Azalea

[Ilithya]

Hello everyone, im new in bonsai. I just both this azalea from local nursery close to my place. Just wondering if anyone can help me or give me advice what style should i do with this.

Thank you
Eddy


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[Kevin]

Hello Ilithya,

Nice plant, great purchase.
I like the present style.

Kevin

[Pearcy001]

Hi Eddy,

I havnt delt with Azalea before so unsue how much you can work them.

I can see a cascade in this by adjusting the angle next repot as it looks like there is already a nice curve at the base of the trunk. Then bend the trunk down too to accentuate it, although as stated I am unsure how brittle they are.

Additionally if you prefer Shohin you could trunk chop it at the third branch (the first branch holding flowers?) And create a nice informal upright from that branch as the new leader. You'd probably need to remove the branch below it as it is on the inside of the curve.

I think the informal upright may be a better option as it looks as if you have reverse taper just after that, from too many branches coming from the one spot. Also after that point the branches are too straight for my liking. After the chop you would hopefully get some low back budding for new branching.

Plenty of options, Goodluck with the choice. If you're growing the tree for its flowers a Shohin sized tree may not be the right scale to show off that beautiful colour.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[reidy320]

g'day Ilithya,
ive only been in bonsai for a couple of years, but just like Pearcy I m thinking cascade or semi cascade, it looks like some nice material.
cheers
Scott.

[Ilithya]

Hello Ilithya,

Nice plant, great purchase.
I like the present style.

Kevin

Thanks kev


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[Ilithya]

Hi Eddy,

I havnt delt with Azalea before so unsue how much you can work them.

I can see a cascade in this by adjusting the angle next repot as it looks like there is already a nice curve at the base of the trunk. Then bend the trunk down too to accentuate it, although as stated I am unsure how brittle they are.

Additionally if you prefer Shohin you could trunk chop it at the third branch (the first branch holding flowers?) And create a nice informal upright from that branch as the new leader. You'd probably need to remove the branch below it as it is on the inside of the curve.

I think the informal upright may be a better option as it looks as if you have reverse taper just after that, from too many branches coming from the one spot. Also after that point the branches are too straight for my liking. After the chop you would hopefully get some low back budding for new branching.

Plenty of options, Goodluck with the choice. If you're growing the tree for its flowers a Shohin sized tree may not be the right scale to show off that beautiful colour.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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Thanks pearcy. Ill do that on my days off.


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[Ilithya]

g'day Ilithya,
ive only been in bonsai for a couple of years, but just like Pearcy I m thinking cascade or semi cascade, it looks like some nice material.
cheers
Scott.

Thanks scott.


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[shibui]

You can make whatever style you like out of such very young material. It can be bent or twisted or tilted over to make almost anything.
Some things about azaleas: They look best when flowering so try to design so that the tree has spaces to show off the flowers in spring. That means making some spaces between each layer of foliage.
One of the good things about most azaleas I have worked with is that they will shoot from older wood so you can cut back hard and still get new shoots on whatever is left. I can see there is some long, straight sections on this tree so that might be useful for you.
Another characteristic of azaleas is that they produce lots of shoots from on place. there's a spot about 1/3 up the trunk where I think I can count 5 larger branches and 3 or 4 smaller ones growing close together. Just like any other species, multiple branching almost always causes swelling at that point and reverse taper looks bad azalea growers need to be watching out for this and removing excess branches as soon as possible. Just leave V forks on any tree. Grant Bowie uses the term 2X2. All this is far easier to show than to write so best to find a nearby club and tap into practical expertise.

[KIRKY]

Thats a very nice Satsuki Azalea. Unfortunately I can only see the first two lower left hand branches and not the whole Azalea.
The first thing you should know is Azaleas are very brittle to work with. Decide on your style then wire the branches you intend to keep. Then trim what you don't need for your style to work. If you trim before wiring and a branch snaps you may have nothing to replace it with. Azaleas give no warning when wiring they just snap.
Cheers
Kirky