Jim: Cultural and bonsai information weren't mentioned in the
original question. The Galle book (List Price: $79.95 Amazon
Price: $54.37) is a great resource, but doesn't have but a
fraction of the color photos of individual cultivars that the
Satsuki Dictionary displays in the most user friendly way
possible. (I take it that you haven't viewed the Satsuki
Dictionary?)
If cheap is your objective, then I recommend Great
American Azaleas: A Guide to the Finest Azalea Varieties by Jim
Darden. (c) 1985. Published by The Greenhouse Press, 1239 Sunset
Ave., Clinton, NC 28328. Phone 919-592-3725. Like Fred Galle's
book, it has good organizational logic. It also has a lot of
color photos for its size (96 pp.). Cost (at least when I bought
it) was only $8.95.
For cultural and bonsai information, I recommend
Alexander Kennedy's books. There is also Bonsai Techniques for
Satsuki by Naka, Ota, & Rokkaku, but it is long out of print and
fetches very high prices as a rare book.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lewis

On 13 Aug 2004 at 10:51, Alan Walker wrote:

snip
However, the best source on azalea taxonomy of which I
am
aware is a CD available through El Dorado Bonsai called
"Satsuki
Dictionary."
snip
At $100 you may find the price is steep,

Yup.
Unless I specialized in Satsuki bonsai and had more than the
dozen or
so I have in pots (of 4 varieties, plus a Kurume or two) I'd
think
that was a LOT expensive just for an ID resource. Besides, of
the
1000 plus cultivars listed there, I'd bet less than 20 are even
available in North America -- if that many. And I wonder if it
even
mentions the few Satsuki that have been developed in the west.

If there were cultural info (or even bonsai info) that MIGHT make
the
price more reasonable -- but I doubt it.
Fred Galle's book will have to do. ;-)
Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL

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