Satsuki azalea seed

[james ocallaghan]

Hi, I'm looking for satuski azalea seeds, does anyone know were I can get them and I live in Melbourne Australia, I would appreciate any assistance anyone can offer.

James

 

[Glaucus]

I believe I am the leading hybridizer of satsuki azaleas outside of Japan.
I make several crosses every year and often send seeds to others.
I still have some very old seeds lying around that is as mix of satsuki and Belgian indica.
Presumably, you want them to use for bonsai and not the creation of a new cultivar?

You can either PM or discuss here.

 

[james ocallaghan]

Hi, In Melbourne Australia there is 1 nursery that stocks Satuski Azaleas, which I have 45 different varieties, I love they are unique and would love the opportunity to collect more to grow weather they are as bonsai or shrubs, which I have both,.
I thought it might be a better way to get different varieties to Australia.

Regards James

 

[Glaucus]

You could indeed create new variation using the 45 varieties of satsuki you already have.
Individual seedlings are often nice enough to just grow and enjoy. As a garden plant or bonsai.
However, when one wants to propagate by cutting anyway, it makes sense to use a 1 out of a 1000 superior seedling. Which is where named varieties come in.

In the past, I shipped seeds to Australia. I understand that it is very difficult to introduce new varieties to Australia through the proper legal ways.

Is there something that is lacking among the 45 varieties locally available? I may have a cross that matches what you would like to add.

 

[james ocallaghan]

Thankyou for your reply, I haven't a good understanding of how to create new varities and the proces of cross breeding varities.
There are a few varieties that is on my wish list Susan, Reiko, Asuka, Arian, Hanabin, not sure if i can post the list that's available from the nursery were i have got most of my varieties within saying that I have to find a good reading source to get my knowledge up to scratch in cross breeding .
Also I can find out Australia's importing of seeds requirements, costs associated with getting them.
Regards James

 

[Glaucus]

To get a new variety, you just need seeds. Any seed will do. But very often, seed pods will not develop on satsuki without hand pollinating the flowers. Ie putting pollen on the stamen. And that's quite straightforward for azaleas, I would say.
Making a deliberate cross with a specific breeding goal would be on another level, because some of the genetics can be unpredictable.

I usually just send seeds in a post card. The stamp costs me like 2 euro.

I don't know Susan, I believe Arian is Ariran, and there are three Reiko (but the Japanese characters are different).
There might be a few varieties I could recommend out of those 45 that both develop large seed pods and are known to be good breeding parents.|
It will also help to know which varieties just do well in the local climate.

 

[james ocallaghan]

Thankyou for your reply, I haven't a good understanding of how to create new varities and the proces of cross breeding varities.
There are a few varieties that is on my wish list Susan, Reiko, Asuka, Arian, Hanabin, not sure if i can post the list that's available from the nursery were i have got most of my varieties within saying that I have to find a good reading source to get my knowledge up to scratch in cross breeding .
Also I can find out Australia's importing of seeds requirements, costs associated with getting them.
Regards James

Sorry my spelling was incorrect, Suisen, Ariren, Reiko (any type) are on my wish list, let me look thru our bio security with plant seed importing and I will get back to you regarding this! Maybe with the varieties I have already might be what I need. I need to get my head around your advise on pollination i will study up on this. Our weather here in Melbourne Australia is Overview. Melbourne enjoys warm summers, glorious springs, mild autumns & crisp winters. With its variable climate, Melbourne heats up December to February (summer), cools down March to May (autumn), chills out June to August (winter), and warms up again September to November (spring). List of my collection.
Aozora
Asazakura
Benibotan
Blue moon
Chinzan
Chiyo No Hikari
Chiyo No Homare
Chiyo No Tsuki
Gyoten
Hikari No Tsuki
Hilarious No Tsukasa
Hiroshi
Hoshi No Kagayaki
Juko
Kagetsu
Kaguyahime
Kairaku
Kakuo
kazan
Kikoshi
Kinsai
Kobai
Kogetsu
Komei
Korin
Kusadama
Matsukagami
Matsunami
Meicho
Moeka
Murasaki
Nakahari
Nikko
Osakazuki
Polo
Salmon spray
Shinkyo
Shiryu No Homare
Shisen
Summer sun
Suzukase
Yata No Kagami .
Regards james

 

[Shibui]

That's a good list. Trevor has certainly done well from your Satsuki obsession!
note that the seasonal adjectives supplied above are very subjective. One person's 'crisp' is another person's 'mild', etc. Suffice to say that Satsuki seem to do OK in and around Melbourne.

 

[Glaucus]

List of my collection.
Hikari No Tsuki

Might not be correct. Maybe 'Hikari no Tsukasa'?

Hilarious No Tsukasa

This misspelling is 'hilarious' to me. Maybe both are bastardizations of 'Hikari no Tsukasa'.

Hiroshi

Maybe Hiodoshi?
Could be correct, but doesn't ring a bell with me.

Nakahari

This is a species that is not satsuki, but Rhododendron nakaharae.

While you can use whatever azalea you want, from my experience Juko produces large seed pods easily. Same for Shisen and Asazakura.
Not sure if you have these, or if these are available to you.
You could actually go through all your azaleas, or at the nursery that has all these, and see if right now you have seed pods on them. If they formed by themselves, some may still be closed for you. And even if they have opened, they would usually still have seeds in them.

I have a sport of Asuka as well as Reiko 麗子 , the one with the smaller flowers with white centers.
Suisen and varieties are very interesting for their polyploidy. But polyploidy also limits fertility. So it is more challenging.
I let all my Hanabin die, somehow.
I could possibly provide you with seeds of at least one of these. But that will create a new variety. Not the same thing. But self-pollinating or backcrossing to a parent can limit the variation of the seedlings, giving better odds of somewhat recreating an existing cultivar.

There are a couple of decent videos on youtube that show how to hand-pollinate rhododendron flowers. This one is quite good:

I did a writeup myself here as well:

Glaucus Satsuki Azalea farm

Thanks. I might have some more 'Hilda Niblett' seedlings outside. But I have at least one new one crossed with 'Hanatsuzuri'. It is a superior landscape outdoor garden shrub to most Japanese satsuki I have, in my climate. So definitely worth growing if you are into large azalea flowers with...

www.bonsainut.com

It is easiest to try when a cultivar that creates a lot of pollen. Some cultivar, at least for me, produce very little pollen. For example Kozan and likely also Nikko.
Others set seed poorly. So when you try it for the first time, it is nice if you get large pods because the cultivar has a tendency to produce large seed pods easily.

In terms of climate, I realize Melbourne is plenty warm. But what about rain and humidity? Nuccio's Summer Sun is from California. It likely does way better in your local climate than say Nikko.
Similarily, Southern Satuski like Gyoten may be similar.

 

[james ocallaghan]

That's a good list. Trevor has certainly done well from your Satsuki obsession!
note that the seasonal adjectives supplied above are very subjective. One person's 'crisp' is another person's 'mild', etc. Suffice to say that Satsuki seem to do OK in and around Melbourne.

Thanks for your creative input Shibui, I got alot out of your comments!

 

[james ocallaghan]

Might not be correct. Maybe 'Hikari no Tsukasa'?


This misspelling is 'hilarious' to me. Maybe both are bastardizations of 'Hikari no Tsukasa'.


Maybe Hiodoshi?
Could be correct, but doesn't ring a bell with me.


This is a species that is not satsuki, but Rhododendron nakaharae.

While you can use whatever azalea you want, from my experience Juko produces large seed pods easily. Same for Shisen and Asazakura.
Not sure if you have these, or if these are available to you.
You could actually go through all your azaleas, or at the nursery that has all these, and see if right now you have seed pods on them. If they formed by themselves, some may still be closed for you. And even if they have opened, they would usually still have seeds in them.

I have a sport of Asuka as well as Reiko 麗子 , the one with the smaller flowers with white centers.
Suisen and varieties are very interesting for their polyploidy. But polyploidy also limits fertility. So it is more challenging.
I let all my Hanabin die, somehow.
I could possibly provide you with seeds of at least one of these. But that will create a new variety. Not the same thing. But self-pollinating or backcrossing to a parent can limit the variation of the seedlings, giving better odds of somewhat recreating an existing cultivar.

There are a couple of decent videos on youtube that show how to hand-pollinate rhododendron flowers. This one is quite good:

I did a writeup myself here as well:

Glaucus Satsuki Azalea farm

Thanks. I might have some more 'Hilda Niblett' seedlings outside. But I have at least one new one crossed with 'Hanatsuzuri'. It is a superior landscape outdoor garden shrub to most Japanese satsuki I have, in my climate. So definitely worth growing if you are into large azalea flowers with...

www.bonsainut.com

It is easiest to try when a cultivar that creates a lot of pollen. Some cultivar, at least for me, produce very little pollen. For example Kozan and likely also Nikko.
Others set seed poorly. So when you try it for the first time, it is nice if you get large pods because the cultivar has a tendency to produce large seed pods easily.

In terms of climate, I realize Melbourne is plenty warm. But what about rain and humidity? Nuccio's Summer Sun is from California. It likely does way better in your local climate than say Nikko.
Similarily, Southern Satuski like Gyoten may be similar.

Thanks for the information, My grammer was poor on few occasions, big list and i was watching the football at the same time plus having big hands and small phone keys doesn't help, and yes I do own the list I have given you, even so might say i have an obsession but I like satuski azaleas and the different varieties. See below summer sun on the left flowering late November last year nearly made Christmas day for family to enjoy.
As far as Melbourne weather i haven't described it as well,
June and July are the coldest months and October is the wettest. Annual average rainfall for Melbourne is around 649 mm.2022
June and July are the coldest months and October is the wettest. 60 something % humidity. Summer can be very hot and dry. hopefully I've got this right, but I'm sure there will be someone who disagrees. I'll watch and try and learn more about satsuki's because they are a amazing plants.

 

[Glaucus]

I see you are a bit like me and you grow them in larger pots rather than as true bonsai.
I did check the Melbourne climate and I noticed it is a bit low on rain, though it is spread out nicely over the seasons. So varieties that take the heat, full sun, and lower humidity & dry spells a bit better can be worthwhile.
Not sure what azaleas they like to grow as garden shrubs over there. Of course plants can be watered. But when people plant their azaleas in their landscape, they don't want to water every 2 days.
Hence, the 'Summer Sun' recommendation. It it can take LA heat, it might be helpful.

There's actually a bunch of subtropical rhododendron that western breeders have never used because they are not winter hardy, that may have potential for areas like Australia.
These could potentially be crossbred with satsuki. Species like R. moulmainense, R. latoucheae and R. hongkongense. Together with the actual evergreen azalea R. scrabrum, these haven't been fully explored yet.

But for the usual stuff, just raise seeds from your satsuki and see what you obtain. And if you have specific goals, you can select the parents more carefully. Or you can try to make very wide crosses within the satsuki. For example, Kakuo and Moeka are very different plants.

 

[kevinnxo]

I believe I am the leading hybridizer of satsuki azaleas outside of Japan.
I make several crosses every year and often send seeds to others.
I still have some very old seeds lying around that is as mix of satsuki and Belgian indica.
Presumably, you want them to use for bonsai and not the creation of a new cultivar?

You can either PM or discuss here.

Do you have any Satsuki azalea seed, or know where to buy them? I’ve head no luck finding any

 

[Glaucus]

Do you have any Satsuki azalea seed, or know where to buy them? I’ve head no luck finding any

Yes.

 

[Stephan H]

I believe I am the leading hybridizer of satsuki azaleas outside of Japan.
I make several crosses every year and often send seeds to others.
I still have some very old seeds lying around that is as mix of satsuki and Belgian indica.
Presumably, you want them to use for bonsai and not the creation of a new cultivar?

You can either PM or discuss here.

Can you send to Canada ?

 

[Glaucus]

I don't have any seeds currently. Maybe in October.