New Azalea Online Photo Database

[Chuah]

There are two recent online photo database useful for azalea identification and background information:

1. Mark Nijland of the Netherland’s Azalea Database with over 1,500 cultivar, some with images, parentage of the cultivars and Japanese kanji names.

Pictures, descriptions and parentage of azalea varieties

A database with over 1500 evergreen azalea varieties, including photos and parentage. Important cultivar groups like satsuki, Kurume, obtusum, Hirado, Belgian indica and American varieties are listed. Wildtype species are also included.

azaleadatabase.com

2. Azalea Society of America’s new ongoing database with more information than the old photo database.

searchable azalea database

This searchable azalea database has more than 11,000 entries--Many entries have photos in addition to growth and cultural information.

azaleas.org

For those unfamiliar with ASA’s pBase, here is the link:

Alphabetic... by Azalea Society of America

pbase.com

These are very useful photo database in English besides the Japanese Satsukimania site and the Satsuki dictionary; the publisher of the dictionary has gone bankrupt and it is likely there might be no new updates. So grab one if you see it for sale.

 

[Glaucus]

Two other sites I linked to that are in Japanese are:

皐月の花・専科

皐月の‘花マニア’が新しい品種を中心に花の魅力を写真で紹介します。家庭菜園の様子も出てきます。【皐月の花・専科】

blog.goo.ne.jp

ライブラリー ｜ さつき盆栽春夏秋冬

satsukibonsai-4s.jp

The latter one is the publisher of the new satsuki magazine. And it seems likely they will also produce a dictionary eventually. They are some of the same people so I believe they have the archives of pictures and stuff of the old dictionary.
They have been adding more varieties to their online version of their database. So I have to figure out a way to find pages that I have not added yet, so I can link to them from my own site.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Extensively reviewed and tested Mark’s Azalea database. It is excellent! While still a work in progress it is well laid out and very informative, giving cultivar genology, many images and other background. Would highly recommend it.

Have used https://pbase.com/azaleasociety/evergreen extensively over the years. Haven’t used the deciduous side much. The evergreen side has always been a work in progress too. Has an extensive database of images with some information on hybrids.

For my uses Mark’s database is clearly superior, however for a simple image look up would use both databases in tandem at this time.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Chuah]

Two other sites I linked to that are in Japanese are:

皐月の花・専科

皐月の‘花マニア’が新しい品種を中心に花の魅力を写真で紹介します。家庭菜園の様子も出てきます。【皐月の花・専科】

blog.goo.ne.jp

ライブラリー ｜ さつき盆栽春夏秋冬

satsukibonsai-4s.jp

The latter one is the publisher of the new satsuki magazine. And it seems likely they will also produce a dictionary eventually. They are some of the same people so I believe they have the archives of pictures and stuff of the old dictionary.
They have been adding more varieties to their online version of their database. So I have to figure out a way to find pages that I have not added yet, so I can link to them from my own site.

Thank you Glaucus, I left out the Japanese sites because they do not have names in Romanji except Satsukimania, and is not easy for people with at least rudimentary Japanese to use. There are indeed many useful Japanese sites from enthusiasts.

 

[Chuah]

Two other sites I linked to that are in Japanese are:

皐月の花・専科

皐月の‘花マニア’が新しい品種を中心に花の魅力を写真で紹介します。家庭菜園の様子も出てきます。【皐月の花・専科】

blog.goo.ne.jp

ライブラリー ｜ さつき盆栽春夏秋冬

satsukibonsai-4s.jp

The latter one is the publisher of the new satsuki magazine. And it seems likely they will also produce a dictionary eventually. They are some of the same people so I believe they have the archives of pictures and stuff of the old dictionary.
They have been adding more varieties to their online version of their database. So I have to figure out a way to find pages that I have not added yet, so I can link to them from my own site.

I also use the satsukidaisuki site a lot because it shows how the flowers look as a bonsai. Unfortunately, it has no Romanized names. Maybe typing the Japanese alphabets, a, i, u, e, o, in the search function could bring out the cultivar info.

 

[Glaucus]

I tried to link to most of the satsukidaisuki page for each variety that's on there. Indeed, you can only search for a cultivar if you have the actual Japanese characters. Not even the phonetic alphabet. Even for a Japanese person, knowing just the sound of the name, it is not straightforward to find the characters in that list.

Additionally, since it is a blog some varieties have several blog entries. Which is indicated by the numbers inside curly brackets in the cultivar overview lists. But to go through an older entry, you have to click the link marked with a star ☆ on the last line of the blog entry. That way you can browse through every consecutive blog entry until you arrive on the first entry.

I want to add some more features to my own site, like filtering by flower size, bloom period, colour, flower type, etc. But it is a lot of work.
I considered adding a link to the pbase images. But most pbase images are also on the ASA database.

If there's any QoL features I forgot, please let me know.

 

[Chuah]

I tried to link to most of the satsukidaisuki page for each variety that's on there. Indeed, you can only search for a cultivar if you have the actual Japanese characters. Not even the phonetic alphabet. Even for a Japanese person, knowing just the sound of the name, it is not straightforward to find the characters in that list.

Additionally, since it is a blog some varieties have several blog entries. Which is indicated by the numbers inside curly brackets in the cultivar overview lists. But to go through an older entry, you have to click the link marked with a star ☆ on the last line of the blog entry. That way you can browse through every consecutive blog entry until you arrive on the first entry.

I want to add some more features to my own site, like filtering by flower size, bloom period, colour, flower type, etc. But it is a lot of work.
I considered adding a link to the pbase images. But most pbase images are also on the ASA database.

If there's any QoL features I forgot, please let me know.

Indeed the Kanji names have different pronunciations depending on whether they are based on Chinese (onyomi) or Japanese (kunyomi) origins. It would be somewhat difficult for people who could read Japanese but not in depth.

It would be great to add more features to your site to improve search capabilities. However, I suggest not to use the bloom period; it varies in different zones and with the current climate changes, bloom periods are messed up. For example, I have several Huang hybrids; they do not follow the designated bloom period numbering system in my region. My Shugetsu has been blooming since October of last year and continuing to do so now! I wonder if it might be flowering like an Encore with our unusual weather???

 

[baron]

Maybe it was already posted, but I use this one (mainly satsuki)

Varieties

Satsuki Azalea Bonsai

satsukimania.com