Large Azalea Yamadori. Need advice.

[farallon5]

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice on the best time of year and and any general best practices when collecting Azalea Yamadori. The research I have done online is giving me mixed singals on the best time to transplant or collect Azaleas and figured it would be in my best interest to consult with experts before I make any moves that may inadvertantly damage the plants. All three of these Azaleas are on my fathers property that he is looking to remove for some future landscaping projects where these will get in the way. They have beautiful nebari and I see great bonsai potential. Here is the data I have at this time:

- Evergreen Azaleas (I am basing this off the PictureThis app I downloaded on my phone, unsure of species)
- Grow Zone 7b Wake County North Carolina
- Trunk thickness I estimate is between 3 to 5 inch diameter from the smallest to the largest of the three Azaleas
- They all appear to be healthy. I have seen white flowers on one of them, unsure of the color of the other two. No visible pests or damage to the leafs
- The roots for two of the three are above the surface and close to larger trees. The largest of the three is begining to be overcome by the branches of a large cypress it is planted near.

What are the best methods to properly collect and place in pots? I have read that fall works, I have read that spring works as well. I was planning to plant them all in large trays with a mixture of Kanuma and sphagnum but have also read that you can replant in a mixture of pine bark and sand.

Long story short, what are my best options here? Really looking to consult with experts who have experience doing this as I do not want to risk damanging these beautiful trees.

Thanks for your time and help

 

[HorseloverFat]

I see ya here!

Sorry, I am NOT equipped to advise you in this process... Mis/Half-information is DANGEROUS!

But I Willlllllll bump it back to the top of the list for you!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice azaleas to collect. You have trunks on them, the key to collecting landscape trees for bonsai is finding good trunks. They will take 5 -10 years to get to being bonsai, but it will be worth the effort.

Time to dig. Best is late winter, early spring. A distant second best is autumn, if your father is impatient to get them gone.

Soil mixes, I disagree with your choices. Adding sphagnum, and mixing it into Kanuma, defeats the benefits of Kanuma. Use Kanuma straight, 100% or mix it with pumice, or perlite. Add nothing organic. Kanuma is excellent, but expensive.

Sphagnum is only used as a top dressing. A quarter to half inch layer if put on top in spring and removed in autumn.

if you want to get away from Kanuma, as with the size of the azaleas, you will initially need large pots, use a bark & pumice blend. Do not add sand. Sand is too fine, will clog up air voids, will result in poor root systems.

use wide diameter pots or grow boxes. Depth should be less than 5 inches. Or regardless of the depth of the pot fill it only to 5 inches. Prune the roots severely enough so that the nebari can be buried in less than 5 inches of media.

Otherwise, you have a good plan.

 

[farallon5]

Nice azaleas to collect. You have trunks on them, the key to collecting landscape trees for bonsai is finding good trunks. They will take 5 -10 years to get to being bonsai, but it will be worth the effort.

Time to dig. Best is late winter, early spring. A distant second best is autumn, if your father is impatient to get them gone.

Soil mixes, I disagree with your choices. Adding sphagnum, and mixing it into Kanuma, defeats the benefits of Kanuma. Use Kanuma straight, 100% or mix it with pumice, or perlite. Add nothing organic. Kanuma is excellent, but expensive.

Sphagnum is only used as a top dressing. A quarter to half inch layer if put on top in spring and removed in autumn.

if you want to get away from Kanuma, as with the size of the azaleas, you will initially need large pots, use a bark & pumice blend. Do not add sand. Sand is too fine, will clog up air voids, will result in poor root systems.

use wide diameter pots or grow boxes. Depth should be less than 5 inches. Or regardless of the depth of the pot fill it only to 5 inches. Prune the roots severely enough so that the nebari can be buried in less than 5 inches of media.

Otherwise, you have a good plan.

Excellent advice thank you very much! Yea with the soil mix I saw this recommendation for azaleas on a youtube video. I have purchased 17 litres of Kanuma so I may have to get a little more or mix with pumice if thats the best option.

Thankfully I can wait to remove these so I am going to opt to dig them out in the early spring.

 

[Shibui]

What are the best methods to properly collect and place in pots? I have read that fall works, I have read that spring works as well. I was planning to plant them all in large trays with a mixture of Kanuma and sphagnum but have also read that you can replant in a mixture of pine bark and sand.

You have different opinions on timing because azalea really don't care when they are transplanted. I have dug and potted azaleas every month of the year here and have great success rates. If people are pushing one time or another that usually means they have had a single bad experience or have never tried another time of year.
My preferred potting mix is composted pine bark and sand and the azaleas do really well in it. 'sand' is a very variable product. I note that @Leo in N E Illinois says sand is too fine. Coarse sand is still sand. My mix contains propagating sand which is graded at around 4mm particles - no fines. Water quality and location are far more important factors in azalea survival IMHO.
I agree with @Leo in N E Illinois that sphagnum would not be good in azalea recovery pots.

 

[farallon5]

You have different opinions on timing because azalea really don't care when they are transplanted. I have dug and potted azaleas every month of the year here and have great success rates. If people are pushing one time or another that usually means they have had a single bad experience or have never tried another time of year.
My preferred potting mix is composted pine bark and sand and the azaleas do really well in it. 'sand' is a very variable product. I note that @Leo in N E Illinois says sand is too fine. Coarse sand is still sand. My mix contains propagating sand which is graded at around 4mm particles - no fines. Water quality and location are far more important factors in azalea survival IMHO.
I agree with @Leo in N E Illinois that sphagnum would not be good in azalea recovery pots.

Thank you very much!

 

[JesusFreak]

I dug up an azalea in the first of April down here in south Ga. it’s taken awhile to sprout buds. I’m worried bc I used a type of turface. I’m considering digging up back up and doing a root prune come spring and giving it a healthier soil. I’m not sure if this is just the way it goes or it’s the soil or time of year I did it. It’s kinda like why is the baby crying? Who knows?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I dug up an azalea in the first of April down here in south Ga. it’s taken awhile to sprout buds. I’m worried bc I used a type of turface. I’m considering digging up back up and doing a root prune come spring and giving it a healthier soil. I’m not sure if this is just the way it goes or it’s the soil or time of year I did it. It’s kinda like why is the baby crying? Who knows?View attachment 324512

If this was dug up in April, and it looks like this in August, I'm afraid you have been watering wood that is really kindling. It's dead, kuput, past tense. Sorry to bear sad news. Repotting won't help. Unless you have green leaves that don't show in the photo. Sorry to bear the sad news.

 

[JesusFreak]

This is it now

 

[fredman]

That is a miracle azalea..the top even shoots maple leaves

 

[JesusFreak]

That is a miracle azalea..the top even shoots maple leaves

Haha yea probably need to clean it up. It’s been windy. I’m gonna chop it back once it really buds up. I was told it has no taper and needs to be shorter

 

[fredman]

Haha yea probably need to clean it up. It’s been windy. I’m gonna chop it back once it really buds up. I was told it has no taper and needs to be shorter

Yeah she's a monster alright. Is it a decidious?
I agree...best to leave it as is, until it's well established in the root department.

 

[Trenthany]

I dug up an azalea in the first of April down here in south Ga. it’s taken awhile to sprout buds. I’m worried bc I used a type of turface. I’m considering digging up back up and doing a root prune come spring and giving it a healthier soil. I’m not sure if this is just the way it goes or it’s the soil or time of year I did it. It’s kinda like why is the baby crying? Who knows?View attachment 324512

Don’t give up hope! Check to see if it’s still green under the bark. If it is keep waiting my cypress rescue took almost 3 months to bud and it couldn’t have been collected worse or at a worse time.

Misread that. Lmao I was thinking it was Leo’s post that had the one sprouting maple leaves! well done on patience. Now show me how to style it! Next year. Lmao

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

This is it now View attachment 324570

See, it is important to include a "current photo" when you ask questions. LOL.

So it does have life. It lives.

It is quite weak, I would leave it alone for the rest of this year. Just let it grow wild. Do not do your second cut back until you have 20 times the number of leaves you have now. THis tree is weak enough that any stress at all could push it over the edge into terminal decline. So just let it grow. It does have some taper, mainly due to dead wood, in the first few inches. Eventually I could see this being reduced by half again at some point, but it needs a year or two to recover before doing anything.