NTM Azalea progress thread

[Malix]

Just picked this up Last weekend. Had some branches die back with previous owner. But a decent price sucked me in and now its in my garden. Its budding back well so will just let it get healthy and will begin to work on it when its strength allows. The trunk is rotted out and dead wood will need to be preserved if possible. I have used very thin viscosity cyanoacrylate glue for this purpose in the past so I'll likely try that again. I hope this one can be made in to something interesting in time. .. Again. I haven't seen too many azaleas with dead wood so we'll see...

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Interesting project. I believe what happens is similar to a big azalea I once worked on. When older azaleas get weak sometimes by weather damage I.e. sun scalding and frost cracking or by mismanagement, I.e. poor pruning practices, not rebuilding branches periodically, an entire group of adjacent sap lines die back to the roots, eventually forming a crevice and then a hollowed out trunk.

There is no way to save the trunk, yet one might slow the decay way down by cleaning back all the rot, drying out the remaining surface, and putting on a sealer, as you suggested.. I haven’t heard about using super glue, kind of a cool idea. Not sure how much penetration you will get. However, in a discussion with Dan Robinson a couple months back he said he was using penetrating boat epoxy to fight wood rot on trees..

Something to think about.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your progress.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Malix]

Yes. You are exactly right. It will take cleaning out and drying really well before treating. I am a woodworker and keep different viscosity super glues around for different purposes. The very thin waterlike one is the one to use when seeking deep penetration. Dry wood will soak it up readily. I think this would work much better than an epoxy due to the penetration. Tho possibly the epoxy would be more durable over long periods of time?

I have Also seen harry Harrington (bonsai4me.com) discuss this as a much better wood preserver than lime sulphur. Especially where deadwood is constantly wet or in contact with soil. Tho the line sulphur can be used in tandem with CA glue for aesthetic purposes..

just be careful as any of these can get glossy if applied too thick.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Yep. The challenge is the azaleas’ wood is perpetually wet, all the way through the heartwood. More then most.

Penetration is a challenge. So I think it’s about creating enough adhesion to build a “wall” the will last. Dan has so many trees on display at Elandan Gardens that he doesn't have a lot of time to revisit trees over and over,

cheers
DSD sends