Is this nursery kurume azalea suitable for bonsai?

[Mycin]

Thank you all for the wonderful info. Good to know that Im not crazy and that nurseries here in Chicago don't stock them much. I am generally internet savvy but "satsuki azaleas" searches just return the usual mallsai stuff. Searching for kurume didn't return much rather beyond the link posted. I try not to ask things that can be found via a simple Google search but this one left me stymied. Helpful Nutters to the rescue!

The Mangetsu from Singing Trees definitely caught my eye, so I'll grab that and then whatever my girlfriend picks.

Leo - that would be great! I'm sure we could work something out. Maybe an interesting trade?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Following up @Harunobu post

At this point I’d go to the Nuccio’s catalog go to P30-38 (it says 2018 but its still current) and on, choose 5-6 probables, then call Jim and tell him the crazy guy from Bothell WA recommended them to you. Then don't have photos, but you can look up thousands of azalea cultivars here.

Let Jim know what you’re looking for. They all should be single trunked. He’ll call you back with what he has. Order at least 2 (I always get 4) as they are $8.00 each. They will ship them to you and bill you later. Pay them and Bob’s your Uncle. Overall you will likely save at least $30 over only one at Brussels.

I’ve made a least four orders from them in the last year. They all arrive quickly, are packed incredibly well and will get you on your way to Bonsai Heaven. (...and no, I don’t get a kick back from them!)

I wouldn’t call Ronnie at Azalea Hill Gardens in Arkansas yet. They are great, but will only have small stuff. Nucci’s are all about 3 yrs old. But keep Ronnie in mind for future buys once you are willing to deal with younger stuff.

If really want to go for Singing Tree its ok, very small selection. I bought an Azelea from them before. They'll get it to you just fine.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Forsoothe!]

Following up @Harunobu post

At this point I’d go to the Nuccio’s catalog go to P30-38 (it says 2018 but its still current) and on, choose 5-6 probables, then call Jim and tell him the crazy guy from Bothell WA recommended them to you. Then don't have photos, but you can look up thousands of azalea cultivars here.

Let Jim know what you’re looking for. They all should be single trunked. He’ll call you back with what he has. Order at least 2 (I always get 4) as they are $8.00 each. They will ship them to you and bill you later. Pay them and Bob’s your Uncle. Overall you will likely save at least $30 over only one at Brussels.

I’ve made a least four orders from them in the last year. They all arrive quickly, are packed incredibly well and will get you on your way to Bonsai Heaven. (...and no, I don’t get a kick back from them!)

I wouldn’t call Ronnie at Azalea Hill Gardens in Arkansas yet. They are great, but will only have small stuff. Nucci’s are all about 3 yrs old. But keep Ronnie in mind for future buys once you are willing to deal with younger stuff.

If really want to go for Singing Tree its ok, very small selection. I bought an Azelea from them before. They'll get it to you just fine.

Cheers
DSD sends

I will second that. Nuccio's plants are surprisingly large, especially for the costs.

 

[Mycin]

Well, the two azalea from Singing Trees arrived and they look great. A Mangetsu and a Koromo Shikibu, both in good health and nicely developed.

I didn’t expect them to be shipped sans pot so I was forced to improvise without any Kanuma on hand: 2/3 pine bark fines, 1/3 small LECA balls for aeration. Not ideal but they were already grown in some kind of bark media and I figure this will keep ph down and drain better than pure bark. Fit them both into large bulb style pots that matched their existing depth but left 2” extra space on each side for lateral root growth: perfect

it’s too dark for decent photos but once the sun rises I’ll post them up

 

[Paradox]

People claim they can be found in any nursery but I live in the third largest city in the US and have had a Devil of a time finding any in the last couple months.

I dont know where you are looking but literally every landscape nursery around NYC and Long Island carries these.
They are more of a spring thing, but some do still have them in the later summer/Fall.
Depending on how far you are willing to drive, you can still find them.
Otherwise I would wait until April or May and start looking then because you will literally trip over them at ANY landcape nursery around NYC, Long Island and northern NJ.

If the ones you got were bare rooted, youre going to need to be especially careful about winter protection. Not sure how youre going to do that on a balcony.

 

[Paradox]

ok, can you please put a better description of your location on your profile?

I read that and thought you were in NYC (Chitown=China Town).
If youre in Chicago, please put "Chigaco" so we can tell where you are and give location appropriate advice.
Thanks

 

[penumbra]

I live in the third largest city in the US and have had a Devil of a time finding any in the last couple months.

This is mostly because of the season. You will easily find them everywhere in the spring.


Sorry, I didn't read far enough to see that Paradox already addressed this.

 

[Mycin]

ok, can you please put a better description of your location on your profile?

I read that and thought you were in NYC (Chitown=China Town).
If youre in Chicago, please put "Chigaco" so we can tell where you are and give location appropriate advice.
Thanks

Haha i would never have thought of calling Chinatown "Chitown" .. point taken though

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Paradox
Seriously, our local Chicago area prairie silt loam soils are too calcium rich for azaleas and Rhododendron to thrive. If landscapers use them, it is in beds of acidic soils installed above the base soils. Mounded beds of wood chips, and landscape raised beds. Also our zone 5 b winter's are colder than New York's. For these 2 reasons, you find relatively few azaleas for sale at Chicagoland nurseries. Cold winter's are probably the main reason as 'PJM' Rhododendrons are moderately common, and the PJM types are noted for extreme cold tolerances.

 

[Paradox]

@Paradox
Seriously, our local Chicago area prairie silt loam soils are too calcium rich for azaleas and Rhododendron to thrive. If landscapers use them, it is in beds of acidic soils installed above the base soils. Mounded beds of wood chips, and landscape raised beds. Also our zone 5 b winter's are colder than New York's. For these 2 reasons, you find relatively few azaleas for sale at Chicagoland nurseries. Cold winter's are probably the main reason as 'PJM' Rhododendrons are moderately common, and the PJM types are noted for extreme cold tolerances.

If you read my posts, I thought the OP was in NY city, not Chicago because his profile said "Chitown" which is a moniker for China Town in NYC..
If I had known he was in Chicago, I would not have even posted.

 

[bwaynef]

For most folks not in NYC, I think Chitown is pretty universally Chicago.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

At this point I’d go to the Nuccio’s catalog go to P30-38 (it says 2018 but its still current) and on, choose 5-6 probables, then call Jim and tell him the crazy guy from Bothell WA recommended them to you. Then don't have photos, but you can look up thousands of azalea cultivars here.

While you're at it, ask for two Japanese camellias... one Nuccio's Gem, one Nuccio's Pearl. When you have commercial cultivars named after your nursery, you know they are good @Brian Van Fleet said Nuccio's Pearl was the nicest camellia he had ever seen... but he couldn't take one back on the plane so I bought it just to annoy him

 

[Forsoothe!]

Chi Town is rarely seen written for most people out of the Chicago area, so it's ambiguous at best.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Chi Town is rarely seen written for most people out of the Chicago area, so it's ambiguous at best.

Next stop Chi Town, Lido put the money down, let 'em roll
He said one more job ought to get it
One last shot 'fore we quit it
One for the road

 

[Mycin]

The Mangatsu

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Paradox
sorry, I was being overly didactic, or "mansplainin" for the less kind version.

 

[Mycin]

And the Koromo Shikibu kurume .. this one is quite a ways away from being bonsai-able I think but that’s ok, development projects are fun too

 

[Mycin]

So, my limited knowledge of azaleas tells me that flowers bloom on the end of new shoots, so I should wait until next year to prune, after they bloom. Otherwise:
-don’t let dry out (fine root structure)
-use ericaceous fertilizer
-overwinter appropriately

Any other “broad strokes” type info I’m missing?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I was going to recommend this book:



But then I went online and saw it was out of print, and hardcover copies are going for $850(?!) What the heck - the book was only released 15 years ago. Maybe you can find a copy on eBay?

 

[Mycin]

Haha hint taken I'll do some more reading