thanks Poolie

 

[Poolie130]

Before and after photos

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Should be good with morning sun and afternoon part shade right away.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Poolie130]

Should be good with morning sun and afternoon part shade right away.

Cheers
DSD sends

Can I fertilize right away?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Yes, but take it easy on azaleas

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Poolie130]

Yes, but take it easy on azaleas

Cheers
DSD sends

Okay thanks again will post more progress as the process goes along

 

[Poolie130]

1 month progress pic of azalea seems to be pushing some new growth up top have the start of some new leaves once those come out going to cut back to the strongest two. Hope everyone is have a wonderful day.

Thanks, Poolie

 

[Poolie130]

Just wanted to post an update on how the whip is coming along seems to be growing okay leaves look good going to let the top grow out a bit more and then cut back to the best 2 again. Have two little buds popping out at the lower part of the trunk going to grow it out as a sacrifice branch to thicken the trunk a little bit. @Deep Sea Diver i was just wondering when I should stop pruning back to the best 2 leaves swore I saw somewhere on a forum here that said do it until July and then stop pruning but wasn’t 100% sure. Here are some pics of what the whip looks like today. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.


Thanks Poolie

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thanks for asking.

It’s ok to keep leaves at the top 1.5” now, just don’t let the lower ones extend, then remove the lower ones as the apex moves up.

One can continue to grow the whip all year. We’ve grown these things for 30 months straight before wintering on ever.

Sacrifices are a reality for bonsai created by whips, but this is not the time. The correct time is once the whip is the desired height and it’s bent. Then one can begin growing sacrifices. Focus on the lower 4-5” of the trunk.

One may need to remove the sacrifices temporarily when putting on the holding wire or hanging a second set of styling wires, but these will grow back.

Finally, can you please insert your appropriate location and USDA Cold Hardiness zone on your icon? It really helps us that are giving help to folks to see these data. Thank you.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Poolie130]

Okay I will not worry to much about sacrifices for now until the height and bending are done. Only going to grow a couple more inches up and try to keep it a smaller tree. Not to focused on wire yet unless you think I should maybe try some in the fall? Will upload my zone and location right now sorry about that.

Thanks Poolie

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thank you.

Bending will shorten the height, so plan your bends best you can now.

This is a really great time to bend. Actually better now than later. You can always continue growing the whip when bent.

Please try not to be too aggressive and be careful at the old junctions and for the yearly growth points.

Also what are your thoughts about a wintering over spot?

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Poolie130]

No problem hope it helped. Will be sure to be delicate when bending and to not be so aggressive with bends at old junctions and yearly growth points.

Do you think that single wire would be enough for now?

Was either going to use a unheated shed or garage that has a window nearby for winter dormancy for when it is well below freezing. Was planning on keeping them outside for the remainder of the year that it is not below freezing. I know that it wont grow as fast like this but im more worried of just keeping the azalea healthy for now and hopefully in 30 years i can have the start of my bonsai tree lol.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

These little guys grow faster than one would expect.

Please use 2 wires roughly 2/3 the diameter of the trunk using a 45 degree angle, one can vary the angle tighter as needed,

The rationale is when bending azaleas, maples etc one what’s coverage vs strength.

Check the wintering over resource under the resource tab and then can discuss later.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Poolie130]

Okay sounds good will post a pic when I throw some wire on there. Thank you for the resource for that gave me more of a plan and I think I’m going to stick with leaving them outside and then bringing them into unheated attached garage so temps in there will be just above freezing and I think my trees should be okay just have two for now and limited on spaces to put them over the winter but I think it’s the best option for them. We only usually get a couple weeks of really cold winter and the rest of winter is pretty mild here. I will keep you posted on how the overwintering process is working for me and how the trees are progressing. Thanks again for all the help I really appreciate it.

Thanks Poolie

 

[Poolie130]

Decided I would go out and wire it today this is my first time wiring on a tree ever so bare with me was practicing all of the things I have seen online let me know any pointers or if I should just start over completely. Hoping to get a bit more movement up top but I will let grow out some more and wire that later.

Thanks Poolie

 

[Glaucus]

The idea is to prune it so it grows just 1 leader really long, so you can wire it later. If you are going to wire it immediately, there is no need to prune it encouraging growth towards 1 leader. You could just have kept your side branches, put wire on, bend it, and grow it out that way.

 

[Poolie130]

Oh okay so what you’re saying is I should take the wire off?

 

[Glaucus]

I didn't say that. Though it may be worth taking the wire off and reapply it properly. Maybe after practising applying wire to just some random cut off tree branch. There is a real good video on wiring for bonsai that is probably linked in one of the 'similar threads' below. But I hate to criticize people on their wiring technique because mine is bad too.

The reason why in Japan they grow out whips is so that a consumer that buys it gets a complete blank slate upon purchasing. They get to buy satsuki varieties, but they also get to bend the base of the whip into shape, because it was grown as rapidly as possible. If the prebonsai was a product of clip and grow, then the base of the satsuki would be unbendable because the wood would be too old. It would break rather than bend.

Whatever you decide to do depends on your creative vision and the aesthetic you are aiming for, as well as the timetable you want to work on.
One should also think about if one wants gradual smooth curves, or sudden acute changes in direction.
Satsulki whips usually get turned into flower towers. A case can actually be made that most people should use clip and grow on their satsuki cuttings and use wire to make the angles between last year and this years growth larger.
If you take a look at some videos of satsuki shows on youtube, the thinner single trunked specimen that were clearly products of the whip method, may not be the most appealing to the bonsai audience on this forum.
Not even those somewhat older and slowly transitioning out of the flower tower design and towards more traditional bonsai.
The whip method just works very well for those quite skilled at wiring and bending, and with a great vision and sense of space for thin-trunked satsuki bonsai.
You don't use the whip method because it is a satsuki and the whip method is the only way. You use the whip method to get the whip method aesthetic.

But if you do decide to go for the whip method, ether becuase you like the effect or you want to practice it, your goal should be to see how long you can extend the single shoot of new growth throughout the growing season. Which can be quite challenging. The Japanese manage to get 90cm tall whips that are just 3 years old. But it also depends on the variety what is possible. So try to get 15 to 20 cm per growing season. It is a challenge.

 

[Glaucus]

Oh, your cutting is likely already 4 years of age and the base is probably already too woody to put in good bends. If you were to use the whip technique on this and extend the apex say another 20cm, then next year, it would be even harder to get bends on the lowest part. Usually, you want the strongest bend or angle in the base of the trunk.

The other side of the coin is that your base is quite short. So if somehow you are able to grow it as a whip for 2 years, you may not have to put bends in the section you already have right now, just in the newly grown section.
Again, it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Given 20 years and a lot of bonsai and horticultural skill, you can achieve a lot. But usually, those aren't freely available.

If I compare your picture without and with wire, I do not see a lot of change in the shape of the trunk.
These would be some of the better whip bending videos I know:

Sadly, not a lot of supergood ones.

With the right whip, wiring & bending technique, you can achieve near 90 degree bends.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thanks @Glaucus. As always good advice.

OP. wanted this height for the azalea, with the option of growing it out more.

As this is your first time bending a whip you did really well! No cracks, a very reasonable basic design…. And the usual wiring issues, all par for the course. We have seen much worse! Now it’s easy to help further.

Here are a couple ideas ( sorry there is too much to impart at this point… so these are some basics.

The angles are all reasonable. Next repot the azalea can be leaned over to give a better angle.

Wire should to be in contact with the trunk at all times. Gently so, to provide support at the bends throughout the process. Also the wires should be side by side to act as one support.

Azaleas can be progressively bent if desired. Wait a couple weeks or better still, a month and one could bend a tad more.. and again (except during the heat..) As long as the wire is in contact. 90 degrees is perhaps the limit in one season depending upon the cultivars flexibility, be careful

Also, and more applicable in your case, one can rewire, like most trees, and bend again next year, or possibly next fall.

Please do not take the wire off now and rewire, but when you do remove the wires, put a new single wire on to hold the bends as often once wire comes off the trunk it tries to straighten out to some respect, often losing the sharpness of the bends. One can use the single wire to help bend the apex double (and double up the upper area with a lesser gage wire.

Cheers
DSD sends