@@BlueSkyBonsai I got my first Azalea a week ago, and did her first styling! Can't wait to see new growth and move her into the pot I got her! Watching your videos are so much inspiration to me!
@@JGGPilot Nice to hear it! Hope you enjoy the flowers. If your styling included pruning, there is a chance it won't flower this spring. If azaleas don't flower, it's okay.. it might do in late summer instead. Keep it outside in autumn so it knows when to go dormant before winter.
Thanks as always Kate! Ps. I hear lockdown restrictions are easing in UK from Monday, at least with schools reopening again and some socialising allowed 🤞🏻
Good video on Satsuki Azalea. Will be repotting our large one, such as yours in the coming weeks. Other smaller ones repotted a few weeks ago. I do it in early spring, vice after flowering here in the Pacific NW, USA. It works well. In this repotting, using Kanuma (70%) and Sphagnum Moss (30%). Mid sized one now in this mixture and doing great. I like the styling of the tree.
Thanks Jeff! Nice to hear I'm in good company with the repot now. Your potting mix sounds very.. I'm wary of using sphaggy in soil because somehow the birds here sens the buried sphagnum and try to uproot my mini trees. Do you find that birds are ever a problem?
@@BlueSkyBonsai in the past 5 years, have not had “any bird” (or critter) problems affecting the Kanuma/sphagnum soil mixture on our trees. Birds do peck/take the green Moss “on top” of other trees now and again. I put, like you do, a good layer of Kanuma on top making sure to hide the somewhat finely chopped up Sphagnum Moss in the soils mixture. Hmmm, what they cannot see..... Have once had squirrels or Blue Jays bury a shelled peanut or two in larger potted bonsai trees. Keep your videos coming. Bonsai On, my friend.
Thanks Jason! I considered a shallower, wider pot. But the most ideal one I have is actually earmarked for a forest repot later in spring.. so in the end decided to keep this pot. It's not a perfect pot for the shape of the azalea, i think maybe a more "feminine" pot style might look better.. but there's always another year! Cheers 🌳👍🏻
Oooh, I was actually hoping you would upload a video about repotting that exact azalea soon! I think I'll repot my own this year too - not sure if I'll put it into another nursery pot or a bonsai pot already (because it does need some more fattening up but I'm also very impatient to see this one in a beautiful pot). When I was gifted my first azalea (as my first bonsai), I read that the roots are very sensitive and that the plant will die if you rip any of the feeder roots - that scared me a lot, but with more experience now and your video, I'm more confident that my azalea will survive the repotting :)
Hehe glad to be of service! It should survive the report, as long as you don't do any branch pruning now. And at some stage we have to trim back those fine roots. But "just in case" you might consider doing it little by little over a few years, maybe taking off only say 25% of the root mass each year so you're gradually training it down to a smaller pot over a few years. Patience will reward you! And in the meantime you'll still enjoy the wonderful flowers each year. Take a couple of pics while you're doing it, so you can remember each year how the previous year's repot was. 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai Good idea! Patience is key with bonsai, even if you struggle with the occasional overzealousness once in a while, haha. I will take your advice and go slow and steady. :) Also, I'm going to see the flowers of this tree for the first time this year, and I'm really excited! Do you already know what colour yours will be?
Hi Sunny, thank you so much! I will keep uploading but due to lack of spare time I now have to leave quite a time gap between my videos. Planning my next one at the moment. 🌳👍🏻
A very good example of azalea tree there. You must of looked after it for a while now. Mine are very small in comparison I enjoyed this particular video as I have just repotted some of my own azaleas. The soil mixture I used was compost plus sphagnum moss as I didnt have any of the oriental kanuma at hand. Your tree looks magnificent in comparison to mine. Thanks for sharing the process with us all the best.
Thanks so much Lee! Yes I lost an azalea last year, I made the big error of branch removal and root pruning at the same time. Should have done one or the other, but not both. the poor thing withered away over summer. This big one though, I bought it in autumn - you can see it in a video I did back then. Cheers 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai Hi Dave. I repotted my azalea today. Do you think I could do some major pruning mid to late Summer this year or best to leave it until next year?
@@davidreid622 hi David, for azaleas there's a window of about a month after the spring flowers have withered, when you can safely prune branches. Personally I wouldn't risk pruning in late summer.. it might be okay, but I have lost too many azaleas to risk any out-of-season work. (Well, I have lost 5 but that's already too many compared to other species).
Beautiful specimen. So with azaleas fine roots system is the nebari formed solely with age? Or is there a process you follow which differs from deciduous trees? Thanks
You could try with root grafting but really this type of nebari develops under the soil surface over many years. This was imported from Japan. They might have used the ceramic tile method under the roots to force a radial pattern early on. Cheers!
I don't do azalea but have a couple to deal with shortly. Timing is a bit confusing, what prompted repotting now rather than after flowering? It needed repotting but didn't look like an emergency? Not wording this very well am i... like, what is significant about the flowering indication for repotting?
Great question! So I've learnt that if the azalea needs significant root pruning, which this did, then you're better off doing it now in early spring while it's still cool than late spring after the flowers. The advice in UK is to repot after flowering, but here in Madrid the summer is too hot and it's just safer now when the leaf buds are swelling. Cheers!
Thanks! I bought this Azalea last year had been planning on getting one like it for years before. This one was imported from Japan last year. Here's the video where I bought it: th-cam.com/video/E8aKb8A8zJg/w-d-xo.html
@@OddBonsai cheers. Just seen your channel, great work! just subscribed. How is your Serissa doing now? Mine have always died here in the dry Madrid air.
@@BlueSkyBonsai LOL, no worries. There are just too many sources of bonsai videos on youtube that is hard to keep track of which you've already seen. 👍
Thanks Rebecca! Yes it was quite a tough job but clearly had to be done. You can see I'm getting old cos I had to bring a wooden seat down there whilst doing the root work 😂😂
@@BlueSkyBonsai LOLOLOL!! I've just filmed an initial root investigation and branch pruning on a new Crab Apple I picked up in September...that got seriously real, very quickly! :D
I know this video goes quite back a bit, but I wish to ask what species of Azalea is this particular example?, I own a few Azaleas, but they all have long bare branches with leaves and flowers at the tips mostly. I think mine are from Encore farms. Thank you, truly enjoying your videos 🙂
Thanks! The category of azalea normally used for bonsai is Satsuki which is japanese for May... That's when they start to flower (in the northern hemisphere). There are hundreds of cultivars of satsuki, and they are not encores. This particular satsuki is the "Aiko" cultivar. HTH
@@BlueSkyBonsai I'm beginning to form a bonsai in the coming years I just started my propergation from some cutting in my neighborhood im done a few for a higher success rate
Just started watching you channel why do you have holes drilled near top of your training pots also is there any ware in Spain that sells natal ficus seeds they are not sold in England thank you
The holes are there because I want more drainage and aeration, also so the roots that grow to there stop growing (instead of wrapping round), so this encourages more fine roots. Fine feeder roots are most healthy for a bonsai, whereas fat woody roots take up too much space in the pot while not actually absorbing much water and nutrients that your tree needs. Sorry, I don't know where you can buy natal ficus seeds.
Thanks Toby! Haha yes I call it my scythe but its commercial name was a repotting sickle. Perfect for these big pots. My smallest azalea flic.kr/p/2kGWSnH also continued flowering over winter, might be a consequence of late and mild autumn. Did the leaves go dark brown/black on yours? That's usually the azalea's sign that it is dormant, so the flowers were just confusing.
Yours is much more uniform than mine in terms of leaf colour! Mine has lost the vast majority of its leaves but the ones remaining are definitely green, so not sure how to interpret that. I'm hoping to see some new buds appearing anytime soon, but I fear it was frozen over the winter as I didn't put it in the greenhouse :S
Thanks! I don't know the age of the tree because it was imported into Spain two years ago from Japan. The price depends very much on the country you buy it. In UK Peter Chan (Herons) is selling azaleas like this for nearly £1000 UK pounds, but when I got it from import here in Spain it was less than 300€ euros.
Thank you, Dave. Always informative and what a lovely tree. I want to remove the flower buds on my azalea to help with its vigour this year. Do you think now, in mid-Winter would be a good time? Thanks again.
Hi David, thanks for your kind words! It should be fine to remove the flower buds now. But it's possible that more flower buds will arrive in mid or late spring, so you could quite comfortably leave them now and start pinching them off in spring.
Well done Dave. You were much braver than me. Great idea about the water jet. So how does Mrs Dave feel about being second best? 😂 also do you use rain water for watering the Azaleas?
Thanks Colin, Hahaha that's a very good question! Mrs Bluesky sometimes does get jealous of the bonsais but, that's her tough luck for not understanding the joy they bring! When this one flowers I'll dedicate it to her, see if it has a good effect! I do use rain water for the azaleas but not for the first watering because I poured through gallons of the stuff to get the first load of dust out.
Another great video. Are there other top dressings (for normal bonsai) that change color between being wet and dry? Or can Kanuma be used for any bonsai tree?
Thanks Michael, kanuma is too acidic for most bonsai, so we only use it for acid-loving species like azalea (rhododendron) and camelia. For most bonsai I use fine-grain akadama or fine-grain kiryuzuna as the top dressing. Both change color when wet. Akadama is more water-retentive than kiryu, but kiryu holds its granular structure better after a few years so in the last couple of years I mix 50/50 akadama/kiryu as top dressing and I'm really happy with the result and the appearance. HTH
@@DoBonsai yes, this will all just be a memory some day. An anecdote that our kids will tell their kids. Until then, I am thankful that I have this horticultural hobby and can participate in a wonderful online community of like-minded artists. 🌳👍🏻
Are you mixing in peat/soil because locals advice you to do so considering the low humidity hot summers? Or is it your own tweak? Probably wise not to do 100% kanuma. Bumblebees love azaleas, but this one is a bit too early.
Exactly right: I add in the organic material because it gets so hot and dry here. Same for my base layer of slightly larger pumice: that temporarily raises the level of the water table in the pot which you don't want in a humid climate but here in summer I need that. It was not because locals told me, I used to use pure kanuma (or pure akadama on other trees) but then a few years ago I read in "501 principles of Good Bonsai Horticulture" it is better to add an organic component and I've been happy with the results ever since. I do still sieve out the dust and fine particles from the mix. Thanks for your comments!
@@BlueSkyBonsai Just a few comments on this job. Overall very well done. Yet… Not a fan of adding peat or garden material in with the Kanuma. Kanuma on its own holds quite a lot of water. Plus it negates to drainage qualities of Kanuma, increasing the chances of root rot. If you were to add any organic component it would be chopped Sphagnum. Also, consider if azalea is that root bound one must consider perforating the “Shin” to improve the flushing beneath the trunk base. This will help keep the apex stronger.
Where are you located? The azalea is really an outdoor plant and they need to get cool in autumn then cold in winter so that they have a rest period every year. If they are indoors permanently, they can get insufficient light, and they can indeed gradually suffer from not having a yearly dormant period. If you live in a hot tropical region, you might need to set up an artificially cold environment for a couple of months each winter. They like slightly acidic water so should be watered with rainwater if possible, ot tap water. That's another reason to have it outside. Mine need repotting once every 2 or 3 years. Use Kanuma or similar acidic soil. It needs to be draining soil, but the root ball should never be allowed to dry. HTH.
Great video! I always lift the tree out of the pot to look if the roots are potbound. People are advicing me to anchor the tree to the pot. How can I still check if it's potbound if I can't lift the tree?
Thanks much!! If the bonsai is anywhere close to potbound then it shouldn't be anchored down. If it's been in the pot for a year or so, you can definitely clip the anchor wires, underneath the pot like I did in this video so it should then slide out. You can leave the wires inside the soil right until you do repot it, but just don't keep the wires tying it down. HTH
Thanks! I have not tried 100% akadama for an azalea, but have done for many other trees, and it's good. I have tried 100% kanuma for a smaller azalea, and it dries quite quickly here in Madrid, that's the reason I add some (acidic) organic mix to retain more moisture.
@@BlueSkyBonsai noted! That makes more sense! A lot of info I see online is people putting it in 100% kanuma but doesn't explain much why. Your reasoning opens it up for me. Thank you very much!
It was laosgarden.com - a bonsai nursery near Madrid - here's a video of when I bought it: th-cam.com/video/E8aKb8A8zJg/w-d-xo.html I've just looked at their website now and they have a beautiful azalea for €290 which is quite a bit more than I paid for for mine, but the 290 one is in a small blue round pot, and getting the root ball down to that size takes a few years if you don't want to risk losing it! Btw now after brexit there will likely be some extra import costs to ship to UK.
@@BlueSkyBonsai Oh my goodness, I really thought there would be another zero on that figure for your azalea and yet yours was even less again. I'm off to check out that site pronto!
You need to import them through a certified plant importer, such as a bonsai nursery. It also depends on where you are - most countries have a quarantine period of time that the imported plant has to be quarantined before they can resell it. That's why the easiest way is just to choose stock froma bonsai nursery in your country.
I wanna try an azalea, they're very pretty. :) And I have a bunch of bushes nearby, but I don't know how hard they are to grow from cuttings (or if I can do it) or if seeds are easier perhaps? How old is your big one? It's so pretty!
Azalea cuttings are not to difficult to root. I've had about 50% success rate with the cuttings I've taken so you might want to take a few. They do make very pretty bonsai. They're a bit more sensitive than many other popular bonsai species though, like you can't do really severe root pruning, you have to gently train them to shallow pots over a few years. I killed one last year by pruning a major branch and (accidental) root pruning at the same time, after that it just didn't survive the summer. That said, it's all worth the effort. They need to be out doors but don't like full-on direct sunlight. They are okay in winter down to very low temperatures, and they need that rest period even though they are not deciduous. This big one was imported from Japan last year, I don't know how old it is but I would guess some 20-25 years. Azaleas are slow growers and take a long time to to thicken their trunk. But young, thinner azaleas also look very beautiful!
Great work on your repotting mate. She will power on with flowers for you mate. 😀
Cheers mate! WHen it flowers I will dedicate it to my wife mrs bluesky who says I spend too much time on bonsai! 🍻👍🏻
What a beautiful azaleas Bonsai ❤👌👌, thanks for sharing
Thanks!! This is how it looked in flower, early June: flic.kr/p/2m4RPtK but now in July it's back to all green again.
Great stuff. Gotta love how matted those azalea roots can get. This will defo be happier now. I cant wait to see it flowers.
Cheers Ian! Yeah when they're like that I don't call it soil, it's just mud!
Beautiful Azalea!
Thank you! 😊
@@BlueSkyBonsai I got my first Azalea a week ago, and did her first styling! Can't wait to see new growth and move her into the pot I got her! Watching your videos are so much inspiration to me!
@@JGGPilot Nice to hear it! Hope you enjoy the flowers.
If your styling included pruning, there is a chance it won't flower this spring. If azaleas don't flower, it's okay.. it might do in late summer instead.
Keep it outside in autumn so it knows when to go dormant before winter.
Im addicted to repotting sir. Specially when raking the roots.
Yes I also love repotting! Really couldn't rake the roots on this azalea though. Next few repots I will do some easier trees...
Great video, as always. 🤘🏻
Thanks as always Kate! Ps. I hear lockdown restrictions are easing in UK from Monday, at least with schools reopening again and some socialising allowed 🤞🏻
This is a very satisfying hobby pal...
Oh yes it is.. it's what I would call long term satisfaction 😊👍🏻
Good work...my friend👍👍
Thanks a lot my friend! 🌳👍🏻
He’s back!! Excellent video David. Is that the azalea that you bought last year? I’m sure it’ll be happy in that pot. Cheers man!
Hehehe thanks! It's indeed the very azalea that I bought last year imported from Japan. Beautiful tree, terrible root ball! Cheers 🍻🍻
Love the videos 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thank you so much! 😊
Very beautiful bonsai. Super
Thanks so much! 😊
Good video on Satsuki Azalea. Will be repotting our large one, such as yours in the coming weeks. Other smaller ones repotted a few weeks ago. I do it in early spring, vice after flowering here in the Pacific NW, USA. It works well. In this repotting, using Kanuma (70%) and Sphagnum Moss (30%). Mid sized one now in this mixture and doing great. I like the styling of the tree.
Thanks Jeff! Nice to hear I'm in good company with the repot now. Your potting mix sounds very.. I'm wary of using sphaggy in soil because somehow the birds here sens the buried sphagnum and try to uproot my mini trees. Do you find that birds are ever a problem?
@@BlueSkyBonsai in the past 5 years, have not had “any bird” (or critter) problems affecting the Kanuma/sphagnum soil mixture on our trees. Birds do peck/take the green Moss “on top” of other trees now and again. I put, like you do, a good layer of Kanuma on top making sure to hide the somewhat finely chopped up Sphagnum Moss in the soils mixture. Hmmm, what they cannot see..... Have once had squirrels or Blue Jays bury a shelled peanut or two in larger potted bonsai trees. Keep your videos coming. Bonsai On, my friend.
@@jeffhurst4744 cheers Jeff! 🌳👍🏻
It is a big bonsai. Great job Dave
Thanks Isa, glad you liked it! This bonsai also carries a massive surprise that Mrs Buesky will like in Spring 😉🌸🌸🌸
Elegant work Dave as usual! Congratulations.
Thanks Isidro! 😊👍🏻
Interesting work
@@HarusaiBonsai thanks
Wow! The Azalea is amazing. I thought it you might have put it in a bigger pot, but you got that rootball narrowed down. Pretty brave! Looks great
Thanks Jason! I considered a shallower, wider pot. But the most ideal one I have is actually earmarked for a forest repot later in spring.. so in the end decided to keep this pot. It's not a perfect pot for the shape of the azalea, i think maybe a more "feminine" pot style might look better.. but there's always another year! Cheers 🌳👍🏻
Like your repotting style. The plant is awesome!!!
Thank you Andy! I enjoy repotting but it's usually not this tricky...
Mr: dev your explain nice
Thank you! 🙏
Oooh, I was actually hoping you would upload a video about repotting that exact azalea soon! I think I'll repot my own this year too - not sure if I'll put it into another nursery pot or a bonsai pot already (because it does need some more fattening up but I'm also very impatient to see this one in a beautiful pot).
When I was gifted my first azalea (as my first bonsai), I read that the roots are very sensitive and that the plant will die if you rip any of the feeder roots - that scared me a lot, but with more experience now and your video, I'm more confident that my azalea will survive the repotting :)
Hehe glad to be of service! It should survive the report, as long as you don't do any branch pruning now. And at some stage we have to trim back those fine roots. But "just in case" you might consider doing it little by little over a few years, maybe taking off only say 25% of the root mass each year so you're gradually training it down to a smaller pot over a few years. Patience will reward you! And in the meantime you'll still enjoy the wonderful flowers each year. Take a couple of pics while you're doing it, so you can remember each year how the previous year's repot was. 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai Good idea! Patience is key with bonsai, even if you struggle with the occasional overzealousness once in a while, haha. I will take your advice and go slow and steady. :)
Also, I'm going to see the flowers of this tree for the first time this year, and I'm really excited! Do you already know what colour yours will be?
@@KarIiah you won't regret it! My flowers are pink and white, I still have to have the exact variety confirmed though.
@@BlueSkyBonsai Ah I love those. Mine are going to be pale purple. :)
@@KarIiah ooo nice! Looking forward to see the photos!
That's a great looking tree. Nice work!
Thank you H&R! 🌳👍🏻
Hello Blue Sky Bonsai,
I really like your work. Its very motivating for me. Please keep up such good work and keep uploading new videos for us.
Hi Sunny, thank you so much! I will keep uploading but due to lack of spare time I now have to leave quite a time gap between my videos. Planning my next one at the moment. 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai I see. Please take your time and keep making such informative and high quality videos.
Beautiful looking bonsai, great job!
Thanks so much! 🌳👍🏻
A very good example of azalea tree there. You must of looked after it for a while now. Mine are very small in comparison I enjoyed this particular video as I have just repotted some of my own azaleas. The soil mixture I used was compost plus sphagnum moss as I didnt have any of the oriental kanuma at hand. Your tree looks magnificent in comparison to mine. Thanks for sharing the process with us all the best.
Thanks so much Lee! Yes I lost an azalea last year, I made the big error of branch removal and root pruning at the same time. Should have done one or the other, but not both. the poor thing withered away over summer. This big one though, I bought it in autumn - you can see it in a video I did back then. Cheers 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai Hi Dave. I repotted my azalea today. Do you think I could do some major pruning mid to late Summer this year or best to leave it until next year?
@@davidreid622 hi David, for azaleas there's a window of about a month after the spring flowers have withered, when you can safely prune branches. Personally I wouldn't risk pruning in late summer.. it might be okay, but I have lost too many azaleas to risk any out-of-season work. (Well, I have lost 5 but that's already too many compared to other species).
Top
Thanks! 🌳👍🏻
Beautiful specimen.
So with azaleas fine roots system is the nebari formed solely with age? Or is there a process you follow which differs from deciduous trees? Thanks
You could try with root grafting but really this type of nebari develops under the soil surface over many years. This was imported from Japan. They might have used the ceramic tile method under the roots to force a radial pattern early on. Cheers!
I don't do azalea but have a couple to deal with shortly. Timing is a bit confusing, what prompted repotting now rather than after flowering? It needed repotting but didn't look like an emergency? Not wording this very well am i... like, what is significant about the flowering indication for repotting?
Great question! So I've learnt that if the azalea needs significant root pruning, which this did, then you're better off doing it now in early spring while it's still cool than late spring after the flowers. The advice in UK is to repot after flowering, but here in Madrid the summer is too hot and it's just safer now when the leaf buds are swelling. Cheers!
@@BlueSkyBonsai got it ta
That's a nice size specimen! How long have you been training it for or did you buy it (you made a refference to Japan in the video at some point)?
Thanks! I bought this Azalea last year had been planning on getting one like it for years before. This one was imported from Japan last year. Here's the video where I bought it: th-cam.com/video/E8aKb8A8zJg/w-d-xo.html
@@BlueSkyBonsai Cool, straight from Japan! Thanks for the link!
@@OddBonsai cheers.
Just seen your channel, great work! just subscribed. How is your Serissa doing now?
Mine have always died here in the dry Madrid air.
Haha I must be going senile, I just realized I was already subscribed a while ago when I saw the wooden turntable vid! 🤩🙃😂
@@BlueSkyBonsai LOL, no worries. There are just too many sources of bonsai videos on youtube that is hard to keep track of which you've already seen. 👍
Beautiful nebari, you are very lucky 🙂
Cheers Max! That was indeed one of the things I love about this azalea. Hehe glad you noticed it, l forgot to mention it in the video! 😊👍🏻
Oohff that took some work Dave 😍 The hose didn't look like it was going to get the job done at first, but your perseverance paid off xx
Thanks Rebecca! Yes it was quite a tough job but clearly had to be done. You can see I'm getting old cos I had to bring a wooden seat down there whilst doing the root work 😂😂
@@BlueSkyBonsai I don't blame you! I would have done too :D
@@PumpkinBecki
me before starting: 🧘🏼♂️
Me during the repot: 🌳🤺
Me afterwards: 👴🏻🛌🏼😴
😂
@@BlueSkyBonsai 🤣🤣🤣
@@BlueSkyBonsai LOLOLOL!! I've just filmed an initial root investigation and branch pruning on a new Crab Apple I picked up in September...that got seriously real, very quickly! :D
Amazing video🌳🌳🙂
Thanks so much Kalana! 🌳👍🏻
I know this video goes quite back a bit, but I wish to ask what species of Azalea is this particular example?, I own a few Azaleas, but they all have long bare branches with leaves and flowers at the tips mostly. I think mine are from Encore farms.
Thank you, truly enjoying your videos 🙂
Thanks! The category of azalea normally used for bonsai is Satsuki which is japanese for May... That's when they start to flower (in the northern hemisphere). There are hundreds of cultivars of satsuki, and they are not encores.
This particular satsuki is the "Aiko" cultivar. HTH
Im learning solo much
Great! Do you have bonsai or azaleas?
@@BlueSkyBonsai I'm beginning to form a bonsai in the coming years I just started my propergation from some cutting in my neighborhood im done a few for a higher success rate
@@lavarlavar1245 sounds good!
Just started watching you channel why do you have holes drilled near top of your training pots also is there any ware in Spain that sells natal ficus seeds they are not sold in England thank you
The holes are there because I want more drainage and aeration, also so the roots that grow to there stop growing (instead of wrapping round), so this encourages more fine roots. Fine feeder roots are most healthy for a bonsai, whereas fat woody roots take up too much space in the pot while not actually absorbing much water and nutrients that your tree needs.
Sorry, I don't know where you can buy natal ficus seeds.
That isn’t a root saw, that’s a scythe! Just repotted my small azalea although mine flowered over the winter so hope all goes well. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Toby! Haha yes I call it my scythe but its commercial name was a repotting sickle. Perfect for these big pots.
My smallest azalea flic.kr/p/2kGWSnH also continued flowering over winter, might be a consequence of late and mild autumn. Did the leaves go dark brown/black on yours? That's usually the azalea's sign that it is dormant, so the flowers were just confusing.
Yours is much more uniform than mine in terms of leaf colour! Mine has lost the vast majority of its leaves but the ones remaining are definitely green, so not sure how to interpret that. I'm hoping to see some new buds appearing anytime soon, but I fear it was frozen over the winter as I didn't put it in the greenhouse :S
@@tobywilson4876 if the remaining leaves are still green I'm sure it'll be okay.. they are pretty cold hardy.
How old is that tree and what prize is a tree like that? Looks Good 👍
Thanks! I don't know the age of the tree because it was imported into Spain two years ago from Japan. The price depends very much on the country you buy it. In UK Peter Chan (Herons) is selling azaleas like this for nearly £1000 UK pounds, but when I got it from import here in Spain it was less than 300€ euros.
Thank you, Dave. Always informative and what a lovely tree. I want to remove the flower buds on my azalea to help with its vigour this year. Do you think now, in mid-Winter would be a good time? Thanks again.
Hi David, thanks for your kind words!
It should be fine to remove the flower buds now. But it's possible that more flower buds will arrive in mid or late spring, so you could quite comfortably leave them now and start pinching them off in spring.
Well done Dave. You were much braver than me. Great idea about the water jet. So how does Mrs Dave feel about being second best? 😂 also do you use rain water for watering the Azaleas?
Thanks Colin, Hahaha that's a very good question! Mrs Bluesky sometimes does get jealous of the bonsais but, that's her tough luck for not understanding the joy they bring! When this one flowers I'll dedicate it to her, see if it has a good effect! I do use rain water for the azaleas but not for the first watering because I poured through gallons of the stuff to get the first load of dust out.
Another great video. Are there other top dressings (for normal bonsai) that change color between being wet and dry? Or can Kanuma be used for any bonsai tree?
Thanks Michael, kanuma is too acidic for most bonsai, so we only use it for acid-loving species like azalea (rhododendron) and camelia.
For most bonsai I use fine-grain akadama or fine-grain kiryuzuna as the top dressing. Both change color when wet. Akadama is more water-retentive than kiryu, but kiryu holds its granular structure better after a few years so in the last couple of years I mix 50/50 akadama/kiryu as top dressing and I'm really happy with the result and the appearance. HTH
nice video, nice tree and good work. and also a like from me.
Thanks bro! Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you're doing well. 🌳👍🏻
@@BlueSkyBonsai I always follow you on youtube. I am very well, thanx. I hope you and your family are fine too.
@@DoBonsai thanks Safak, I really appreciate that. My family are all fine thankfully! Looking forward to the end of this pandemic...
@@BlueSkyBonsai I am pleased to hear this good news. All of them, including the pandemic, will pass. everything is gonna be okay.
@@DoBonsai yes, this will all just be a memory some day. An anecdote that our kids will tell their kids.
Until then, I am thankful that I have this horticultural hobby and can participate in a wonderful online community of like-minded artists. 🌳👍🏻
Are you mixing in peat/soil because locals advice you to do so considering the low humidity hot summers? Or is it your own tweak? Probably wise not to do 100% kanuma. Bumblebees love azaleas, but this one is a bit too early.
Exactly right: I add in the organic material because it gets so hot and dry here. Same for my base layer of slightly larger pumice: that temporarily raises the level of the water table in the pot which you don't want in a humid climate but here in summer I need that.
It was not because locals told me, I used to use pure kanuma (or pure akadama on other trees) but then a few years ago I read in "501 principles of Good Bonsai Horticulture" it is better to add an organic component and I've been happy with the results ever since. I do still sieve out the dust and fine particles from the mix. Thanks for your comments!
@@BlueSkyBonsai Just a few comments on this job. Overall very well done. Yet…
Not a fan of adding peat or garden material in with the Kanuma. Kanuma on its own holds quite a lot of water. Plus it negates to drainage qualities of Kanuma, increasing the chances of root rot. If you were to add any organic component it would be chopped Sphagnum.
Also, consider if azalea is that root bound one must consider perforating the “Shin” to improve the flushing beneath the trunk base. This will help keep the apex stronger.
i have mine 5 years and now it's whilting. it's been indoors 5 years. how often to repott ?
Where are you located?
The azalea is really an outdoor plant and they need to get cool in autumn then cold in winter so that they have a rest period every year. If they are indoors permanently, they can get insufficient light, and they can indeed gradually suffer from not having a yearly dormant period. If you live in a hot tropical region, you might need to set up an artificially cold environment for a couple of months each winter.
They like slightly acidic water so should be watered with rainwater if possible, ot tap water. That's another reason to have it outside.
Mine need repotting once every 2 or 3 years. Use Kanuma or similar acidic soil. It needs to be draining soil, but the root ball should never be allowed to dry. HTH.
Great video!
I always lift the tree out of the pot to look if the roots are potbound. People are advicing me to anchor the tree to the pot.
How can I still check if it's potbound if I can't lift the tree?
Thanks much!! If the bonsai is anywhere close to potbound then it shouldn't be anchored down. If it's been in the pot for a year or so, you can definitely clip the anchor wires, underneath the pot like I did in this video so it should then slide out. You can leave the wires inside the soil right until you do repot it, but just don't keep the wires tying it down. HTH
@@BlueSkyBonsai Why didn't I think of that . So simple yet so logical. Thanks for the quick answer!
@@ramboke911 you're welcome! Thanks again for your comments!
Love the nebari! Have you tried 100% kanuma before? Does the organic mix help with moisture or to keep the kanuma from floating?
Thanks! I have not tried 100% akadama for an azalea, but have done for many other trees, and it's good.
I have tried 100% kanuma for a smaller azalea, and it dries quite quickly here in Madrid, that's the reason I add some (acidic) organic mix to retain more moisture.
@@BlueSkyBonsai noted! That makes more sense! A lot of info I see online is people putting it in 100% kanuma but doesn't explain much why. Your reasoning opens it up for me. Thank you very much!
@@PNWBonsai You're welcome! i think any location where it's humid or rainy, you could have 100% kanuma no problem.
@@BlueSkyBonsai
Where was the bonsai nursery you bought your azalea from please
It was laosgarden.com - a bonsai nursery near Madrid - here's a video of when I bought it:
th-cam.com/video/E8aKb8A8zJg/w-d-xo.html
I've just looked at their website now and they have a beautiful azalea for €290 which is quite a bit more than I paid for for mine, but the 290 one is in a small blue round pot, and getting the root ball down to that size takes a few years if you don't want to risk losing it! Btw now after brexit there will likely be some extra import costs to ship to UK.
@@BlueSkyBonsai Oh my goodness, I really thought there would be another zero on that figure for your azalea and yet yours was even less again. I'm off to check out that site pronto!
@@davidreid622 Mature azaleas seem to be more affordable here in Spain than UK. I don't know about other countries though.
What color azalea?
Pink and white. I'll be sure to show it off in spring when it's in full bloom.
Is there a place in Japan to import trees like this from?
You need to import them through a certified plant importer, such as a bonsai nursery. It also depends on where you are - most countries have a quarantine period of time that the imported plant has to be quarantined before they can resell it. That's why the easiest way is just to choose stock froma bonsai nursery in your country.
I wanna try an azalea, they're very pretty. :) And I have a bunch of bushes nearby, but I don't know how hard they are to grow from cuttings (or if I can do it) or if seeds are easier perhaps? How old is your big one? It's so pretty!
Azalea cuttings are not to difficult to root. I've had about 50% success rate with the cuttings I've taken so you might want to take a few.
They do make very pretty bonsai. They're a bit more sensitive than many other popular bonsai species though, like you can't do really severe root pruning, you have to gently train them to shallow pots over a few years. I killed one last year by pruning a major branch and (accidental) root pruning at the same time, after that it just didn't survive the summer.
That said, it's all worth the effort. They need to be out doors but don't like full-on direct sunlight. They are okay in winter down to very low temperatures, and they need that rest period even though they are not deciduous.
This big one was imported from Japan last year, I don't know how old it is but I would guess some 20-25 years. Azaleas are slow growers and take a long time to to thicken their trunk. But young, thinner azaleas also look very beautiful!
First to comment!!
Hehe thanks Edinborogh! 🍻👍🏻
You need a work bench to work on.
Thanks! Yes I agree!!
Even with a workbench, I would still do all that water squirting on the grass.. that was messy business.