Satsuki Azalea - first steps from cutting

[wooh]

Hi Everyone!

I'm sort of new to the bonsai world, but not entirely new to growing plants. However my knowledge is sort of limited.

I always loved bonsai but I wasn't really brave enough to start it. But a few years ago we moved to Japan and the weather is sort of nice during winter too so I can keep my plants on the balcony. So I was thinking about starting a bonsai.

So far I successfully grown several plants like goldcrest cypress from 10cm to 1.5m (indoor), or a bunch of Nerium from seed, mango trees etc.. but I never tried to really try to keep them too small. I think I know how to prune / cut older trees / plants but I'm really new to cuttings and few years old plants. And as far as I am concerned, in the bonsai world, it is important to even start the shaping process early at age 2-3 maybe?

So recently I visited a very famous bonsai grand master (Kunio Kobayashi (小林國雄)) and he gave me a Satsuki Azalea cutting. (along with several books).

I'm attaching the picture of the cutting. What should I do with this cutting? I feel like it's a bit too straight, maybe not...

Shall I let it grow for a few years and start shaping after that? I'm happy to hear any advice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Hi,
You are correct about the letting it grow thing. Also you are correct about the wiring of young stock. If the cutting is more than a few years old it probably won’t bend as Azaleas are very brittle after hardened of.
It looks like your cutting maybe 1-2 yrs old which is the perfect time to wrap with wire (aluminium) and carefully bend this making sure you bend the wire not the cutting. Wire will start biting in after it grows, say 3-6 months and then you can pot this up into a bigger pot when this pot is full. Wire more growth after this season’s growth has hardened off, or leave wiring til next Spring.
The goal of your growing is to grow this to say 75cm - 1 metre, with lots of bends/twists and turns so you have reached the height you want of the whip you can then cut the top out and start the branching. Azalea are basal dominant which means they will always grow more at the bottom.
I know this is a lot of theory, but hopefully you can copy this etc, as a reminder.
Also if you want a smaller tree, obviously cut the top out before it grows too much.
I will be interested in its progress and if other Bnutters pass comment also then we will both learn more.
Charles.

 

[wooh]

Hi,
You are correct about the letting it grow thing. Also you are correct about the wiring of young stock. If the cutting is more than a few years old it probably won’t bend as Azaleas are very brittle after hardened of.
It looks like your cutting maybe 1-2 yrs old which is the perfect time to wrap with wire (aluminium) and carefully bend this making sure you bend the wire not the cutting. Wire will start biting in after it grows, say 3-6 months and then you can pot this up into a bigger pot when this pot is full. Wire more growth after this season’s growth has hardened off, or leave wiring til next Spring.
The goal of your growing is to grow this to say 75cm - 1 metre, with lots of bends/twists and turns so you have reached the height you want of the whip you can then cut the top out and start the branching. Azalea are basal dominant which means they will always grow more at the bottom.
I know this is a lot of theory, but hopefully you can copy this etc, as a reminder.
Also if you want a smaller tree, obviously cut the top out before it grows too much.
I will be interested in its progress and if other Bnutters pass comment also then we will both learn more.
Charles.

Thanks for your reply! Then I think I'll start the wiring process as soon as spring starts to hit Japan I'll try to document the process.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

Hey! Another guy in Japan. Welcome!

I'm assuming since you went to Shunka-en, that you're in the Kanto region?

Also, I'm sure others will mention it, but get that azalea outside. They are totally fine in this climate.

How bought that quake last night..?

 

[wooh]

Hey! Another guy in Japan. Welcome!

I'm assuming since you went to Shunka-en, that you're in the Kanto region?

Also, I'm sure others will mention it, but get that azalea outside. They are totally fine in this climate.

How bought that quake last night..?

Hey!

Yeah I'm in Tokyo
The azalea is outside on the balcony no worries. I just brought it inside for the photo.

The EQ was horrible, but luckily no real damage in our apartment. (Apart from a little water loss - spilled out - in my ADA aquarium)

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

That's good news.

I lost a bit of water from my planted tank as well, and I was standing there holding it.

:0

 

[Berra]

Guessing you know this already, but if not, you can visit ueno green club and shop/look around. I went there last time i was in Tokyo, Good prices on both trees and pots

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

This land, in which Wooh is like a Chinese Pooh that's of course a panda....is Eeyore still a donkey?

Sorce

 

[HorseloverFat]

Welcome to Crazy!

This land, in which Wooh is like a Chinese Pooh that's of course a panda....is Eeyore still a donkey?

Sorce

Yeah.. but his “apparel” changes..

And his demeanor..

 

[sorce]

And his demeanor..

"Please Bother"?

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Or skudoosh?

Sorce

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Greetings to BonsaiNut!

Its awesome that you got a cutting and books from Mr Kobayashi!

its looks like a first year whip becoming to me, but I’d need to know what cultivar you have, yet it seems one of the strong growers. I’d be interested to know if you have the cultivator information. For comparison, the photo included shows my 4 - 8 month whips, running from 10.5” down to the newest at 3”.



@KiwiPlantGuy is correct, up pot in kanuma once again, likely this fall.... and try to grow the whip out at least 60 cm before wiring and bending next year. Then try to grow it on some more. 1 meter might be a bit ambitious outside a greenhouse. The ultimate height is determined by the cultivar. (So an Osakasuki or Kaho would get pretty tall relatively fast, while a Nikko wouldn’t grow that fast at all.). Usually the next couple years after that the whips would be thickened up in the ground, so you’ll want to up pot more times to help get it thickened up... Once you get the height. For your next pots go for ceramic or clay as nursery plastic pots transmit heat easily and the satsuki roots don’t like to get hot.

Presently though, chose the straightest of the two forks and trim off the others if you believe the plant to be stable. If any side branches appear cut/carefully tear these off as they appear. They will only slow down the growth of your whip.

The only reason to wire right now is to keep the whip stable. Alternately you might just stake it up with a light stake to keep it from snapping. Be sure to wedge the pot in carefully.... and protect from winds.

There are a lot of good sites in Japan on wiring whips and I’m sure the books Mr. Kobayashi provided you with are excellent references. If these don’t answer for you, or you need another slant on things message again.

please keep us posted on your progress.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Mellow Mullet]

You need to go ahead and put some wire on it while it is small, focusing on the lower part of the trunk where it exits the soil. This if the most overlooked step when doing any cutting, especially azaleas. If you don't do it now it will be too thick in the near future and you will wind up with a plant with a straight lower, with little or no interest, and bends up high. Make your curves exaggerated, as the trunk grows, they will smooth out. If you get shoots on the lower trunk where you don't want branches, wait until they are pencil thick before cutting them off, this will help the trunk to gain girth quicker. When you do cut them off, leave a little stub 1/2 to one inch long for a couple or three months before completely removing it, this will ensure that the roots below the branch stay healthy. Keep an eye on the wire as small whips will put on a growth sprut and before you know it, it will be cutting in. Azaleas have very thin bark and the marks that the wire leaves take many years to disappear, if at all. Take care when wiring too for the same reason, it is easy to damage the bark with the wire.

Also, when bending, take care not to snap the part you are bending, most azaleas are brittle, some much more so than others. After you do it some, you will come to learn how much your particular cultivar can take.

John

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Once again, @Mellow Mullet presents an interesting twist on the way I learned to do things with satsuki. So a learning post.

The method I learned is to grow the length before building the trunk thickness because it takes longer to grow the whip tall. Also, it allows one to wire later down the line, up to 3-4 years depending on the cultivar, as the trunk stays thinner. Maybe its because wiring will slow the growth a bit in the first year. This is the traditional method. In this method, usually the lower branches are grown out after you achieve the height.

I can see merit in the other method presented though. Growing the height while allowing the trunk to thicken up will add stability to the whip. I can also see how doing this will require one to wire earlier on as the lower trunk will stiffen up much quicker then the former method.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[wooh]

Thank you all for the replies.

I'll first buy the tools and wires / pot / etc. And start figuring out what to do

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Once again, @Mellow Mullet presents an interesting twist on the way I learned to do things with satsuki. So a learning post.

The method I learned is to grow the length before building the trunk thickness because it takes longer to grow the whip tall. Also, it allows one to wire later down the line, up to 3-4 years depending on the cultivar, as the trunk stays thinner. Maybe its because wiring will slow the growth a bit in the first year. This is the traditional method. In this method, usually the lower branches are grown out after you achieve the height.

I can see merit in the other method presented though. Growing the height while allowing the trunk to thicken up will add stability to the whip. I can also see how doing this will require one to wire earlier on as the lower trunk will stiffen up much quicker then the former method.

cheers
DSD sends

There is more than one way to skin a cat, lol. I only post advice that I have tried and gotten results.

Actually the two ways are not too much different. Just I mentioned wiring as soon as possible. In my experience, a whip that is 2 -3 feet tall will have a trunk of at least your pinky, or more. when they get that thick, they are difficult to bend very much, without breaking. I have not noticed wiring them slowing them down.

 

[wooh]

When should I repot the azalea? I got kanuma soil and have a nice (bigger) pot for it. Shall I wait for march/april or can I do this now too? the outside temperature is around 7 celsius (night)- 16 celsius (day)

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

You should be good to go, or wait a couple weeks as you please.

I usually wait until the nighttime temperatures are reliably
in the range that you are experiencing right now.

A couple thoughts

Ensure your Satsuki is in 100% kanuma, which it seems to be. If not water wash the roots totally clean. If it is in 100% kanuma, you might just slip pot.

Avoid digging in the soil directly under the trunk under the trunk. If you need to decrease the depth of the root ball later, use a root saw and make a horizontal cut across the bottom.

It’s very important to shield the Satsuki from winds for a couple weeks and water sparingly for a couple weeks. (Also watch out for really hot winds too, it’s been the death of many a young azalea,

Wait until some of the top soil turns just a bit white. It’s hard to overwater in kanuma, yet it can be done.

Here’s-a photo of the small side branches I advised you remove as they grow out. Remove with tweezers when these are still green.

Cheers
DSD sends

Before


After

 

[wooh]

Than

You should be good to go, or wait a couple weeks as you please.

I usually wait until the nighttime temperatures are reliably
in the range that you are experiencing right now.

A couple thoughts

Ensure your Satsuki is in 100% kanuma, which it seems to be. If not water wash the roots totally clean. If it is in 100% kanuma, you might just slip pot.

Avoid digging in the soil directly under the trunk under the trunk. If you need to decrease the depth of the root ball later, use a root saw and make a horizontal cut across the bottom.

It’s very important to shield the Satsuki from winds for a couple weeks and water sparingly for a couple weeks. (Also watch out for really hot winds too, it’s been the death of many a young azalea,

Wait until some of the top soil turns just a bit white. It’s hard to overwater in kanuma, yet it can be done.

Here’s-a photo of the small side branches I advised you remove as they grow out. Remove with tweezers when these are still green.

Cheers
DSD sends

Before
View attachment 356653

After
View attachment 356654

Thanks!

I think a little akadama is also in the mix, so I think I'll water wash the roots.

 

[wooh]

I got the cultivar information too: Osakazuki Azalea