AusBonsai

Hello,

I'm really new to the Bonsai world and I found a nice Azalea (according to my taste anyway! for sale in the Blue Mountains. From it's shape it looks like it would suit a broom style (see attachment)? Am I wrong? I've read that the broom style is a no no for an Azalea since it's found mostly with deciduous trees...

Thanks!

Marc-Andre

Hi Delalaym, and welcome. I'm pretty much a newbie too, but here's my worth. It's your tree, so it's up to you what you do with it. A broom style would certainly maximize the flowering display in season. I do the same with a couple of mine. My better half likes to have flowers in the house, so I've got some bonsai that flower, and I bring them inside when they are in flower. I don't worry too much about their "style".There is no rule or law that tells you how to style your bonsai. If you wanted to show it or enter comps with it, that's a different story. You would have to adopt one of the accepted styles suitable for azaleas.
Good luck with it.
Frank.

Hi Delalaym, Welcome!
I agree with Frank, it’s your tree and the bonsai police aren’t going to knock on your door if you do something a bit unconventional, so style your tree the way you like it. I’m sure I’ve seen broom style azalea..
In any case, this one has got a lot of growing to do so honestly I think you could turn it into just about any style you see fit.
Good luck with it - looking nice & healthy which is a good start.

It is a nice place to start, this tree needs to thicken and stay strong and healthy. You need do nothing at this stage. When you decide what the style will be you might consider. Is it a plant in a pot? Is it bonsai? If you allow it to simply grow into a broom style which it will do very easily, the result could be a very nice pot plant! I like to think that bonsai is something more but have a go, your ideas will evolve faster than your trees.

A common approach to growing Azalea Bonsai from young material is to select 1 trunk. They call that a whip. Wire and bend the whip to shape and cut off all other shoots, leaving plenty of foliage at the apex. Perhaps leave a sacrifice shoot around the nebari to help thicken the base
Branches can be selected using the hundreds of buds that will appear on the trunk after that
Seems the bushy little plant you have will be reduced significantly but you will finish with a much better tree and just as many flowers as a broom style in time
You'll find that most Satsuki Azalea in Shows and exhibited in Japan, with the exception of collected trees, are started off this way

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your feedback! Much appreciated! So basically, if I choose one branch to become the trunk and cut all the other ones, some new branches will start growing on the new "trunk". No need to trim it?

Thanks!

Marc-Andre

if you want to try the whip style then, as you have said, select 1 to be the trunk, wire to shape and let it grow to get the height you want and allow it to thicken
Azaleas arent rampant growers but you will be pleased with the result in 3-4 years
I would look to grow in a shallower orchid type pot when it next needs repotting in preparation for a Bonsai Pot later
Good Luck

My wife’s favorite bonsai is a sao to me I bought from Bonsai South for her last Mother’s Day, it has spot flowered all through summer and it’s flowering it’s head off now. It’s a broom style! Cheers


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